Viewers who were running wild with crazy speculations following the cliff-hanger of an ending in the fifth episode of the final season of Stranger Things are in for some unexpected revelations, as in the sixth chapter, “Escape From Camazotz,” we learn the true nature of the Upside Down. Tied with this is the exploration of Henry’s hidden memories by Holly and Max, which reveals his connection to Dimension X. Importantly, the showrunners, the Duffer brothers, have drawn connections from their stage play, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” to highlight how a link with Dimension X sent Henry Creel down a dark path—hinting at the true threat, which is about to make a return in the final part of the final season.
Spoiler Alert
Dustin Learns the True Nature of Upside Down
As the episode begins, the mysterious red chaotic energy vortex which started hovering above Hawkins Lab after Nancy mistakenly shot at it in the final moments of the last episode, emits a surge of energy, which hits the wall and creates a rift—which starts pulling everything towards a void-like space. It’s neither the core of the hive mind nor a field generator powering Vecna as Dustin had speculated. As Steve returns to Dustin to check up on him, he reveals that from Brenner’s research he found in the lab, he has learned that the Upside Down is not a different world or dimension, as they had previously speculated. It is a wormhole, which connects the real world with another dimension. The energy, which started getting out of control after Nancy shot at it, is in fact exotic matter, which keeps the wall in its place, and any damage to it will rupture the wormhole, taking the real world with it. A hint about the Upside Down’s true nature was already given in the first part of the ongoing season, as Mr. Clarke was seen explaining about wormholes in his class. In conjunction with the theoretical physics that defines the wormhole as a connector between different points across the space-time continuum, exotic matter is defined as objects or states of matter that can’t be defined by the laws of physics. Dustin mentioned it previously as Vecna’s dark magic, but Brenner’s research allows him to mark it as part of unidentified science. This revelation hints at the literal completion of a full circle moment; the heroes speculate that on the upcoming 6th of November, the four-year anniversary of Will’s disappearance in 1983, Vecna will end it all by corrupting the world to shape it as his new domain. The fact that the Upside Down is a wormhole might suggest that, on the same day, Vecna will try to merge Earth with another dimension using the connection he made with his strongest vessel, Will. Speaking of the other dimension, which is connected through the Upside Down, later on in the episode a crucial plot point reveals Henry’s connection with the place, which I will discuss later.
As the rift nearly pulls everything inside it, Eleven manages to shield Kali and Hopper to lead them to the exit, which takes the trio back to the real world. Dustin and Steve fail to reach Nancy and Jonathan, as Dustin’s trauma of losing Eddie takes over his mind, and as the lab starts melting due to the unstable exotic matter, it seems Jonathan and Nancy will meet a tragic end. Moments away from death, the couple accept their fate and begin to unravel everything they kept from each other just to deny the truth that they were never meant to be together. The emotional, tragic reconciliation, which allows the duo to open up to each other anew, culminates in Nancy learning that Jonathan meant to propose to her. Almost like a cosmic miracle, the Exotic Matter chaos stops right at that moment, providing an unexpected second chance to the ones trapped inside Hawkins Lab. In an effort to rescue Dustin, Erica and Murray approach Mr. Clarke and request him to provide a telemetry tracker to find him.
Vecna Uses Will to Locate Max
Following his psychic connection with Vecna, Will is still unconscious, as the teenagers’ plan of using Will’s newly emerged powers to take control over the monstrosity failed due to an oversight. The connection works both ways, and Vecna is much stronger than Will, given it’s his power Will is channeling. As a result, Will is up for a frightening déjà vu moment as he has once again become trapped inside Vecna’s domain. The revelation that Will saw and communicated with Max and Holly through Vecna allows Robin to speculate that their minds are trapped inside that of Vecna, and if Will’s words are true, then Max and Holly can return to their physical selves by breaking through the monster’s mental hold. Lucas, hopeful about Max regaining consciousness, rushes to the hospital with Robin, while Mike decides to stay with Will and the rest of the team. On the other hand, inside Vecna’s mind, Holly and Max escape into the cave where Henry can’t enter, and unable to get to them, he tries to terrorize Holly by mentioning he is going to end Max unless she gives in. Even though he can’t enter the cave, he has found another way to get to Max, which is revealed moments later.
Vecna traumatizes a trapped Will by mentioning that he has been unconsciously helping him build the tunnel system deep inside Hawkins, which extended from the Upside Down. To make his suffering even more miserable, Vecna exercises his psychic control over Will to locate the physical self of Max, who has been in a comatose condition for the last two years.
