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During the bulk of the fifth and final season of the popular Netflix show, Holly Wheeler and Max are held captive inside a mental fortress built from the past of Henry Creel. The search for an escape route in the pivotal sixth episode forces them to witness again a defining event from Henry's childhood—a discovery that may just hold the key to defeating him for good.

Spoiler Warning: The following contains major spoilers for the second part of the final season.

The Discovery in the Tunnel

Upon meeting Max in the mental landscape called Camazotz, Holly discovers she is taking refuge in a chamber that Henry strangely fears. An accidental discovery a viewing device found in Henry's old home allows Holly to realize that the danger lies not within the cave. By aligning her view to the cut-out, she and Max suddenly fall into a abandoned tunnel.

There, they witness a young, eight-year-old Henry encounter an man who is hurt and scared. As the boy offers aid, the man reacts violently, striking Henry in the hand. Fighting for his life, Henry strikes the man down with a rock. "Did this make Henry evil?" Holly asks tearfully. It was a factor, but the trauma wasn't just a simple act of survival.

Like many elements of the final season, the full story behind the events in the tunnel originates in the live show The First Shadow.

A Naval Mystery and Stolen Research

This backstory explains the 1943 event, which allegedly sent a warship into a dimension later called the Abyss. Demogorgons assaulted it, and the lone returnee was the captain, who returned in a unresponsive state with an entirely new blood.

That survivor's offspring, Martin Brenner, wanted to repeat this experiment in remote Nevada. One of his scientists pilfered lab samples to sell to the Russian agents, who were keen to start their own interdimensional projects. That traitor in the mine shaft is the one who stole the materials.

So, What's in the Case?

Considering what is known about his research, the case almost certainly contained samples of the altered blood. As shown, Henry is bleeding from his hand. It's probable he was infected upon handling the contents, leading to the awakening of his powers—traits he would inadvertently transfer to the kids Brenner would experiment on.

Another possibility, the container could have held strange particles that eventually found its way to Hawkins Laboratory, where it helps stabilize the mirror dimension. The stage play explains that Henry somehow wound up in the Abyss, reappearing after half a day with a new blood type and personality. As a youth, he fights the whispers of a sinister presence, similar to how Will was possessed by the entity in an earlier season.

Confronting Terror

Henry's enduring terror linked to that memory shows how utterly horrifying the event was for him. While he controls the collective consciousness and seeks to merge the Abyss into Hawkins, a piece of the scared boy still exists. Vecna uses fear, and the series is building toward a climactic battle between him and Will, who has overcome his own deepest fears to gain strength.

This journey has effectively disarmed Vecna. More importantly, Will now understands what his enemy truly fears, and this may grant a key upper hand in the series finale to come.