Exploring Mr. Whatsit: A Stranger Things Reference to A Wrinkle in Time Explained

The highly anticipated fifth season of Stranger Things has premiered on Netflix, featuring the first four episodes that unveil a captivating new character named Mr. Whatsit in the town of Hawkins. Be advised, major spoilers lie ahead.

In the season’s opening episode, young Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) becomes enmeshed in trouble at school due to her frequent conversations with an imaginary companion, Mr. Whatsit. This peculiar behavior raises eyebrows when others catch her speaking to what seems like thin air.

Hints of Mr. Whatsit’s true identity emerge as Holly observes a slender, gray figure lurking behind a window, establishing a clear connection to the creature known as the Demogorgon. During a confidential chat with her brother Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Holly reveals that Mr. Whatsit has cautioned her about the monsters lurking in Hawkins.

Given that the Demogorgon communicates through ear-piercing screams rather than articulate dialogue, questions naturally arise: Just who is Mr. Whatsit, and what significance does the reference to A Wrinkle in Time hold within this narrative?

Decoding Mr. Whatsit: A Connection to Vecna

Jamie Campbell Bower as Mr. Whatsit/Vecna in Stranger Things Season 5 — Netflix

In Chapter 2, titled “The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler, ” a tense scene unfolds where Mike and Nancy (Natalia Dyer) contact their gravely injured mother in the hospital to learn more about Mr. Whatsit. Their mother notes that Holly described him as tall and well-dressed.

The episode then transitions into a poignant moment where a dapper version of Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) walks alongside Holly through an idyllic version of Hawkins. He invites her into a flawlessly restored Creel house, assuring her that he will protect her friends from the lurking dangers.

To Holly, it appears that Vecna has led her to a sanctuary, away from the horrific forces. Meanwhile, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Hopper (David Harbour) explore the Upside Down to locate Holly, ultimately discovering an enormous, viscous barrier that seems nearly impossible to breach. This discovery suggests that Vecna’s perfect Hawkins could be hidden beyond this wall, indicating a rich intertextual dialogue with A Wrinkle in Time.

The Allure of A Wrinkle in Time

Reese Witherspoon as Mrs. Whatsit in A Wrinkle of TIme — Disney

Reese Witherspoon’s portrayal of Mrs. Whatsit in the 2018 adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time adds further layers to this connection. In the narrative, Mrs. Whatsit embodies a creature of stardust, possessing the ability to shapeshift, even transforming into a centaur upon her arrival at Uriel, a realm shielded from evil forces. This residence in an old, abandoned house partly parallels the eerie association with Vecna and the Creel house in the Upside Down.

Moreover, parallels continue to deepen. Mrs. Whatsit exhibits some telepathic abilities, accurately foretelling the contents of the Murry family’s refrigerator. In a similar vein, in the third episode, Vecna muses that he “had a hunch”involving Holly’s preference for blackberries while also knowing her schoolmate Derek’s fondness for chocolate chip pancakes.

It is noteworthy that A Wrinkle in Time features a primary antagonist known as IT—a disembodied brain that dominates individuals on Camazotz, akin to Vecna’s influence in the Upside Down. Coincidentally, the sixth episode of Stranger Things Season 5 is intriguingly titled “Camazotz, ”reinforcing the narrative’s inspiration from the classic story. Fans are eagerly awaiting the second volume to uncover more of these entwined plots.

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