As a gamer with a heart full of nostalgia for the 80s and a mind always racing with theories about my favorite shows, I can’t help but be captivated by the tantalizing hints dropped by Stranger Things 4. The revelation that the Upside Down is not just some random realm of monsters, but a manifestation of human suffering, has left me both horrified and hopeful.
In a moving and emotional episode of “Stranger Things 4” titled “Dear Billy,” we learned about the origins of the Upside Down. It’s not just a dark, monster-infested realm existing independently. Instead, it’s a mirror dimension of our world, devoid of hope and warmth due to its reflection of human suffering. This existence is perpetual because human pain is everlasting. The realization was both terrifying and hopeful, as I penned, “There cannot be light without darkness, nor pain without joy. We would not feel guilt like Max, or experience grief like Nancy, if we did not also feel love.” If our negative emotions can manifest physically as the Upside Down, it implies that our positive emotions can too. Perhaps “Stranger Things 5” will reveal this in its series finale titled “The Rightside Up,” showing us what a dimension fueled by love and joy might look like.
On its own, the name “The Rightside Up” is enough to conjure up the idea of the Upside Down’s counterpart. That series finale title implies the show’s sinister mirror realm of darkness has an opposite utopian mirror dimension full of light. It especially seems conceivable, maybe even likely, because season four already raised that possibility. The show’s fourth installment marked the first time any characters even questioned where the Upside Down came from or why it exists. We got answers as we learned about Henry Creel/Vecna, Max’s own descent into his realm, and how “all evil must have a home.”
If every form of evil needs its own space to thrive, so too does goodness. And just as evil is represented by an alternate dimension called the Upside Down, it’s logical that goodness would have its counterpart, for one cannot truly exist without the other. There can be no bad if there is no good. This realm where goodness resides could very well be referred to as The Rightside Up, a mirror world crafted by humanity who inhabit a plane where all emotions are present.
If the alternate realm of virtue – a luminous space shaped by humanity’s optimism, affection, aspirations, contentment, and appreciation – truly exists alongside the Upside Down, then we can envision its appearance. The Ideal World could be everything that Henry Creel shunned in life, a rejection of all his Upside Down existence embodies. It might be where our concepts of Heaven, Utopia, or Paradise stem from. Alternatively, it could simply be as straightforward and delightful as Hawkins, Indiana on its most radiant day of the year, but with an endless sunset and no trace of suffering. However, the true significance for fans may not lie in what the Ideal World appears to be. Instead, it’s the people we might encounter there that could hold the greatest allure.
The principal characters venturing into Stranger Things 5 have endured decades of battling demogorgons, the Mind Flayer, Russian troops, and their own administration. However, numerous friends, companions, neighbors, and family members have not made it through. Benny, Barb, Bob, Billy, Chrissy, Alexei, Eddie, Eleven’s schoolmates, and others have all perished during this cross-dimensional conflict ignited by Cold War adversaries. Each death cast a shadow over the world, adding to the sadness. Their departures empowered Vecna as their sorrow increased the pain for those left alive. Yet, the goodness within them couldn’t be swallowed by the Upside Down. It couldn’t, because such qualities can’t exist there. The best aspects of them have found refuge elsewhere.
It seems that the source of their love and kindness has vanished, and perhaps more crucially, so has their presence. This mystery is as perplexing as imagining a beautiful utopia alongside an ominous realm of monstrosities.
Stranger Things 5 – Concluding the Tale of Hawkins, Indiana’s Encounter with Overwhelming Darkness
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at TopMob who wants justice for Benny. Why Benny? The man made burgers for a living. Speaking of, you can follow Mikey on Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
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2024-11-08 02:02