#figmentgate

it got me

Ep6 of S4, titled “The Dive,” contains the Bingham house segments. We are well aware of how symbolism, foreshadowing, parallels and more for the show and it’s characters fills this house to the brim. Metaphorically, there is so much to dive into—to uncover—regarding this house. This includes a Disney World Figment the dragon plush doll sitting below Suzie’s window.

Figment is Epcot’s (one of the four Disney World Orlando parks) mascot. Figment himself is meant to be the literal embodiment of the phrase “figment of the imagination,” which matches Epcot’s brand of innovation. Basically, don’t let a figment (an idea or thought) of the mind stay in the mind; bring it into reality. I was working in Epcot when Stranger Things 4 aired, funnily enough in what’s called the Land Pavilion, which is directly beside an attraction called Journey Into Imagination with Figment.

In Journey Into Imagination, you sit on a slow-moving compartment that takes you through the “Imagination Institute” on an open house tour led by a character called Dr. Nigel Channing. He’s the chairman of this institute that researches and develops technological innovation in ways to harness the power of creativity. This research is what led to the discovery of Figment (in lore, not the ride).

Now, as I mentioned above, Figment does not simply represent imagination; he is imagination literally, completely unrestrained and unwilling to yield in his sense of creativity despite being told to stop causing [harmless] chaos by Nigel.

While Nigel is enthusiastic in sharing the institute’s discoveries with the public (you, on this tour, and his goal is to stimulate your creativity through the five senses in order for you to harness your creativity), he is constantly voicing his wariness and disapproval of Figment’s mischievous but still harmless insistence to share his perspective throughout the tour (Figment expresses his tests/experiments/thoughts through song; I will explain momentarily because this is important). However, as you approach the ride’s end, Nigel has a change of mind. Nigel at first states “imagination must be captured and controlled.” Figment promptly replies, “Nuh-uh! Imagination works best when it’s set free!”

Soon enough, Figment figuratively and literally turns everything upside down. Because, as Nigel learns, “Imagination is the act of turning your thinking upside down!”

I mentioned Figment expresses his creativity through song, along with key pieces of dialogue that challenge your basic understanding of the senses (sight and hearing especially stand out). Rather than post the entire song and it’s dialogue, these are moments of intrigue I strung together:

FIGMENT: It’s not about listening with your ears—it’s about listening with your imagination.

For every sound your ears are hearing,
A thousand thoughts can start appearing.
And each of us imagines different things,
From just a sound, your mind has wings!

DR. NIGEL CHANNING: Continuing now, if I may, in a calm, scientific, Figment-free manner—the things we see with our eyes can control the eyes of the imagination. Let’s begin by using the eye chart to test your vision.

FIGMENT: With F-I-G-M-E-N-T,
You can see things differently!

Sure, you can see with your eyes. But imagine what you could see if you used your imagination!

One spark of light can light your fancy.
Your mind sees more than what your eyes see.
Your sense of sight can make your fancy fly.
There’s more to sight than meets the eye!

…

DR. NIGEL CHANNING: Figment, what is going on? You’re turning this entire open house upside down!

FIGMENT: Upside down? Now you’re talkin’!

With just a spark of inspiration,

I’ve made my house an innovation.

Imagination really clowns around:

Makes downside up, and upside down!

- after change of mind -

FIGMENT: A dream can be a dream come true. With just that spark from me and you.

DR. NIGEL CHANNING:

One little spark of inspiration

Is at the heart of all creation.

Right at the start of everything that’s new,

One little spark lights up for you.

-

There’s a lot to unpack here, but the first thing to take from all this is the importance of freeing your mind. Not just freeing your mind, but placing no restrictions upon yourself! Hear and see and be beyond the surface to open your perspective! All it takes is a spark of something new—something that could bring new light to you. To more than just yourself as well. Figment isn’t just imagination incarnate; he is non-conforming freedom.

In bringing this around to ST, this requires a dive through some ideas Figment could be associated with. There’s more than one meaning or foreshadowing we can grab from Figment in-frame.

