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For much of the concluding season of the popular Netflix show, Holly Wheeler and Max find themselves trapped inside a mental fortress forged from the memories of Henry Creel. The search for a way out in "Escape from Camazotz" forces them to relive a defining event from Henry's youth—a moment that may just hold the secret to his downfall permanently.

Heads Up: The following details significant events for the concluding episodes.

Unearthing the Secrets of the Tunnel

Upon meeting Max in the world dubbed Camazotz, it becomes clear she is sheltering in a cave that Henry strangely fears. By leaving the lens cap on a viewing device pilfered from Henry's old home allows Holly to realize that the true terror lies not within the cave. Matching her view with the shape, she and Max plummet into a abandoned tunnel.

They watch a Henry as a boy come across an injured and paranoid man. Attempting assistance, the man reacts violently, wounding the boy in the hand. In a desperate act of self-defense, Henry ends the threat with a rock. "Did this make Henry evil?" Holly asks tearfully. It was a factor, but the event wasn't just a defensive killing.

Similar to other plot points in volume 2, the full story behind the encounter was first explored the stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

The Philadelphia Experiment and Secret Science

The play reveals the 1943 event, which allegedly sent a U.S. Navy ship into a plane dubbed the Abyss. Demogorgons assaulted it, and the lone returnee was the ship's commander, who returned in a vegetative state with an entirely new blood.

The captain's son, a young Martin Brenner, wanted to repeat this experiment in Nevada. One of his scientists took experimental components to sell to the Communist spies, who were keen to start their own interdimensional projects. This spy in the tunnel is that employee.

The Briefcase's Contents

Based on what is known about Brenner's work, the case most likely held vials of the altered blood. As shown, Henry is wounded and bleeding. Exposure likely occurred upon contact with the blood, causing the awakening of his powers—traits he would inadvertently transfer to the kids in Hawkins Lab.

A second theory, the container could have held strange particles that was destined to travel to the Hawkins lab, where it helps stabilize the Upside Down. The prequel shows that Henry somehow wound up in the Abyss, reappearing 12 hours later with a new blood type and personality. As a youth, he fights the influence of a dark entity, much like how Will Byers was controlled by the entity in the past.

The Power of Fear

Henry's enduring terror associated with the mine demonstrates how utterly horrifying the incident was for him. Even as he orchestrates the army of monsters and attempts to pull the Abyss into Hawkins, a piece of the scared boy lingers. Fear is his tool, and the series is building toward a climactic battle between him and Will, who has overcome his personal demons to gain strength.

Will's growth has taken a weapon from Vecna. Furthermore, Will now knows what his enemy truly fears, which could provide a decisive edge in the endgame conflict to come.