🔗 Share this article

Throughout a large portion of the fifth and final season of the popular Netflix show, the young Holly Wheeler and Max find themselves trapped in a realm of memories constructed from the past of the villain Henry. The search for an escape route in episode 6 has them experience a defining event from Henry's youth—an event that could contain the key to defeating him for good.

Spoiler Warning: This discussion contains major spoilers for *Stranger Things* season 5, volume 2.

The Discovery in the Tunnel

Upon meeting Max in the mental landscape known as Camazotz, Max reveals she is hiding out in a chamber that Henry is terrified of. An accidental discovery a viewing device found in Henry's old home allows Holly to realize that the danger lies beyond the cave. When she lines up her view through the cap, she and Max plummet into a subterranean passage.

They watch a young, eight-year-old Henry come across an wounded, fearful individual. As the boy offers aid, the man fires a gun, striking Henry in the hand. Fighting for his life, Henry kills the man with a rock. "Did this make Henry evil?" Holly questions through tears. Essentially, yes, but the act wasn't just a simple act of survival.

In keeping with mysteries of the final season, the full story behind the mine shaft incident is detailed in the live show the prequel play.

The Philadelphia Experiment and Secret Science

*The First Shadow* opens with the 1943 event, which allegedly sent a vessel into a plane later called the Abyss. The ship was attacked, and the sole survivor was the ship's commander, who returned in a unresponsive state with an different blood composition.

That survivor's offspring, the future Dr. Brenner, wanted to repeat this dimensional breach in remote Nevada. However, a treacherous employee pilfered lab samples to sell to the Communist spies, who were desperate to launch their version of the tests. The man in the tunnel was that very thief.

So, What's in the Case?

Considering what is known about Brenner's work, the briefcase most likely held vials of the altered blood. At that moment, Henry is already bleeding. He likely becomes contaminated upon opening the case, leading to the development of his psychic abilities—traits he would inadvertently transfer to the children in Hawkins Lab.

Alternatively, the box could have held strange particles that was destined to travel to the Hawkins lab, where it helps stabilize the Upside Down. The stage play explains that Henry ended up in the Abyss, returning 12 hours later with a new blood type and personality. As a youth, he struggles with the influence of a malevolent force, much like how the character Will was controlled by the entity in season 2.

Confronting Terror

His lasting fear associated with the mine demonstrates how deeply scarring the encounter was for him. While he controls the army of monsters and works to collapse the Abyss into Hawkins, a fragment of his psyche lingers. Fear is his tool, and the narrative points to a climactic battle between the monster and Will, who has deliberately faced his greatest terrors to fortify himself.

His confrontation has neutralized a key tactic of Vecna. Furthermore, Will now is aware of what the monster's own weakness, and this may grant a critical advantage in the series finale that awaits.