Diksha Sundriyal
The second volume of Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 sets the stage for an explosive finale where the residents of Hawkins will finally go face-to-face with Vecna. However, before that, the three episodes provide some crucial answers about what has actually been happening in Hawkins all these years. One of the most important questions so far has been about the true nature and origins of the Upside Down. The fifth season expands on the concept by introducing a giant wall that appears to be a boundary for something Vecna is protecting. At first, Dustin believes that beyond the wall is where they will find Holly, who went missing earlier in the season after being abducted by Vecna. However, it is in the basement of the Hawkins lab in the Upside Down, where he finds Dr. Brenner’s journal, which gives him all the answers he needs. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Exotic Matter Answers a Major Mystery in Stranger Things
Since its introduction in the first season, the Upside Down has been believed to be an alternate dimension that mirrors Hawkins. It wasn’t understood why it was specifically connected to Hawkins and how it came into being, which made it difficult to resolve many issues, such as how to permanently close the gate and end the problem once and for all. In the fifth season, when Steve, Dustin, Nancy, and Jonathan go into the Upside Down to find Holly, they come across a giant wall that doesn’t seem to have an end. This is the first time they are seeing the wall, which is why they are unable to make heads or tails of it. It is then that Dustin comes up with a theory. He believes that the wall is the boundary of Vecna’s secret lair, where he has been keeping Holly and the other missing kids. Now, they must find a way to cross, if not destroy the wall. For this, they need to find something that is keeping the wall upright, which is where Dustin offers another theory.
Referencing ‘Return of the Jedi,’ Dustin believes that there is a secret generator that is likely powered by Vecna’s dark magic, which has been keeping them from going to the other side of the wall. As everyone looks for this generator, Dustin ends up in Brenner’s office, where he finds his journals. While there is a lot of stuff in the dead scientist’s notes, what Dustin gets stuck on is the drawing of a wormhole. It turns out that the generator that they have been looking for isn’t what he thought. It is not created by Vecna’s dark magic, but by the power of science. They were right about believing in the existence of another dimension, but it is not the Upside Down. The other dimension, which Dustin later names the Abyss, exists on a different plane and is home to all the monsters that have been causing havoc in Hawkins for all these years.
The Upside Down is just a bridge connecting the Abyss to Hawkins and the rest of the world. All this time, it has been a wormhole that Vecna and the monsters have been using to enter Hawkins. Instead of being powered by Vecna’s dark magic, it is being powered by something called “exotic matter.” In science, the term is used to describe anything that defies the general laws of physics and behaves in a manner that is not yet completely understood. However, it is stuff like the exotic matter that could have the capacity to fuel something like a wormhole. So, the giant ball of energy that Jonathan and Nancy come across in the lab is the exotic matter that is solely responsible for keeping the Upside Down up and running for Vecna and his monsters.
The White Liquid Almost Kills Jonathan and Nancy
As handy as it is, the bridge connecting the Abyss and Hawkins wasn’t always there. It came into existence when Eleven and Vecna, when he was still Henry, had a showdown in the Hawkins lab, and she banished him into another dimension, which is now revealed to be the Abyss. Later, Dr. Brenner forced Eleven to reach out to Vecna in the Abyss, which led to the creation of the wormhole. One thing to note about wormholes is that they are extremely unstable. Sustaining them, even for short periods, requires a lot of energy. While Eleven had created the bridge, she didn’t have the incredible amount of power needed to keep the bridge intact. This is where the generator comes in. As long as it keeps running, Upside Down will exist. The problem is that shutting it down means destroying the wormhole, aka the Upside Down, and everything that is inside it.
When Dustin realises this, he tries to reach out to Jonathan and Nancy, asking them not to touch the generator, but fails. Nancy, meanwhile, shoots at the big ball of energy in front of her. Shooting a bullet at exotic matter is like throwing a pebble in the sea. It will not have any major effect, but it will cause some ripples, which is exactly what happens. The ball is not destroyed, but the bullet pokes it enough to make it shoot a blast of energy throughout the Upside Down. It is such a massive amount of energy that it melts anything it comes into contact with. It is a wonder that Nancy and Jonathan are nothing more than just knocked out by this pulse of energy. But everything else around them starts to melt, which is where the white goo comes in. The group had noticed this white matter when they entered the building.
They’d seen bodies stuck in the floor and in the wall, though they had no idea how that happened. It is when the walls, ceilings, and floors around them start to melt that they realise what happened to those dead men. It seems that the pulse of energy shoots a wave of exotic matter, which meddles with the nature of things around it. It is the exotic matter that causes walls and ceilings to melt away and turn into a thick, white substance. However, because this pulse of energy was minor compared to the actual power of the exotic matter, the effect eventually wears off, which is when the liquid reverts to its solid state. From this, it can be assumed that the men were trapped alive when the melting walls suddenly turned solid and died because of it. The same fate would have befallen Nancy and Jonathan if it weren’t for the table that acted as their lifeboat and saved them from certain death.
Read More: What Happened to Argyle? Did Eduardo Franco Leave Stranger Things?
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