The first association that comes to mind is Will and Mike. Will and Mike getting together and the GA reacting. Byler is in motion right now and there’s a desire from certain parts of the GA to control it—to stop this ‘harmful chaos,’ so to say. They want restriction on this ‘way of thinking,’ refusing to open up their minds to more and understanding how harmless it is for same-sex couples to exist. To people like this, who think so shortly, they believe queerness should be a figment of the imagination that never exists. But queerness does exist, queer people do exist, and it’s the opposing parts of the GA who haven’t freed their minds from restriction not acknowledging that truth. One spark of something new—a new ‘spark’/perspective to turn your thoughts upside down—is what can lead someone to understanding others’ differences. I don’t have to go into detail as to why “forced conformity is killing the kids” is such a vastly important line in Stranger Things.

But who else controls and restricts? Henry. He wants the world adapted to his mindset, his ideal, and he’s incapable of viewing any other perspective other than his own at this point. He tried to manipulate El into joining him and attempted to kill her when she wouldn’t. He bent what we know as the Mind Flayer to his whims, controlling it and using it to further control others. Now, we can gather that Henry wants Will to meet that standard of control in whatever way Henry intends to use him for. To possibly control Will’s powers.

If we take Dr. Nigel’s lyric “One little spark of inspiration is at the heart of all creation” and apply it to Will, this may align with the theory that Will created the current version of the Upside Down on the night he was kidnapped. Unintentionally perhaps, unknowing of what was happening to him in the moment and horribly shaken, something ‘sparked’ in Will’s mind that allowed him to reshape the UD to what we’re familiar with—maybe to what Will was familiar with.

From the tons of analysis we’ve undergone since S4 aired, we can infer Henry was stalking Will before he took him. Henry sees himself in Will and preys on him to accomplish what he couldn’t with El, and from that it isn’t hard to consider Will has powers Henry wants to manipulate. I currently have thoughts that Will could be multi-powered (like a wizard), and creation abilities would tie well into this idea. It could explain the frozen-in-time Hawkins appearance. Creation and imagination are tied to artistry, and that would be an on-the-nose alignment for Will. Will takes a blank canvas and paints—creates what his mind sees. Henry took the canvas of the unspoiled UD and started creating what he wants it to be. And if Will had an effect on Henry’s creation, if Will could have a greater effect on what Henry further intends to create, Henry would aim to harness all Will can do and make the upside down his downside up.

HOWEVER. The controlling way Henry thinks will be undone by our characters needing to think outside-of-the-box, breaking out of Henry’s mould and standard. And I analyze this by linking the shot of Figment in Suzie’s room—

—to Mike’s Rubik’s cube and bedsheets in S1 + Mike’s blanket fort in S2.

How? Color theory, web/gridgate, my rubikscubegate, and the mere presence of Figment. Figment is non-conforming freedom, an unrelenting force who strives to make anything possible. This includes breaking the standard of Dr. Nigel, who formerly believed imagination/thoughts should be controlled. My Rubik’s cube theory, which I recommend checking out here if you haven’t and are interested in greater details on it, discusses how Mike’s Rubik’s cube is a grid in and of itself. The colors we see directly on it are yellow, blue, and orange. I thought it was red at first, but it’s definitely orange. We know to associate Will with yellow and Mike with blue, but we’re missing our other primary color red: El. We see groupings of these three colors quite a lot, and yet red is missing here.

Or is it? Just as we know who to associate with yellow and blue, we know Mike and Will together are green. To make orange, you need red and yellow. El is included on the cube but combined with Will. We even see a square on Mike’s fort that is half yellow and orange (along with half blue&green and half blue&yellow squares; all three of these squares are near Mike’s head—his brain). And because this Rubik’s cube is solved and we can assume Mike did it, my theory is that Mike will be the one to figure out how they will defeat Henry. And for Mike’s strategy to work, Will and El need to team up specifically, as well as Will and Mike. The Rubik’s cube’s color scheme directly correlates to the grids and color schemes on Mike’s bedsheets and fort: Yellow, Blue, Y + B = Green, Red, and R + Y = Orange. You can get all these colors on their own or through combination on the cube and sheets.

And in this shot too.

Figment against the blue and yellow wall, under the orange window sill and yellow curtains with blue trim… and there outside is green.

Green, outside the conventional box.

