Stranger Things 5: What is Camazotz and Who is Escaping?

This could be a huge episode.

Episode six of Stranger Things 5 is titled Escape from Camazotz, which is really, really interesting. Camazotz could be a reference to two things: first, a massive, bat-like creature in Dungeons & Dragons OR this metaphysical planet that is controlled by IT, the mysterious evil entity that serves as the main villain in A Wrinkle in Time. For this theory post, I am going with the second one and assuming that Camazotz is some sort of prison. I don't think it's fun to theorize about Camazotz being a D&D related thing, because that likely means it's just another monster from the Upside Down. But here it is.

5. The Party Escaping the Upside Down Lab

The military and Vecna will likely be hunting them down

The Duffers have said that a lot of this season takes place in the Upside Down, and I expect that this will be especially true in volume two and the finale. Throughout the marketing, it becomes pretty clear that there is some sort of lab in the Upside Down. Whether it's a military base or the Upside Down version of Hawkins Lab we don't really know, but all we know is that it is there. That could definitely be Camazotz - maybe the party has been trapped there by either the military or Vecna and they have to figure out some way to escape. Actually, maybe it will be that the military has them trapped there and Vecna is coming, so they have to get out of there before Vecna arrives, or all hell will break loose.

4. Vecna Escaping the Mind Flayer's Prison

If The First Shadow play is truly canon, this could be a major plot point

In Stranger Things: The First Shadow, it seems like the Mind Flayer might control Vecna, which would make Vecna more of a victim than a villain. While I doubt that the show will actually take that route, I could see the Mind Flayer still being the one in control and Vecna being trapped in his metaphysical or mental prison. When he escapes the Mind Flayer's prison (aka Camazotz), maybe he will be more dangerous and more evil than the Mind Flayer. That would be a way of incorporating The First Shadow without making it seem like Vecna isn't the true bad guy.

3. The Group Escaping the Upside Down Tunnels

The tunnels will return this season - possibly as a prison

With Hawkins crawling with Upside Down creatures and danger, it looks like the tunnels from season two will be making their return. The marketing has shown us Lucas and Joyce and Mike all running through the tunnels...so what if they get trapped in a specific part of the tunnels? That part being Camazotz? A true physical Upside Down prison would make sense for being called Camazotz, especially if Dustin or Mike are the ones that are trapped there. This could be similar to when Hopper was trapped in the tunnels in Dig Dug and needed to be saved by Joyce and Bob.

2. Max Escaping Vecna's Mind

Would she wake up this late into the season?

We still don't really know exactly what Max's role will be in this season. She's still comatose in all the marketing, but you'd expect that she would wake up at some point. I don't know if it'll be in volume one, but if it's not in volume one, I would honestly expect this to be the place where it happens. If there's a way in which Max can wake up that is discovered by Lucas or Dustin or someone else, they could be trying to help her escape from Vecna's mind prison: Camazotz. And, hopefully, she succeeds.

1. Holly Escaping Vecna's Prison

The youngest Wheeler is going to be in trouble throughout the season

Many of us suspect that Holly is the one who mysteriously vanishes in episode two, so if she is captured by Vecna and in his clutches for the majority of this season, this could be the place where she escapes. I expect that the party will be searching for a way to get her back throughout the season, so once again, this could be the daring rescue. I really think Camazotz being some secret Upside Down prison that we haven't seen yet is the most likely outcome, and I think Holly is the most likely to be stuck there. But we will see in just over a month!