It has been several years since we were introduced to the world of Stranger Things. This amazing Netflix series not only gave us several memorable characters, but it also introduced the fandom to the haunting dimension known as the Upside Down. Every monster, including Vecna, is connected to the Upside Down. However, it wasn’t until Stranger Things Volume 2 that we learned what exactly the horrifying Upside Down is.
Stranger Things’ The Upside Down Is Not What You Think
Stranger Things Season 1 explained that the Upside Down is simply an alternate dimension that exists alongside the real world. Hearing about the alternate-dimension thing, we believed it was a similar kind of world, where things work differently. For instance, there may be an alternate dimension where Nazis won the war. Similarly, there may be an alternate dimension in which climate change has already disrupted every human life on Earth.
The Upside Down in Stranger Things and the world of Hawkins are exactly the same, but there’s one major difference. This dimension or world is conquered by an alien entity known as the Mind Flayer. This dimension was basically a mirror image of the real world, but it stopped being the same when this alien arrived.
The science-fiction series confused us for a really long time by hinting at different things about The Upside Down. However, now that it is drawing towards its ultimate end, it wouldn’t be fair if Stranger Things left us without solving the biggest mystery: What is the Upside Down exactly? So, here we are, the penultimate volume of Stranger Things Season 5 gave Dustin the chance to spill the beans to the viewers.
At Hawkins lab, Dustin lashes out at Steve when he says that Eddie didn’t die for anyone; in fact, he just wanted to be a hero. Just after Steve leaves, Dustin gets his hands on Dr. Brenner’s diary, which reveals the true origin of the Upside Down, and it’s nowhere close to what we believed it to be. In reality, The Upside Down is a warmhole, that connects time and space. Initially, Dustin explains that there may be a shield generator powering the energy shield of the corrupted world, where Vecna resides. However, the diary tells a different story.
So, basically, Vecna wasn’t the creator of the sphere; it’s the Science. An exotic matter was responsible for holding the Upside Down together. So, when Nancy shoots it, everything gets soaked in a strange liquid, following the sonic blast.
First Mention of the Upside Down and Henry Creel’s First Encounter
Now, you might think that the first person to encounter the Upside Down was Will, but that isn’t correct. Apparently, the first humans to encounter this alternate reality were the staff members of the USS Eldridge, the ship that was part of the Philadelphia Experiment. The top-secret government experiment happened in real life, and the ship disappeared in 1943. And surprisingly, the Duffer Brothers very cleverly implemented this real-life event into the world of Stranger Things. According to the lore, this ship accidentally entered through a portal and made its way into the Upside Down, which at the time was known as Dimension X.
Only one staff member survived the entire ordeal and returned to the real world: the father of the infamous Dr. Martin Brenner. He became obsessed with Dimension X upon learning about it from his father, and that is why he became a part of another top-secret government research project to unlock the gates of Upside Down. However, things go haywire when one staff member of the experiment steals a piece of equipment and hides it in a cave. And guess who stumbles upon this equipment? Yes, it was Henry Creel or Vecna.
The young boy was playing in the cave when he found and accidentally activated the equipment. Henry went to the Upside Down and made contact with the Mind Flayer, but he somehow survived and returned to the real world. But something changed inside of Henry, and this encounter with the alien entity helped him develop his psychic abilities. That is why Henry drew the picture of the Mind Flayer when he was just a child, before he was sent back to this dimension by Eleven several years later.
Dr. Martin Brenner’s Obsession with the Upside Down
Martin was obsessed with unlocking the secret of Upside Down, and somehow, he learned about Henry, the boy who returned from the alien dimension. Martin captured Henry after the boy killed his family and framed his father for the murders. Martin knew that Henry himself would never open the gates to Upside Down, so the doctor used Henry’s psychic abilities instead. Martin helped other children develop such superhuman abilities, including Eleven. And just as we saw in Season 4, it was Eleven who accidentally opened the gates to Purgatory while fighting Henry.
Henry was back home, in the world where he belongs. He used his abilities to gain control over the alien particles in Upside Down and formulated a plan to take over the real world. However, we have yet to learn if he is the true leader of the Upside Down, or if he is still the Mind Flayer who is controlling everything from the shadows. There’s also a possibility that once Henry became Vecna, he became one with the Mind Flayer. If that’s the case, then Vecna and Mind Flayer have become a singular entity.
The Upside Down in Stranger Things is a warmhole, serving as a bridge between space and time.
No, the Upside Down is a fictionalized concept crafted for Stranger Things.
