Mike is the reason the Upsidedown is frozen on November 6.
(This theory of mine (Labyrinthgate) has gone viral on tiktok, SO JUST TRUST ME, AND READ IT TO THE END)
The answer to all of the show's mysteries was set up in the opening of the very first episode:
EVERYTHING about the party's first D&D game was and will be a case of extreme foreshadowing:
Including the fact that Mike was Dungeon Master.
The Upsidedown is something Mike accidentally created on November 6, and it mirrors the very same D&D game he was telling that night.
This would line up with the timeline we've been given in the show. It would explain why:
it looks like hawkins, not the hellscape. (Vecna's s4 flashback)
why its frozen on November 6
The Mindflayer's true origin.
(HERE ME OUT BECAUSE I ACTUALLY HAVE A LOT OF EVIDENCE)
This twist was set up in the first 8 minutes of the show. In the Opening of episode one, Mike is playing D&D around the same time Eleven opens the Mothergate.
Karen makes him end the D&D game early at 8:15 (this is important), and Mike is upset.
Mike begs her for 20 more minutes, but she refuses.
Mike then turns to Ted who is fiddling with his TV in the background. It's loosing signal and I think this is going to be much more meaningful then we realize:
There are a couple options here:
--we know that Tvs do the same thing when 11 reaches into someones mind, so maybe she actually accidentally reached to Mike's mind, when she opened the "mothergate", and everything we thought we knew about the upsidedown is wrong.
--The TV is loosing signal because in this moment Mike is unknowingly changing the flow of time in the upsidedown. After all, he is LITERALLY begging Ted for MORE TIME in this moment.
specifically 20 minutes. (remeber this for later)
ANYWAYS as Mike was begging for more time, in background the boys are still scrambling to find the dice, to see what Will's roll was.
When Will find's it, this is what Lucas says:
This line from Lucas wasn't throw away dialogue-- it sets a rule.
The roll REALLY DOES only "count" once Mike knows about it.
After everyone else leaves, Will tells Mike the TRUTH:
AFTER MIKE HEARS THIS, IN THE VERY NEXT SCENE IT DOES.
Specifically, after Will says "see you tomorow" the garage light behind Mike FLICKERS
We are SUPPOSED to assume that this is just a coincidence, but it's not. This is the moment Mike accidentally sent the demogorgan after Will, and when he changed dimension X to be a mirror of Hawkins FROZEN ON NOVEMBER 6.
ALL BECAUSE HE WANTED TO KEEP PLAYING D&D WITH WILL.
(Which means that all of this is happening because Karen didnt let Mike have 20 more minutes to finish his D&D game. 20 also the winning roll of their latest D&D game which could mean nothing.)
IN HENRY'S ORIGIN STORY, WE ARE SHOWN THE EXACT SAME THING. We are specifically shown a light flickering behind him to allude to the fact that he has powers.
WE ARE ALSO SHOWN LIGHTS FLICKERING BEHIND MIKE WHEN WILL BECOMES A SORCERER:
This is not a coincidence
Mike is LITERALLY the HEART!!
exactly 20 minutes into s3 e8, the duffers cut to a TV which says:
"tune in at 8pm for horror in the heartland"
If Mike is truly the one making the rules, and creating a new reality from the matter/energy in Dimension X , his HEART is where the show's HORRORS are all coming from!
I think The Upside-down and the Mind-Flayer are physical embodiments of Mike's internalized homophobia, and the pressure he feels to conform by rejecting his nerdy/childish interests in order to become a "normal" adult.
Same with THIS WALL we were shown in season 5 (part 1)
It exists in the upside-down as another physical representation of Mike's internalized homophobia. His Shame.
This Poster framed behind Mike forshadows this. It;s for a Pink Floyd movie called "The Wall"
MEANING JUST AS I PREDICTED THREE YEARS AGO, THIS SPECIFIC LYRIC WILL BE LITERAL WHEN MIKE AND WILL KISS!
More on this theory HERE ^ (ill add a link later)
If all of this is true, how can Vecna be defeated?
In the stage play, it was revealed that the Mindflayer is influencing Vecna, not the other way around...
if MIKE is connected to the Mindflayer, Vecna can be "defeated" once Mike takes control of his powers, thus ending the mindflayer's influence over Henry.
I believe that THIS TWIST is whats being forshadowed by the ONE WAY sign pointing directly into Mike's closet and a MIRROR
because coming out of the closet is the only way for Mike to fully access his powers. The ONE WAY to put an end to the upsidedown (which is also a MIRROR of himself/hawkins) is for Mike to fully accept himself.
The most important clue leading me to this interpretation is the poster of MC ESCHER'S "Relativity" hanging directly underneath the ONE WAY sign.
I think it was specifically hung up to refrence the same poster hanging in Sarah's room in the 80's movie Labyrinth:
It's how I initially figured out this entire twist 3 years ago. You can read those posts HERE (insert later)
-I noticed TONS of visual and thematic parallels between Stranger Things and Labyrinth, the most obvious being the jumpscare grandfather clock, which (in my opinion) is CLEARLY an homage to the one from Labyrinth.
And how closely Mike and Sarah's character arcs (potentially) mirror eachother:
Back to their shared "Relativity" poster though. It forshadows the film's climax, when Sarah finally breaks free from her self imposed fantasy.
Mike says the game took TWO WEEKS to plan, and he "didnt know it would take 10 hours) ---This is more forshadowing (but more on that another time)
f this is where Season 5 is going…
Then the climactic twist isn't Eleven defeating Vecna.
It's:
Mike admitting he loves Will → he takes control of his powers
→ time resumes in the upside down
→ Upside Down collapses
→ Mind Flayer evaporates
→ Vecna is free of the mindflayer
The story becomes:
A queer love so strong it rewrites reality instead of freezing it.
