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Warning: Spoilers below for Stranger Things 5, Volume 2
The second season of Stranger Things revolved around Will acting as a spy for the Mind Flayer, a role that allowed the entity to monitor the movements of the protagonists while infecting the town with supernatural fauna and flora. Central to this conflict was the sudden appearance of a massive network of organic tunnels spreading beneath the surface of Hawkins, which served as a hunting ground for the predatory Demodogs. Until now, the fanbase assumed that these tunnels were a natural expansion of the Upside Down that emerged spontaneously from the rift inside Hawkins Lab. However, Volume 2 explicitly contradicts this established lore by revealing that the growth was an intentional act of construction and that Will was the primary agent responsible for these tunnels.
Stranger Things Makes Will Responsible for Season 2’s Tunnels
During the events of Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 2, Will attempts to launch a psychic assault on Vecna by tapping into the hive mind. This strategy backfires when Vecna manages to ensnare Will within his mental domain, leading to a harrowing confrontation where the villain exposes the true nature of their connection. Vecna mocks Will by naming the boy his “builder.” The antagonist reveals that he successfully transformed Will into a vessel for his own telekinetic influence, utilizing the boy’s physical form as a conduit to manipulate the environment of the real world. While the people of Hawkins believed Will was merely a victim of possession, he was actually the tool used to dig the tunnel network through psychic projection. This process occurred primarily while Will was asleep, meaning his subconscious mind was weaponized to terraform the town and expand the reach of the Upside Down.
