Season 5 wastes no time reminding fans that ‘Stranger Things‘ loves using small details to hint at something much bigger. And we realize that the moment we see Holly Wheeler holding a worn copy of ‘A Wrinkle in Time‘.
As the story moves ahead, the book starts lining up with what Holly is experiencing, almost like she’s using its pages to understand the chaos around her.
How Holly’s Book Fits Into the Story Of ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5
Early in the season, Holly is shown holding Madeleine L’Engle’s classic novel. She turns to the book whenever things feel confusing or scary. If you’ve read the story, you can see why. One of the final ideas in the book is that life has a set shape, but what you fill it with is up to you. Season 5 plays with that message a lot.
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As we move through the first episodes, Holly talks about someone she calls “Mr Whatsit.” Her family thinks she made him up, but the audience sees him. A man in a tan suit visits her, speaks to her kindly, and acts gently in a way that feels almost too perfect. Soon, we learn he has visited other kids as well.
The name “Mr. Whatsit” comes from Mrs. Whatsit in ‘A Wrinkle in Time’. In the book, Mrs. Whatsit is strange but good. She helps Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin travel across time and space. She can surprise them, but she always means well. Holly hopes her own Mr. Whatsit is the same.
But as the season reveals, Mr. Whatsit is actually Henry Creel, aka, Vecna. Or it might be Vecna choosing a softer face to fool children. This becomes clear during the attack on the Wheeler house, when Holly is taken into the Upside Down. Instead of landing in the usual horror, she wakes up inside a bright, calm version of Creel’s old home.
How ‘Stranger Things’ Links To Camazotz In ‘A Wrinkle Tn Time’ Classic
When Holly eventually steps into the woods, she runs into Max Mayfield. Max explains how Vecna controls both the Upside Down and the dream-like world Holly is trapped in. Holly quickly compares it to Camazotz, a major location in A Wrinkle in Time, and that comparison makes perfect sense.
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In the book, Camazotz looks normal at first. It has neat houses, clean streets, and kids playing outside. But then you notice something strange: every kid bounces a red ball in the exact same rhythm. This is because of IT, a giant brain that controls the entire planet. IT speaks through possession and through a creepy figure called the Man With Red Eyes. Nothing in Camazotz moves on its own. Everything follows IT’s rhythm.
And, Holly’s connection seems ideal because Vecna wants something similar. He wants to make the world look and feel like him. Season 5 also highlights this theme through other characters. For example, Robin talks about understanding her feelings for Vickie and says the moment felt like flying. Fans of the book will remember when Mrs. Whatsit transforms into a winged creature and takes the kids into the sky. Both scenes are about accepting who you really are.
Because of all this, Holly’s idea of Vecna’s world being like Camazotz feels spot-on. And when we learn that other kids also call Henry “Mr. Whatsit,” it becomes clear that Vecna has been influencing many children, not just Holly. Vecna even says children are easier to guide. But A Wrinkle in Time reminds us that children can also be the ones to stand up to darkness, which gives Holly’s storyline even more meaning.
Even though the show never copies the book’s plot, it uses the same emotional message. Mrs. Whatsit once said that you’re given a form, but what you put inside it is your choice. ‘Stranger Things‘ takes that idea and creates its own version.
