Warning: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 4.

Stranger Things season 4 drew a subtle parallel to a scene all the way back from Stranger Things season 1, and it shows just how far the show has come. It is almost odd to think that Stranger Things was originally pitched by the Duffer Brothers as a limited series, as the Netflix original has gone on to dominate Netflix's productions. It has also been a masterclass in story progression and world building, expanding on its original 80s sci-fi inspiration in unthinkable ways, becoming a brand of its own.

Stranger Things has always been huge into intertextuality, paying homage to the works that inspired it in the first place. Season 1 alone contains Stand By Me, to name a few. The show has now come so far that it can even harken back to its own scenes, and one in season 4 demonstrates just how huge the show has become since it began in 2016.

Related: Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2 Easter Eggs & References

In Stranger Things season 1, Mike, Lucas, and Dustin seek scientific expertise from their teacher Mr. Clarke. They ask, ''hypothetically,'' about alternate dimensions and gates to them. Mr. Clarke demonstrates how this works and how gates can open by using a paper plate and a pencil. He folds the plate over itself, and pushes the pencil right through the middle, showing how this tear in time and space can make a doorway between dimensions. Then, in Stranger Things season 4, Brenner explains how Vecna is breaking down the barrier between the Upside Down and Hawkins of the Right Side Up by using a pencil. Brenner begins bending the pencil to demonstrate the strain on the barrier, before eventually snapping the pencil in two, symbolizing the broken barrier between dimensions.

Stranger Things' Pencil Is More Symbolic Than You Think

Stranger Things 4 Vol 1 Doctor Brenner Explains Vecna With Pencil

Stranger Things season 1 was still imbued with danger and monsters, but Mr Clarke's pencil demonstration was exciting, and even hopeful to a degree. It confirmed to the boys that Will wasn't lost forever, and that they could actually enter the Upside Down and get him out. More than this, it was exciting for audiences. This small demonstration by Mr. Clarke opened a world of opportunities for storytelling, the likes of which were original and new. Four seasons later, the mysteries of the Upside Down have been explored more and more, with each season revealing something new about the apocalyptic dimension, and its danger has only gotten more apparent. Brenner's pencil demonstration symbolizes the terror that is to come, and it flips its original meaning of hope and excitement into terror, worry, and chaos.

Stranger Things' original story of a girl with superpowers helping to find a young boy trapped in an alternate world was already an expansive concept, but has since grown into something huge. The Vecna master plan unveiled in Stranger Things season 4 vol. 2 shows how deep the story runs, and how Mr. Clarke's ''flea and the acrobat'' explanation was only the tip of the iceberg. The danger of Stranger Things has become abundantly clear, and season 5 is set to be the ultimate battle.

Next: Has Stranger Things Season 5's Plot Secretly Already Been Revealed?

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