WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
Almost every Stranger Things fan has seen the long-awaited Volume One of the show’s fifth season on Netflix. After many of the previous theories were proven true for Volume One, fans have worked hard to devise some crazy theories for Volume Two.
Disclaimer: Many of these theories require prior knowledge of the play Stranger Things: The First Shadow by Kate Trefry. The story serves as a prequel to the series and is crucial for understanding the depth of the Upside Down and even Vecna himself. Below is a link to a TikTok explaining the play. Take a moment to watch it and get familiar with the story and Vecna’s past before diving into these theories!
Stranger Things Prequel Details Explained | TikTok
Theory #1:
Henry Creel isn’t really evil. He is trying to go back in time to stop himself from encountering the Mind Flayer in the cave in Nevada. He’s willing to do it at any cost, even if it means sacrificing kids to get there. If he succeeds, the tragedies at Hawkins would have never happened. Dr. Brenner wouldn’t have weaponized Henry to create the other kids. He also wouldn’t have hurt the girl Henry loved—Patty Newby (Bob Newby’s sister). Furthermore, the fact that he took 12 kids further supports this idea, as they represent the 12 numbers on a clock. He also gives Holly her favorite song, hinting that he might want her to have a way to escape if needed. (@brendaanngerman on Instagram)
Theory #2:
The Upside Down is a Wormhole created on Nov. 6th, 1983 (the day Will Byers went missing). It looks like Hawkins because it is Hawkins, not an alternate dimension, but a liminal space that mirrors it. It may be shaped by the memories of its very first human and inhuman visitors: Will and Henry. Mr. Clarke, the science teacher at Hawkins High, talks about wormholes and says there’s a reason why scientists and science fiction writers love them. In addition, Erica tells us that “what’s neat about wormholes is that they allow matter to travel between galaxies or dimensions without crossing the space in between.” Mr. Clarke also says: “Just think of all the places mankind could go.. another galaxy, another time, even… If wormholes did exist, they would be extraordinarily unstable. Their enormous gravitational force would rip them apart at the very moment they formed….” In other words, the Upside Down is stuck on Nov. 6th, 1983, because that was the moment the wormhole formed, but its gravitational force keeps it stuck in time. (@thegardenofthorns on Reddit)
Theory #3:
The circular wall encloses the Upside Down, and Vecna is holding Holly captive on the other side. Will’s vision showed both the wormhole and what lay beyond it—a shape that resembles the Mind Flayer, with walls made of vines identical to those that infest the Upside Down. However, the wall isn’t a wall; it’s a door, and, as Robin said, Will is the key. Dimension X is on the other side of the door with the wormhole—the Upside Down—being powered by the children that Vecna kidnaps and attaches to the spires. Will was the first brick, establishing the foundation. This is why he tells Will the reason he targets children: to keep the wormhole from collapsing, and therefore, stuck in time. He needs to exploit the children to feed its life force and keep it stable. (@thegardenofthorns on Reddit)
Theory #4:
In season four episode one, which shows Eddie’s campaign that Lucas, Dustin, and Erica are trying to win, Dustin initially rolls an 11, which is not enough to defeat Vecna. Erica then steps up and defeats Vecna by rolling a 20. What three numbers add up to 20? 11, eight, and one. Due to Eight’s return in Volume One, this theory has a chance of coming true. We know that Eleven and Eight will work together to defeat Vecna; however, instead of One being Vecna/Henry, it will be Will, using the powers of Vecna. Eleven, Eight, and the power of One channeled through Will will be exactly what is needed to defeat Vecna. (@jenks.p on TikTok)
Theory #5:
The Upside Down is stuck in time on the day that Will went missing because it isn’t a real place: it’s a wrinkle in time created the moment Eleven opened the gate. In the book A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, one of the main characters, Mrs. Whatsit, can travel between dimensions. She explains it using an analogy of an ant crawling across her skirt (similar to Mr. Clarke’s analogy of the flea and the acrobat in season one). If the ant wants to travel across the skirt, it is a long distance for it to travel, but if you wrinkle the skirt (seen below), the ant can get there a lot quicker. A Wrinkle in Time also suggests that by using a tesseract, a four-dimensional hypercube, someone can time-travel. When the show first introduces Derek, he is building a tesseract, further emphasizing this theory. Additionally, Henry takes Holly back in time to the 1950s and brings her to the Creel house because that is his idealized world. It is possible that the Upside Down is a rip in time and space, rather than a living and breathing dimension, created the moment Eleven made psychic contact with the Demogorgon in season one. Vecna is now attempting to use it as a portal to different times and dimensions, similar to how a tesseract functions in A Wrinkle in Time. (@strangerthingstok on TikTok).
