Who is Mr. Whatsit? Stranger Things reference to Wrinkle of Time explained

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The first four episodes of Stranger Things Season 5 are now available on Netflix, and they feature a new, intriguing character named Mr. Whatsit. Be warned: this article contains significant spoilers!

The season starts with Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) getting into trouble at school because she’s been talking to an imaginary friend named Mr. Whatsit, often appearing to talk to no one at all.

Okay, so right away, it seemed like something was up with Mr. Whatsit. My little sister, Holly, saw this creepy, skinny gray figure peeking at her through a window, and it totally gave me bad vibes. When she told me about it, she said Mr. Whatsit actually warned her that there were monsters lurking around Hawkins. It was super weird, and honestly, it made me think he was connected to them somehow.

Okay, so the Demogorgon just screams, right? No polite chats with that thing. But it got me thinking… who is this Mr. Whatsit they keep hinting at in Stranger Things, and why are they throwing in references to A Wrinkle in Time? It’s kinda weirding me out, but I need to know!

Mr. Whatsit is Vecna in Stranger Things Season 5

In Chapter Two, titled “The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler,” Mike and Nancy visit their seriously injured mother in the hospital to find out about Mr. Whatsit. She shares that Holly had described him as a tall man who was well-dressed.

The scene shifts to Vecna, now appearing as a well-dressed man (played by Jamie Campbell Bower), walking with Holly through a peaceful, perfect version of Hawkins. He leads her into a pristine Creel house and assures her he will save her friends from the monsters.

Holly believes he’s brought her to a safe place, shielded from danger. Meanwhile, in the same episode, Eleven and Hopper searched for her in the Upside Down. Following the trail of a wounded Demogorgon, they discovered a massive, slimy barrier that appeared impossible to break through.

It’s very probable that the ideal version of Hawkins Vecna is creating is located beyond that massive wall, and the show’s creators clearly drew inspiration from the novel A Wrinkle in Time.

Mr. Whatsit is a reference to A Wrinkle in Time

Readers of Madeleine L’Engle’s classic 1962 science fiction novel, A Wrinkle in Time, will probably know that Mr. Whatsit is connected to the important character, Mrs. Whatsit.

Mrs. Whatsit, a character from the story, is a being made of stardust with the ability to change her form. She even appeared as a centaur when she reached Uriel, a planet that offers protection from dangerous forces. Her home is an old, deserted house, reminiscent of places like Vecna’s lair and the Creel house in the eerie world of the Upside Down.

It’s not just the similar powers, but it’s hinted that Holly can read minds! She correctly guesses everything in the Murry’s fridge, which is wild. And it reminded me of Vecna in the third episode of Stranger Things Season 5 – he casually mentions he ‘had a hunch’ about Holly loving blackberries and knowing Derek’s favorite breakfast is chocolate chip pancakes. It’s like, okay, that’s a little too specific to just be a guess, right?

Interestingly, the central antagonist in A Wrinkle in Time is a powerful, floating brain called IT – not the one from Stephen King’s It – that dominates the inhabitants of the planet Camazotz, much like Vecna and the Upside Down in Stranger Things. And speaking of Stranger Things, the sixth episode of Season 5 is titled “Camazotz,” suggesting the Duffer brothers are heavily influenced by A Wrinkle in Time. Viewers will need to wait for the second part of the season to learn more about this connection.

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2025-11-27 06:51