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During the bulk of the concluding season of the popular Netflix show, the young Holly Wheeler and Max are imprisoned inside a mental fortress built from the memories of Vecna. Their quest for a way out in episode 6 leads them to relive a defining event from Henry's early years—an event that could contain the secret to his downfall for good.

Heads Up: This discussion details significant events for the second part of the final season.

Unearthing the Secrets of the Mine Shaft

Upon meeting Max in the psychic realm called Camazotz, Max reveals she is sheltering in a cave that Henry is terrified of. A clever observation a spyglass taken from Henry's old home helps Holly understand that the true terror lies not within the cave. Matching her view to the cut-out, she and Max suddenly fall into a abandoned tunnel.

There, they witness a Henry as a boy encounter an man who is hurt and scared. As the boy offers aid, the man panics and shoots, striking Henry in the hand. In a desperate act of self-defense, Henry strikes the man down with a rock. "Was this the turning point?" Holly asks tearfully. It was a factor, but the act involved more than a defensive killing.

In keeping with mysteries in volume 2, the significance of the mine shaft incident is detailed in the stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

The Philadelphia Experiment and Secret Science

The play reveals the 1943 event, which allegedly sent a vessel into a plane known as the Abyss. The ship was attacked, and the only one to return was the ship's commander, who came back in a unresponsive state with an altered blood type.

This man's son, a young Martin Brenner, wanted to repeat this experiment in Nevada. However, a treacherous employee stole research materials to sell to the Communist spies, who were keen to start their own interdimensional projects. This spy in the cavern is that employee.

The Briefcase's Contents

Based on what is known about Brenner's work, the container most likely held some of Captain Brenner's infected blood. In the scene, Henry is wounded and bleeding. He likely becomes contaminated upon opening the case, which triggered the awakening of his powers—abilities he would later pass on to the children in Hawkins Lab.

A second theory, the container could have held strange particles that eventually found its way to Hawkins Laboratory, where it acts to anchor the Upside Down. *The First Shadow* reveals that Henry ended up in the Abyss, reappearing after half a day with a new blood type and personality. From then on, he fights the influence of a dark entity, similar to how Will Byers was controlled by the entity in season 2.

A Weaponized Emotion

The reason Henry avoids the cave of that cave demonstrates how utterly horrifying the event was for him. While he orchestrates the army of monsters and attempts to pull the Abyss into Hawkins, a fragment of his psyche remains. Fear is his tool, and the narrative points to a showdown between Vecna and Will, who has confronted his own deepest fears to become stronger.

Will's growth has taken a weapon from Vecna. Furthermore, Will now is aware of what the monster's own weakness, and this may grant a key upper hand in the series finale ahead.