Taking a page out of the Doctor Who playbook, Stranger Things has embraced the “timey-wimey.” While the epic series finale is still set to drop on New Year’s Eve at 8 p.m. ET, the latest Volume 2 episodes have already ticked one major box for fans. The mystery that has haunted Hawkins since the beginning has finally been addressed: the true nature of the Upside Down is no longer a secret, according to TVLine.
Over the past five seasons, the character–and the audience–thought they understood the nature of the Upside Down. However, Episode Five of this final season completely deconstructs those theories, via TVLine. Dustin’s groundbreaking revelation doesn’t just clarify the physics of the realm; it raises the stakes by placing every character currently trapped in that twisted dimension in immediate, mortal danger.
Following the discovery of a massive, unsettling perimeter wall in the Upside Down during Volume 1–believed to be the gate Vecna used to kidnap Holly Wheeler–Volume 2 raises the stakes. In Episode 5, Dustin concludes that this barrier is a product of Vecna’s sorcery. This leads Steve, Nancy, Jonathan, and Dustin on a high-stakes mission through the mirror world to locate and dismantle what they’ve dubbed the “shield generator” — a nod to Return of the Jedi — which powers the wall’s protective energy field, according to TVLine.
TVLine says Dustin’s long-held theories are shattered when Brenner’s notes reveal that the Upside Down is actually a bridge held between two points in space-time. By connecting our world to the dark expanse of The Abyss, this bridge serves as a temporary passage that is far more fragile than they realized. When Nancy’s gunfire destabilizes the generator, it sends the “bridge” into a death spiral. Despite the catastrophic collapse of the wormhole, the team beats the odds and makes it back to Hawkins safely.
In Episode Seven, a reunited team at The Squawk finally connects the dots. Dustin reveals that the Upside Down is a temporal wormhole linking our world to The Abyss, the actual home of Vecna’s army. With Max back in action and providing crucial intel alongside Holly, the group confirms Vecna’s ultimate objective: to merge the two realms into a single, monstrous world, fulfilling his long-held vision of total reconstruction, according to TVLine.
Vecna’s endgame relies on harnessing the minds of his young captives to bridge the gap between realities. In a chilling final scene for Episode Seven, the plan moves into its final phase: the children are seen being used as psychic anchors to help Vecna merge our world with the horrors of The Abyss, via TVLine.