Stranger Things: 5 Biggest Easter Eggs & References in Season 5, Part 2 (& What They Might Mean For The Finale)

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Okay, so I’ve just finished Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 2, and wow, the creators really packed it with nods to the show’s history. But more importantly, we finally get the truth about the Upside Down. Forget a parallel dimension – it turns out it’s actually a kind of wormhole connecting Hawkins to this terrifying place the kids are now calling the Abyss. And it all clicks now – that whole Russian storyline in Season 3? We now understand why they couldn’t open any gates in Kamchatka; Hawkins was the key all along. It’s a satisfying explanation that ties everything together nicely as we head towards the finale.

The final part of Stranger Things Season 5 is incredibly tense. Our heroes now understand Vecna’s plan to combine Hawkins with a dangerous alternate dimension, which would permanently alter reality. They’re attempting a risky, all-or-nothing plan to save Earth from this threat. The situation feels like a potential sacrifice, with Kali even suggesting to Eleven that they both may have to stay behind when the Upside Down is defeated. Expect plenty of unexpected twists, and these seven hidden clues offer a glimpse of what might happen.

A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Horror Walls Reveal Major Problems With the Plan

Throughout its run, Stranger Things has often taken inspiration from classic horror films, and the recent discovery of soldiers’ bodies within the Upside Down’s Hawkins Lab strongly resembles a scene from A Nightmare on Elm Street. However, this isn’t just a fun reference; it suggests that the strange substance powering the wormhole has been affected previously. Dustin correctly realizes the wormhole is becoming increasingly unstable, but it seems to have recovered on its own after being disrupted at least twice.

The kids from Hawkins are trying to fix everything by destroying the strange material that’s causing the problems, hoping it will also eliminate the Upside Down. However, even though the connection between worlds is shaky, it appears to be stabilizing on its own. Their plan might not work because they haven’t fully understood the bizarre science behind it all.

Wait, What IS Exotic Matter Anyway?

As a big sci-fi fan, I noticed the Duffer brothers leaning into a familiar idea with this ‘exotic matter’ stuff. They even seem to know they’re doing it, with clear references to movies like Interstellar and The Cloverfield Paradox. It reminds me a lot of the German series Dark – which, like Stranger Things, gets into complicated sci-fi, but really dives deep into the ‘science’ side of things. Basically, exotic matter is often a convenient way to explain how things like wormholes or bending gravity even work in these kinds of stories, and Stranger Things is using it for exactly that purpose.

Sharp-eyed fans spotted the hints about wormholes early in Stranger Things Season 5, particularly during Mr. Clarke’s lesson on how they work. He explained that wormholes are naturally unstable and don’t last long, and it seems this is connected to why the Upside Down has remained for so long. This raises a key question: where did the substance keeping the Upside Down open originally come from?

The Abyss is The First Shadow’s Dimension X

It’s now obvious that a story told in the Stranger Things Broadway show, The First Shadow, will be crucial to Season 5. The first part of the show hinted at this importance, and the second half is filled with references to it. The First Shadow reveals that a young Henry Creel discovered a gateway to a terrifying place called Dimension X while in Nevada. A memory that Holly and Max uncover seems to be directly connected to this event.

Okay, so here’s the big reveal that finally clears things up! Remember how the kids call Dimension X ‘The Abyss’? That’s where all the real chaos and evil originates. The stage play we saw earlier was confusing because it didn’t quite look like the Upside Down, and now it makes total sense – the Upside Down isn’t the destination itself, it’s just the pathway to Dimension X. It’s like a creepy, alternate route, not the final boss level. This explains so much!

Is Vecna Really Afraid of the Mind Flayer?

Both Dimension X and the Upside Down are missing a key element: the Mind Flayer. In Stranger Things Season 4, Vecna said he created the Mind Flayer, but this doesn’t quite fit with what happened in The First Shadow, where he seemed to find it already existing in Dimension X. While the Mind Flayer isn’t directly shown in Volume 2, a specific scene strongly connects back to Season 2. When Holly escapes Vecna’s fortress, the same black smoke that erupted from Will when he was freed from the Mind Flayer is released.

There’s something strange happening, and many viewers have noticed Max figuring out that Vecna is still fundamentally human – still haunted by his own past. Considering we’re delving into Vecna’s backstory, his hidden memories of the cave in Nevada seem to suggest he’s afraid of the Mind Flayer. When he talks to the kids, Vecna says he wants to destroy a powerful, evil force – could he be talking about the Mind Flayer all along?

Vecna Has Twelve Disciples (& Holly is His Judas)

Vecna claims he selects children because they’re vulnerable, but his need for precisely twelve of them is curious. The number twelve often represents wholeness – think of the twelve tribes of Israel or Jesus’s twelve disciples. If we apply that idea here, these children are like Vecna’s disciples, and Holly seems destined to be the one who betrays him, similar to Judas. Vecna is positioning himself as a twisted savior, but Holly will ultimately save everyone by bringing about his downfall.

However, the legends also have a more sinister side. Witches’ groups, called covens, traditionally had twelve members and a leader – a deliberately warped reflection of Jesus and his twelve disciples, with the leader representing the Devil. This imagery feels particularly appropriate when considering Vecna and those who follow him.

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2025-12-27 03:11