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During the bulk of season 5 of the popular Netflix show, Holly Wheeler and Max Mayfield find themselves trapped within a psychic prison built from the past of Henry Creel. Their mission for freedom in the pivotal sixth episode forces them to relive a defining event from Henry's youth—a discovery that potentially carries the means to overcome him permanently.

Heads Up: The following contains major spoilers for the second part of the final season.

A Journey Into the Mine Shaft

When she finds Max in the mental landscape called Camazotz, Holly discovers she is sheltering in a chamber that Henry avoids at all costs. By leaving the lens cap on a telescope taken from Henry's old home lets Holly see that the danger lies not within the cave. By aligning her view through the cap, she and Max plummet into a deep mine shaft.

In this place, they observe a Henry as a boy encounter an man who is hurt and scared. Attempting assistance, the man fires a gun, hitting him in the hand. Fighting for his life, Henry strikes the man down with a rock. "Did this make Henry evil?" Holly asks tearfully. It was a factor, but the trauma went deeper than a defensive killing.

Like many elements in volume 2, the truth about the mine shaft incident originates in the theatrical production Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

The Philadelphia Experiment and A Spy's Mission

This backstory explains the legendary naval test, which allegedly sent a warship into a plane later called the Abyss. The ship was attacked, and the sole survivor was the captain, who returned in a vegetative state with an altered blood type.

That survivor's offspring, a young Martin Brenner, sought to replicate this experiment in remote Nevada. But a disloyal lab worker stole research materials to sell to the Russian agents, who were eager to begin their version of the tests. That traitor in the mine shaft is the one who stole the materials.

Unlocking the Mystery

Considering what is revealed about his research, the container would assuredly have vials of Captain Brenner's infected blood. As shown, Henry is wounded and bleeding. Exposure likely occurred upon handling the contents, leading to the origin of his telekinetic gifts—powers he would later pass on to the test subjects Brenner would experiment on.

Alternatively, the case could have held dark matter that was destined to travel to Hawkins Laboratory, where it acts to anchor the parallel world. The prequel shows that Henry was transported in the Abyss, reappearing after half a day as a different person. From then on, he fights the influence of a dark entity, reminiscent of how the character Will was controlled by the shadow monster in the past.

A Weaponized Emotion

His lasting fear of that cave shows how deeply scarring the incident was for him. While he orchestrates the Hive Mind and seeks to merge the Abyss into Hawkins, a part of him remains. Vecna uses fear, and the series is building toward a climactic battle between him and Will, who has deliberately faced his greatest terrors to become stronger.

Will's growth has effectively disarmed Vecna. More importantly, Will now knows what his enemy truly fears, potentially giving him a critical advantage in the ultimate battle that awaits.