Stranger Things season 4 has a lot of explaining to do after the events of season 3, but it also has to answer some mysteries left since season 1, such as everything related to the Upside Down. The other dimension is a mystery to viewers and characters within the series, to the point where fans have come up with many theories about it, and one of the most popular ones suggests the Upside Down is not a different dimension, but a look into a post-apocalyptic future. In 2016, Netflix released the sci-fi horror series Stranger Things, which went on to become a big success thanks to its tone, original story, combination of genres, and references to various works from the 1980s.
Stranger Things season 1 introduced viewers to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, where a portal to another dimension was accidentally opened during a secret experiment taking place at Hawkins Laboratory. The first season focused on the disappearance of Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) and the discovery of the Upside Down, as well as some of the creatures living there. Stranger Things season 2 arrived in 2017, and followed the aftermath of Will’s return and the effects of his time in the Upside Down. Season 3 arrived after a long wait of two years, and revealed that the scientists at Hawkins Lab weren’t the only ones interested in the Upside Down and its creatures, as the Russians had established a lab underneath the new Starcourt Mall in Hawkins. In addition to that, the Mind Flayer was still around and had a bigger and more dangerous plan.
Over the course of three seasons, Stranger Things has helped the audience get to know its characters very well, but there’s one big mystery that remains: the Upside Down. The other dimension is one of the main settings in Stranger Things and yet very little is known about it, its origin, environment, creatures, effects on humans and other animals, and more. The Upside Down has been shown as a darker, abandoned, and toxic copy of the human world, and these similarities have made some fans believe this dimension could actually be the future, and it’s a very terrifying one.
What We Know About The Upside Down In Stranger Things
The origins of the Upside Down are unknown, and it was discovered by the scientists at Hawkins Lab when Eleven made contact with the Demogorgon while in the Void as seen in Stranger Things season 1. This encounter opened a gate to the Upside Down, allowing the creature to step into the human world. The Demogorgon then moved between worlds by creating temporary wounds in the fabric of space and time, which is how Nancy entered the Upside Down in the forest. Hawkins Lab began investigating this alternate dimension, but it proved to be too dangerous and many scientists were killed in the process.
The Upside Down has the same locations and infrastructure as the human world, though its environment is darker, colder, and there’s fog with ash-like spores floating in the air. Everything in it – buildings, cars, trees – appears to be rotten and is covered with root-like tendrils and membranes. Properties like light and gravity seem to function the same way as in the human world, and the sound from Hawkins is reflected in the Upside Down. All humans who have dared to explore it have either perished or were physically and psychologically affected by it, and so very few have dared to go into it without the appropriate equipment (and some help). The only creatures that can survive there are the Demogorgon, the demodogs, and the Mind Flayer, and it’s unknown why they live there, where they come from, and who or what created them.
The Upside Down is generally accepted and referred to as an alternate dimension of the human world, given that it’s pretty much a mirror of it but in a state of decay – but there might be a completely different reason as to why this “dimension” looks exactly like this one, and it’s because it’s the same, but in a different time setting.
How The Upside Down Could Be Future Earth
A lot of fan theories have popped up since the first season of Stranger Things was released, and one that became very popular is that of the Upside Down being the post-apocalyptic version of the human world. There are many versions of the theory, but the core of it is that Eleven didn’t exactly open a gate to another dimension, but instead tore a hole in the space-time continuum, thus allowing the residents of 1980s Hawkins to travel into Hawkins of the future – a very dark, depressing, and lonely future.
The reason why the future human world looks like that? Russians, of course. Stranger Things season 1 showed that Dr. Brenner and company were looking for ways to spy on the Russians, hence why all the experiments with Eleven and the Void. Season 3 revealed that the Russians know that Hawkins Lab has access to the Upside Down and its creatures, and had been conducting their own experiments too, both in Hawkins and Russia. Now, some theories suggest that Hawkins was either nuked by the U.S. government to stop the Mind Flayer and other creatures, thus creating the post-apocalyptic world known as the Upside Down, or it’s the result of a nuclear holocaust. Either one would explain why everything has a look of decomposition, there’s fog and spores floating in the air, and the atmosphere is pretty toxic if exposed to it for too long.
Now, the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer could either be mutations caused by the nuclear apocalypse, which is why they’re the only creatures who can survive there, or the Mind Flayer is another test subject – whether an MKUltra kid or a Russian subject – gone wrong and with powers too strong to control (maybe even Eleven, as some have suggested). Others believe the Demogorgon could be a creation of the Russians, and so the one shown in the mid-credits scene in Stranger Things season 3 is not taken from the Upside Down, but is their very own creation.
Another detail that can suggest the theory of the Upside Down being Hawkins of the future is the clocks that have been appearing in the teasers for Stranger Things season 4. It has been theorized that season 4 will deal with time travel, and the teasers have focused on clocks marking 3 o’clock. One teaser in particular, the one titled “Creel House”, featured a grandfather clock in the attic which then switched to the Upside Down, and as the camera got closer, the glass of the clock broke. This could be suggesting time being fractured, and could be linked to the true nature of the Upside Down, which along with the theme of time travel, would support the idea of the other dimension being future Earth, and the gates are a way to jump through time.
The Problems With The Upside Down Future Earth Theory
While the Upside Down being future Earth is an interesting idea and one that would explain a lot of things about the other dimension, it would also be an easy way out for the series, and it would hurt the mythology it has been building so far. The Upside Down being the future would also create a time loop, with these creatures supposedly created in the future also being the reason for the destruction of the world, and that’s a resource various films and TV shows have been using in the last years, to the point where it isn’t fun nor innovative anymore. Even worse, the “post-apocalyptic future” theory would force an unsatisfying solution, which would be a big disappointment especially if the series ends with season 4.
What Stranger Things season 4 needs to do is properly explain the Upside Down, in order to avoid leaving loose threads and plot holes if the series is to end with this new season. The Upside Down is a character by itself, and its story should be explored in the series just like those of the human characters, and not in other media like tie-in books and more. Stranger Things 4 has already teased more visits to the Upside Down, with the announcement video including the line “we’re not in Hawkins anymore”, which could be referring to Russia as Hopper is now confirmed to be the American prisoner, or it could also be that the series will spend more time in the other dimension, hopefully offering answers about its origin, nature, and more, and confirming or denying the theory of the Upside Down being future Earth.