The following contains spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 2.
“Everything we have ever assumed about the Upside Down has been dead wrong,” Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) says in Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 2. And how right he is.
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The latest batch of Stranger Things episodes blows the show’s world-building wide open, revealing what, exactly the Upside Down is. But that’s not all. It also gives us more detail into the mysterious dimension where Henry Creel/Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) has been hanging out, which Dustin coins “the Abyss.”
So what’s the deal with the Abyss, and how is it connected to our world and the Upside Down? Let’s break it down.
What is the Abyss?
Jamie Campbell Bower in “Stranger Things.”
Credit: Netflix
In the world of Dungeons & Dragons, the Abyss is “a realm of pure chaos and evil,” as science teacher Mr. Clarke (Randy Havens) describes it. That makes it the perfect namesake for the alternate dimension that Henry has made his home. Before the release of Season 5, Stranger Things fans referred to this world as “Dimension X,” a name that comes not from any dialogue in the show, but from the released script for the Season 4 finale.
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Separate from the Upside Down, the Abyss is a yellow-tinged world full of bleak mountains and floating rock formations. It’s also the original home to creatures like the Mind Flayer and the Demogorgons. As Holly (Nell Fisher) discovers in Season 5, Volume 2, if you go through one of the rifts in the ground in the Abyss, you’ll find yourself falling through the Upside Down.
The Upside Down is a wormhole, not an alternate dimension.
Randy Havens in “Stranger Things.”
Credit: Netflix
For Stranger Things‘ whole run, our heroes have assumed the Upside Down is an alternate dimension, like the Abyss turns out to be. However, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Instead, using Dr. Brenner’s (Matthew Modine) notes from Hawkins Lab in the Upside Down, Dustin realizes that the Upside Down is actually a wormhole connecting our dimension and the Abyss.
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Stranger Things has been hinting at this reveal throughout Season 5. Look no further than its references to A Wrinkle in Time, which features wormhole-like tesseracts. Or how about Mr. Clarke fully teaching a class on Einstein-Rosen Bridges, aka wormholes?
SEE ALSO:
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Henry, the Mind Flayer, and the Demogorgons have been using the Upside Down as a path to get to our world. And if they’re ever gravely wounded in our world or the Upside Down, as Henry was at the end of Season 4, they can always retreat back up into the Abyss. That explains why none of the crawls ever located Henry: He was biding his time up in the sky.
How was the Upside Down wormhole created in the first place?
Credit: Netflix
Presumably, the Abyss has always existed in parallel with our world, but how did they end up connected? The answer: Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).
In 1979, following the massacre at Hawkins Lab, Eleven banishes Henry to the Abyss. It’s not the first time he’s been there. As the play Stranger Things: The First Shadow confirms (and Volume 2 hints at), young Henry found himself teleported there while exploring a Nevada cave system.
After Eleven banishes Henry, Dr. Brenner focuses on trying to get her to find him psychically. Those experiments led her to make contact with a Demogorgon back in the void, all the way back in Season 1. When she did, that created not just the gate to the Upside Down, but the Upside Down itself, bridging the two worlds.
Great, so what does exotic matter have to do with all of this?
Credit: Netflix
Dustin doesn’t just discover that the Upside Down is a wormhole. He also learns that the entire bridge is being held together by exotic matter, which is the roiling ball of energy he, Steve (Joe Keery), Nancy (Natalia Dyer), and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) discover hovering over Hawkins Lab in Indiana.
Exotic matter is a real scientific term. According to BBC Science Focus, “It’s the generic name physicists give to matter with weird properties. Exactly how weird depends on the area of physics.”
For the purposes of Stranger Things, though, exotic matter is the source of energy that keeps the walls around the Upside Down wormhole together. If it’s destroyed, the whole bridge goes down — along with anyone in it. The destruction of the bridge will prove crucial to our heroes’ plan to stop Vecna from joining the Abyss to our world.
So now that we’ve gotten that impromptu physics lesson out of the way, the stage is set for what’s shaping up to be a massive finale. Here’s hoping everyone makes it out alive.
Volumes 1 and 2 of Stranger Things Season 5 are now streaming on Netflix. The series finale premieres Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET on Netflix and in theaters.
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![Exclusive: Redwood Materials lays off 10% in restructuring to chase energy storage business | TechCrunch
Redwood Materials has laid off around 135 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as it restructures to better accommodate its growing energy storage business, TechCrunch has learned.
The cuts come just five months after Redwood cut 5% of its workforce, and three months after it closed a 5 million funding round that boosted the battery recycling company’s valuation to north of billion, as TechCrunch previously reported.
It’s been a difficult time in the battery industry lately. Earlier this month, battery recycler Ascend Elements filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing “insurmountable” financial challenges. Some battery-makers have also restructured or gone out of business as the automotive industry in the U.S. has backed away from its most optimistic and ambitious plans to transition to electric vehicles.