Holly Steps Up, El Saves Will
Meanwhile, El and co. reunite with Joyce, Mike, and an unconscious Will. Upon learning everything, El tries to use her powers to locate Will, but in her current state, she is too weak to establish a stronger connection to pull Will out of Vecna’s mind prison. Hopper consoles a guilt-ridden Joyce, who believes that to make up for her overprotectiveness towards Will, she might have pushed her son too far and landed him in peril. As Hopper and Mike converse, Kali interrupts, and the conflict of interest becomes quite apparent. Hopper is concerned about El’s well-being and is wary of Kali’s ulterior motives. Kali, who has experienced the horrors Kay wants to conjure by reviving Brenner’s project, knows that taking down Vecna will not end this ongoing crisis. Hopper fears Kali’s approach will push El down a path of self-destruction to ensure the greater good of everyone, as Kay, or mad geniuses like her, will not stop coming after El. Upon learning that El is having a tough time finding Will, Hopper decides to amplify her powers through sensory deprivation tank. Before making another attempt to find Will, El shares everything with Mike after he continues to ask her about Kali’s perspective on their approach and Mike’s opinion about it being their story—almost sounding like a meta commentary. El is able to find Will, but by then it is too late, as Vecna has sent Demogorgons and Demodogs to hunt Max down.
Inside Vecna’s mind, Max shares her speculation that the cave is perhaps linked with a repressed core memory of Henry, which he fears to face, and she is content with waiting here for help to arrive. Max might not have any qualms despite receiving no help even after two years of waiting, but Holly is not so patient. She shares her assumption that they can find an exit from Henry’s mind prison by locating the memory he fears facing and, much to Max’s dismay, decides to go outside to search for it. It’s all thanks to Holly’s presence of mind that the duo arrives at the exact spot from where an entrance to an underground tunnel system opens up.
What Do Max and Holly Find in the Tunnels?
Inside the tunnel, Max and Holly witness Henry’s most feared memory unfold, and the sequence directly connects with the Duffer brothers’ stage play, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” which is a prequel to the series’ narrative itself. A young Henry approaches a scared, delirious scientist who is seen carrying a briefcase. Henry tries to assuage his tension, but the scientist, too paranoid about the people following him, shoots at Henry, and in self-defense, a young Henry ends up brutally killing the scientist by bashing his head with a rock. This was the exact moment when Henry’s psyche took a dark turn, and later, as he opened the mysterious briefcase, Henry’s life was forever altered. The scientist used to be part of Brenner’s secretive experiment team, and stole a high-value piece of tech that allowed direct access to Dimension X. As the play highlights, Brenner’s father was the sole survivor of the United States government’s secretive experimentation with cloaking tech, which failed miserably when the warship USS Eldridge got transported to Dimension X, or the Abyss, the world that lies on the other side of the Upside Down. Brenner wanted to learn the truth about the world that transformed his father and harnessed the tech to travel to Dimension X, which was later stolen by the scientist. However, as young Henry got access to the machine, he reached the dark world and came under the influence of the ultimate threat, the Mind Flayer. Having telekinetic powers already, Henry’s mind was susceptible to the influence of the behemoth, and just like he treated Will as his vessel, Henry too was treated as a vessel to the creature.
Do Holly and Max Return to the Real World?
While trying to leave the tunnel, Max and Holly find an opening that Max recognizes as her way out—given in the real world, Lucas, present in the hospital, is playing “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush, Max’s emotional anchor. El and Will return to their physical selves and warn the team in the hospital that Vecna has located Max in the real world, and soon enough, Demodogs begin chasing them. As Lucas and Robin, accompanied by Vickie, try to save Max, Holy’s mother, Karen, who has been recuperating in the hospital, once again emerges as a badass heroic figure by taking down three Demodogs by exploding an oxygen tank.
Max sees the exit to the real world opening up for her as Kate Bush’s chartbuster resonates through Vecna’s mindscape, and as Holly too decides to follow her to exit, Max reveals that her exit has to be connected with something truly personal, an emotional anchor. Holly reveals her source of inspiration is her Holly the Heroic toy, but given how she has frozen in the face of danger every time things went south, she can’t see herself as the heroic figure she aspired to become. Max makes Holly realize how brave, strong-willed, and intelligent she acted to find an exit through Vecna’s mind, without the assistance of others, which allows the kid to regain her self-confidence and opens an exit portal for her. However, Max reminds her that unlike her, who will wake up in the real world, Holly is still trapped in the Upside Down with other kids, and her mind will return to her physical self-trapped there. Max assures Holly that she will return to rescue her before the duo part ways and head towards their respective exits.
