The first season of Stranger Things, which premiered almost a decade ago, focused on a group of 10-year-old friends — Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo), and Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin) — who, after one of the gang goes missing, find themselves entangled in a messy and dangerous web of supernatural forces and government exploits, including the arrival of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).
A lot has changed since — most notably, the real-life ages of the actors playing the main characters — and now the first part of the show’s highly anticipated final season sees a central character’s younger sibling join the spooky narrative: Mike’s younger sister, Holly, played by Nell Fisher.
In Season 5 Episode 1, Holly is shown waving and later talking to a dark figure. It’s soon revealed that the figure is not there at all, and she’s talking to no one. Holly’s mother, Karen (Cara Buono), is concerned, but Holly is unafraid of the figure, whom she thinks of as an “imaginary friend.”
But, as with most things on Stranger Things, the figure is much more than a figment of Holly’s imagination. Read on for more on Holly’s mysterious new friend and Season 5 Part 1.
Stranger Things Season 5 Part 1 spoilers ahead.
Holly’s “imaginary friend” is Vecna
According to Deadline, Episode 1 begins with Holly saying hello to the dark figure after setting the table ahead of breakfast at the Wheelers, where Will and his mother Joyce (Winona Ryder) and brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) are staying. Later, she sees the invisible figure at school, prompting Karen to talk to Holly’s teacher.
Holly opens up to Mike about her “imaginary friend,” whom she’s named Mr. Whatsit, explaining that he’s a friendly presence in her life, one that’s warned her about the monsters in Hawkins, Indiana, and their hunger for kids like her, Decider reported. ThoughMike tells her to be her own savior, Mr. Whatsit remains close. And by the end of the episode, Holly is targeted by one of those monsters she was warned about.
Mr. Whatsit’s true identity is revealed in Episode 2. Holly’s “imaginary friend” is actually Vecna in his charming, dapper Henry Creel form. As Mr. Whatsit, Vecna gets closer to the kids of Hawkins, ultimately hoping to hunt and kidnap them. Will’s connection to the mind hive Vecna controls returns as Mr. Whatsit starts to wreak havoc on the town, and he’s soon able to figure out how the supervillain is selecting his victims and taking them away to the Upside Down. Will is also able to tap into Holly’s mind, seeing the spinning playground merry-go-round from Episode 1.
Byers discovers that Vecna manipulates his appearance to present as a friend to his victims while simultaneously infiltrating their minds. He then figures out that Derek Turnbow (Jake Connelly) is next on Vecna’s chopping block.
Mr. Whatsit is inspired by the shapeshifter Mrs. Whatsit from ‘A Wrinkle in Time’
Fans may have been surprised by who Mr. Whatsit really is, but the imaginary friend’s name hints at the mysterious figure’s true identity. According to Slash Film, Mrs. Whatsit is a major character in A Wrinkle in Time, a novel that Holly is seen reading avidly at the beginning of the season. In the book, Mrs. Whatsit is a shapeshifter who acts as a guide to the novel’s 13-year-old protagonist, Meg, through supernatural dimensions to save her imprisoned father. Unlike Mr. Whatsit, Mrs. Whatsit is a friendly ally to Meg.
“A Wrinkle in Time was one of our favorite books growing up. And so, as we were talking about Holly’s storyline, just as how our kids in Season 1 and in later seasons use [Dungeons and Dragons] as a way to help explain and understand these crazy going-ons, for Holly, she doesn’t play D&D, but she needed something else to help explain what is going on in her world, in her storyline,” Stranger Things co-creator Ross Duffer told Deadline ahead of the Season 5 Part 1 premiere. “As we looked at various books and we looked into — we went back and reread Wrinkle in Time — we’re like, ‘Well, this is perfect,’ because she can use it to help understand and comprehend all these weird goings-on.”
Stranger Things Season 5 Vol. 2 releases on Christmas Day, and Vol. 3 on New Year’s Eve.