But Redwood Materials founder and CEO JB Straubel told employees that this new round of cuts is not a sign that the company is heading down the same path.
“Redwood today is the strongest it’s ever been,” Straubel wrote in an email to the workers who weren’t laid off, according to a copy viewed by TechCrunch. “The materials business is well on its way to profitability and has an exciting roadmap ahead.”
Straubel noted that Redwood “continue[s] to dominate the US battery recycling market” but also touted the company’s “great momentum” in its new energy storage business. Redwood has recently announced deals with Crusoe AI and, most recently, electric automaker Rivian to provide recycled batteries that can be used to power those companies’ facilities. The company declined to comment beyond the contents of Straubel’s email.
In his message, Straubel wrote that “parts of the company have expanded faster than needed to support the direction” of Redwood. As a result, he said Redwood is making cuts across multiple divisions, including the engineering and operations organizations, according to an employee who was granted anonymity to discuss the layoffs.
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San Francisco, CA
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October 13-15, 2026
“We are confident that we can deliver on our critical projects with a smaller team that is more focused,” he wrote. “We have successfully adapted to changes in the market that have bankrupted many of our competitors.”
Straubel went on to write that he is “more excited than ever with our path ahead as we build the most integrated and cost-effective critical materials and energy storage business in the world.”
“This is a self-sustaining business and will continue to make this company more valuable over time. We have the team and the technology to do what no other company can,” he wrote.
Workers who were laid off were told by Redwood’s chief HR officer that the layoffs were made “to sharpen our focus, our work and the size of our teams to support the direction Redwood is going in the future,” according to a copy of her email, which was viewed by TechCrunch.
Employees who were laid off are receiving severance and paid health benefits, according to Straubel’s email, as well as “career transition assistance.”
“I am grateful to the approximately 135 employees who we say goodbye to today — they’ve all contributed to building Redwood,” he wrote.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Exclusive #Redwood #Materials #lays #restructuring #chase #energy #storage #business #TechCrunchBatteries,battery recycling,electric vehicles,EVs,Exclusive,Redwood Materials](https://i1.wp.com/techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/53200897797_87d290a75e_o.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 "Exclusive: Redwood Materials lays off 10% in restructuring to chase energy storage business | TechCrunch
Redwood Materials has laid off around 135 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as it restructures to better accommodate its growing energy storage business, TechCrunch has learned.
The cuts come just five months after Redwood cut 5% of its workforce, and three months after it closed a 5 million funding round that boosted the battery recycling company’s valuation to north of billion, as TechCrunch previously reported.
It’s been a difficult time in the battery industry lately. Earlier this month, battery recycler Ascend Elements filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing “insurmountable” financial challenges. Some battery-makers have also restructured or gone out of business as the automotive industry in the U.S. has backed away from its most optimistic and ambitious plans to transition to electric vehicles.
But Redwood Materials founder and CEO JB Straubel told employees that this new round of cuts is not a sign that the company is heading down the same path.
“Redwood today is the strongest it’s ever been,” Straubel wrote in an email to the workers who weren’t laid off, according to a copy viewed by TechCrunch. “The materials business is well on its way to profitability and has an exciting roadmap ahead.”
Straubel noted that Redwood “continue[s] to dominate the US battery recycling market” but also touted the company’s “great momentum” in its new energy storage business. Redwood has recently announced deals with Crusoe AI and, most recently, electric automaker Rivian to provide recycled batteries that can be used to power those companies’ facilities. The company declined to comment beyond the contents of Straubel’s email.
In his message, Straubel wrote that “parts of the company have expanded faster than needed to support the direction” of Redwood. As a result, he said Redwood is making cuts across multiple divisions, including the engineering and operations organizations, according to an employee who was granted anonymity to discuss the layoffs.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco, CA
|
October 13-15, 2026
“We are confident that we can deliver on our critical projects with a smaller team that is more focused,” he wrote. “We have successfully adapted to changes in the market that have bankrupted many of our competitors.”
Straubel went on to write that he is “more excited than ever with our path ahead as we build the most integrated and cost-effective critical materials and energy storage business in the world.”
“This is a self-sustaining business and will continue to make this company more valuable over time. We have the team and the technology to do what no other company can,” he wrote.
Workers who were laid off were told by Redwood’s chief HR officer that the layoffs were made “to sharpen our focus, our work and the size of our teams to support the direction Redwood is going in the future,” according to a copy of her email, which was viewed by TechCrunch.
Employees who were laid off are receiving severance and paid health benefits, according to Straubel’s email, as well as “career transition assistance.”
“I am grateful to the approximately 135 employees who we say goodbye to today — they’ve all contributed to building Redwood,” he wrote.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Exclusive #Redwood #Materials #lays #restructuring #chase #energy #storage #business #TechCrunchBatteries,battery recycling,electric vehicles,EVs,Exclusive,Redwood Materials")
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