(Credits: Netflix)

If not for Holly Wheeler, the Duffer brothers’ intent to draw a full circle with Stranger Things season five might just be a half-realised dream. Because no matter how sidelined a character she may have been throughout the first four seasons of the hit Netflix series, Holly’s a protagonist in the final one.

While she isn’t a new character in the Upside Down saga, the first volume of Stranger Things season five gives her an entirely new purpose, especially as Holly echoes Will Byers’ fate from the debut season.

Speaking of this entirely different side of the character, actor Nell Fisher told Tudum, “Holly’s been important, but on the periphery, and this season, Holly becomes a protagonist. Things start happening to her, and she starts getting things done.” And we get what she’s saying, specifically after ‘The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler.’

But as mythology has always formed a strong crux of the Stranger Things story, what aggravates Holly’s importance in the series this time is Madeleine L’Engle’s best-selling novel A Wrinkle in Time. “Centring Holly not only gives us a new character to explore and root for, but is also very thematic because, in many ways, this show has always been about childhood, about the vulnerability of innocence, but also the superpower of innocence,” Shawn Levy says.

The question that remains is how A Wrinkle in Time becomes so crucial to Holly’s journey. So, Fisher recently shed light on this, saying, “A Wrinkle in Time was a big part of my preparation for this role because Holly’s been an important character who’s kind of touched the surface of this weird supernatural world.”

The character puts the novel to use in understanding and trying to figure out what’s been going on around her in Hawkins. “Henry is Mr Whatsit, Henry’s mind prison is Camazotz, and Vecna is IT,” Fisher explains.

The Stranger Things actor also offered a glimpse into Holly’s state of mind in this season, who has walked into adolescence surrounded by a crazy streak of events. “At the start, she’s kind of the object of the story. Things are happening to her, and she goes missing. But as the season continues and she learns more, her mindset evolves, and she starts to really be able to change and drive the story by what she does,” Fisher continues.

In essence, Holly takes the centre stage, thanks to Vecna’s scheme, which so far remains shrouded in mystery. And A Wrinkle in Time becomes the lodestar in navigating the hellish plot twists awaiting her arc. Although it might be a little too early to speculate what her guiding light could ultimately mean for Holly, with the second volume and the finale waiting in the wings, rest assured, you’ll have your answers in no time.