Whoever thought we’d all be talking so much about Holly Wheeler in the final season of Stranger Things?
After playing a minor role in the first four seasons of the show, Holly becomes a central character in the show’s final season – though, Holly probably would have rather stayed in the background.
Now, if you’ve clicked into this piece, you’re likely looking for spoilers, but allow me to still issue a spoiler warning before we get into the thick of things!
Holly is taken by a Vecna, but she’s not killed by him in Stranger Things 5 part 1
As the season premiere comes to a close, Holly is still in her bedroom crying when she begins seeing the nightlight in her wall flickering as we hear menacing sounds. The roof of her room then begins to crack open as the Upside Down rips open and a Demogorgon comes through the ceiling.
Episode 2 then picks up right after where the premiere left off as the Demogorgon comes through the ceiling and begins chasing Holly, trying to pull her into the Upside Down as she clings to the bed frame. Both of Holly’s parents try to fend off the Demogorgon, but their efforts are futile.
Ted and Karen are both injured severely, and the Demogorgon succeeds in its mission to pull Holly into the Upside Down. Eleven gives chase after her, entering the gate before it closes and spends most of the second episode searching for Holly. Eleven eventually crosses paths with Hopper, and the pair follow the blood trail of the injured Demogorgon.
Their search eventually leads them to a strange wall within the Upside Down where the blood trail ends and Eleven finds one of Holly’s shoes. It seems that Holly has been taken through the wall. As the episode ends, we then see Holly entering Creel House with Mr. Whatsit who is none other than Henry Creel aka Vecna!
In the third episode of the season, we see Holly eating breakfast with Henry as he asks if she’s still thinking about her parents. He promises her as soon as they’re healed, they’ll join them soon enough as he proceeds to tell her that he’ll soon be bringing Derek Turnbow to join her next.
After finishing breakfast, Henry heads out and tells Holly he’ll be gone for the day. She has the whole house to herself, but he instructs her to not go into the woods. As he leaves, he asks her to get the mail and inside she finds a Tiffany cassette and a boom box. Holly enjoys roaming around the house dancing to Tiffany’s music, but then she notices that the mailbox flag has gone up again. When she goes out to check the mailbox, she finds a compass and map inside with a note from Henry asking her to meet him at a wall beyond the cave.
Despite Henry’s warning not to leave the house and enter the woods, curiosity gets the best of Holly and she leaves to follow the map. It eventually leads her to a cave wall, and she encounters a shadow within. Holly flees, but when the figure catches up with her, it’s no monster chasing after her; it’s Max Mayfield!
In the fourth episode of Stranger Things 5, Max explains to Holly that Mr. Whatsit/Henry is not a friend, but is actually the one who has trapped them both here. We learn that the pair are trapped within a world of a thousand memories, it’s basically a prison of Henry’s making. It’s an interesting development as we know that Holly’s body is in the Upside Down, but it appears her mind is in this alternate reality.
As the finale comes to an end, Max informs Holly that Henry will return soon and he can’t know Holly is gone if they have a hope escaping. Max has a plan, but we’re going to have to wait until the second part of the season to see what the plan is and whether Max and Holly are able to escape.
The good news is that Holly – as well as Max – are both alive by the end of the first part of the final season. We just have to wait to see whether they win the battle and both survive the final episodes off season 5!