There are still so many mysteries for Stranger Things Season 5 to solve. The biggest one, of course, involves the Upside Down, the alternate dimension from which all the monsters that terrorize Hawkins, Indiana, come. Stranger Things establishes that Eleven creates a perfect copy of Hawkins in 1983 after making contact with another dimension at Dr. Martin Brenner’s request. However, just about everything else about the strange location is up in the air. Dimension X, the dimension Brenner was originally searching for, is undoubtedly part of the equation, but there’s no way to know just how important it is because the only person with answers, Vecna, isn’t in a sharing mood.
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The being formerly known as Henry Creel is in total control during Stranger Things 5. He’s befriending kids all around Hawkins because he believes he can use them to create his new world, and there’s very little that Eleven and her friends can do to stop him. The only sliver of hope they have rests with Max Mayfield, who’s in a coma in the real world but very much awake in Vecna’s world. She knows the only place that the villain is too afraid to go, and it may very well hold the key to bringing him down.
Stranger Things 5‘s Cave Is Very Important in an Overlooked Spinoff
Despite taking place primarily in a small town, Stranger Things‘ world is so vast that it needs to tell some stories away from the small screen. There’s a graphic novel that explores Dustin’s time with Susie, as well as a few comic books that provide additional context to major events. However, the most important spinoff of all is the Broadway play Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Rather than focusing on Mike, Will, and the rest of the kids, it turns back the clock to 1959, when Joyce, Hopper, and Bob are all attending Hawkins High. They investigate a string of animal killings and learn that the Creel family is at the center of them. Unfortunately, they can’t quite figure out who’s really pulling the strings.
The true focus of The First Shadow is Henry Creel’s life in Hawkins and what Breener does to him after figuring out that the young boy has powers. Just like with Eleven, he uses him for his experiments, wanting to learn more about the power in Dimeson X. But it turns out that Breener didn’t stumble upon Henry by accident; he had been hunting him for a long time. While Henry was living in Nevada, he explored a cave system and stumbled upon technology stolen from Brenner’s lab, accidentally activating it. Before he knew it, Henry was in another dimension and having his first meeting with the Mind Flayer. That moment changed Henry’s life for the worse, and he hasn’t forgotten about it all these years later.
Vecna’s Past Could Be the Key to Bringing Him Down
While seeing the cave is surely a reminder of the powers that make him a monster, there could be another reason Vecna wants to stay away from the outskirts of his dream world. Caves are often a great place to hide things, and there’s at least one other memory that he wants to forget. While in Hawkins, Henry builds a bond with Patty Newby, Bob’s adoptive sister, and she helps him see that there’s good in him. That doesn’t sit right with Brenner, who needs Henry in a bad headspace, which leads to a confrontation that puts Patty in the hospital. Henry doesn’t see her again after that, making it easier for him to cut off any ties to the real world once he goes to the Upside Down.
Stranger Things has yet to introduce Patty or even mention her, but there’s a chance Max and Holly learn more about her from Henry’s memories. If they can get that information to Hopper and the rest of their allies, they could track her down and have her try to talk some sense into her ex-boyfriend. That plan is as good as any because, as it stands, there doesn’t seem to be any way to stop Vecna for good, even with Will tapping into the hive mind.
Stranger Things Season 5, Part 1 is streaming on Netflix.
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