A Wrinkle in Time Becomes a Key Clue in Stranger Things Season 5

Netflix’s final season of Stranger Things is packed with emotional arcs, new threats, and nostalgic callbacks — but one reference stands out above the rest: Madeleine L’Engle’s classic 1962 sci-fi novel A Wrinkle in Time.

The beloved YA book doesn’t just appear as set dressing in Holly Wheeler’s room — it plays a crucial thematic and narrative role as Season 5 unfolds.

Holly Wheeler’s Favorite Book Signals a Major Storyline

As the Hawkins kids have grown up, so has Holly Wheeler, who emerges as an unexpectedly important character in the final season. A peek inside her bedroom reveals her passion for science fiction, but the most significant detail is her well-worn copy of A Wrinkle in Time.

Just as earlier seasons used Star Wars, The NeverEnding Story, and Day of the Dead to foreshadow major plot twists, A Wrinkle in Time becomes a roadmap for Season 5’s supernatural stakes.

Parallels Between L’Engle’s Novel and the Battle for Hawkins

Like Stranger Things, L’Engle’s story centers on young heroes, psychic powers, parallel worlds, and an all-consuming evil. In A Wrinkle in Time:

• Meg Murry sets out to rescue her missing father.
• Her brother Charles Wallace is psychically manipulated and nearly lost to a mind-controlling entity called IT.
• Worlds are threatened by a dark, formless evil known as The Black Thing.

Season 5 mirrors these dynamics almost directly.

Vecna as the Man with Red Eyes

Instead of appearing as his monstrous self, Henry Creel/Vecna manipulates children by presenting himself as “Mr. Whatsit,” echoing the deceptive guide figures in the novel. His true plan: lure kids into the Upside Down and bind them to the hive mind using his own memories, a psychological prison Holly herself calls “Camazotz” — the same name as the dystopian, mind-controlled world in the book.

Will Byers as Charles Wallace

Will’s long-standing psychic connection to the Mind Flayer becomes pivotal. In the mid-season finale, he learns to use this bond, becoming a kind of “sorcerer” able to control Demogorgons and disrupt the hive mind — a twist mirroring Charles Wallace’s dangerous entanglement with IT.

The Mind Flayer as IT — And a Bigger Evil Lurking

Season 5 teases a hierarchy of evil similar to that in L’Engle’s story:

Mind Flayer = IT

Vecna = the Man with Red Eyes

Something deeper, older, and more terrifying = The Black Thing

Flashbacks reveal Henry Creel is terrified of a presence tied to the desert cave from Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the location of his first encounter with the Upside Down. This hints at a supreme dark force predating both Vecna and the Mind Flayer — one that may be the true antagonist of the entire series.

Holly Wheeler Steps Into the Spotlight

With her deep love for A Wrinkle in Time, Holly seems positioned to play a crucial role in identifying and defeating this ancient evil. As Mike once used Dungeons & Dragons lore to understand the Upside Down, Holly may decode the final mystery using the themes of L’Engle’s novel.

A Fitting Literary Parallel for the Final Battle

By weaving A Wrinkle in Time into the heart of Season 5, the Duffer Brothers have created a powerful homage to classic science fantasy — one that enriches the emotional depth of the show and foreshadows its epic conclusion.

As the series heads toward its final showdown, the answer to defeating the Upside Down may lie not just in Eleven’s power but in the lessons of a timeless novel about courage, family, and the fight against overwhelming darkness.