Stranger Things: Why Is The Upside Down Stuck In 1983

Here are the reasons why the parallel dimension might be frozen in time.

Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2 released recently and left fans with more questions than answers. One Stranger Things question that still hasn’t been answered satisfactorily is why the Upside Down is stuck in 1983? We have learnt a  lot about the parallel dimension in the previous seasons.

However, in Season 4 Volume 1, Nancy, Robin, Eddie, and Steve learn a crucial bit of information about this dimension. The Upside Down is not an exact replica of Hawkins. It is an exact replica of Hawkins on November 6, 1983. Let us find out more about this below.

The Upside Down 1983 Connection

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To deal with the constant onslaught of demobats during Season 4 Episode 7, the group decides to get Nancy’s guns from her house. Though once they reach the place, the guns are nowhere to be found. Instead the room resembles how Nancy had it in 1983. She arrives at this conclusion by investigating her diary as well as Chemistry notes.

There can be multiple reasons behind this. However, the most plausible reason could be that the Upside Down froze as it was when it collided with Hawkins. As fans will remember, November 6, 1983 was the date that Eleven first opened a portal between the Upside Down and Hawkins. It was also the day Will Byres got dragged into the Upside Down.

This interaction between the two realities likely transformed the Upside Down into a replica of Hawkins on that day. It is also possible that Henry Creel, who was revealed to be 001/Vecna was shaping the Upside Down into the image of Hawkins but stopped when Eleven opened a portal. This is also a likely explanation because the Upside Down looked nothing like Hawkins when Henry was forced into that dimension by Eleven.

This could mean that Henry made changes to the Upside Down so it resembled his home. These are the reasons why the Upside Down is still stuck in the 1983 in Stranger Things. If you would like to learn more about Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2 check out Stranger Things 4 Volume 2 Ending Explained.