What makes this theory stronger is this series of words and character placement before and after seeing the above shot with Figment:

‘Make sure to give that selfish shit a nice little shove for me.’

*Cue Mike at the front, looking at—through—the window first, piecing together the answer.

‘Give [him] a shove.’

We know Mike has been targeted by Henry, and Mike is going to suffer because of Henry. But Henry is also going to suffer because of Mike. Mike will figure him out and create a plan—through a spark of inspiration, if you will—that breaks Henry’s web of entrapments with a strategy that requires El, Will, and himself to work. And, ultimately, the final keys to Henry’s defeat are Will and Mike themselves.

(Taken from my 7+7gate post, with the perfect additions from @stranger-chichka and @lilitblaukatz)

(Picture credits and thoughts to @stranger-chichka.)

Henry’s way of thinking is going to get turned upside down and obliterated, by individuals who aim beyond controlled conformity and fight to set themselves free.

For Will and Mike, they will realize their own ‘spark’ (hello “Are Friends Electric?”) is what will set them free from withholding themselves.

And it’s something the GA will hopefully come to understand: Why this sense of freedom from society-placed restriction is so important for Will and Mike and the people they represent. In turning their thinking upside down and seeing—really seeing—the other side, more conventional standards may break.

-

evil evil dragon. look what he did to him. mike is only a shell of who he once was

He's purple (red-Vecna + blue-Mike) and wears a yellow shirt with orange trimming. His horns and wings are also orange. Educational videos were made for public elementary schools during the 80s with figment as the host, and there are some themes that had me thinking.

His theme song for this show goes like this:

Come and join me in my travels

Through the pathways of the mind

When you use imagination

There's no telling what you'll find

I'm Figment.

I'm a dragon.

I read and learn and play.

Sounding sounds

Feeling feelings.

What a way to fill a day!

I'm a master of illusion,

doing things that you can't see.

When I smell a pink petunia,

it turns into a bee.

I open books and jump into them.

There's a world of magic there.

When you add your own five senses,

there is nothing you can't dare.

I'm Figment.

I'm a dragon.

I read and learn and play.

Sounding sounds

Feeling feelings.

What a way to fill a day!

I'm Figment, I'm a dragon.

Oh, golly, double gee!

Just use the magic in your mind,

like Figment, that's me!

One little spark of inspiration, Is at the heart of all creation

Right at the start of everything that's new, One little spark lights up for you."

Oh, hello there

So glad you could come along

I am the Dreamfinder. (laughs) Musical notes!

What delightful melodies those will make

I love these flights of fancy

Searching the universe for sounds, colors, ideas--anything that sparks the imagination!

A sunbeam!

That's a good one. (laughs) Everything that I collect can inspire amazing and marvelous new ideas

And you never know what kind of figment you may come up with. (laughs) Here's my favorite!

Two tiny wings, eyes big and yellow

Horns of a steer, but a loveable fellow

From head to tail, he's royal purple pigment

And there -- Voila! -- you've got a Figment!"

A Figment of imagination! (laughs) Dreamfinder!

I'm just great!

Ah-ah-ah!

Not quite!

Huh?

I'll throw in a dash of childish delight. (laughs) Look, Figment!

Some new friends have joined us

Can they imagine, too?

Of course!

Imagination is something that belongs to all of us

You mean, everyone can think up new things? (laughs) That's right, Figment

And every sparkling idea can lead to even more

So many times, we're stumbling in the dark, And then -- Eureka! -- 'what a spark!"

H-h-how are we going to use lightning?

Hmmm...

We can combine it with ghostly shivers on a stormy night

And turn it into a tale of fright!

Oh, oh, look, look!

A rainbow!

I'll use that to paint with

Now you've got it

Wow, wow wow!

Numbers, letters, papers for writing

Costumes, make-up, stages for lighting

Teardrops, laughter

What about science?

Science?

We'll need electron beams and crystal prisms

Gyroscopes and magnetisms...

Hold on, Figment

Why?

The idea bag is full

It is?

Let's start making new things

Now, wait

First, we must store these ideas with the others in the Dreamport

Are we almost there?

Oh, the Dreamport is never far away when you use your imagination

Come on everybody, let's go!

We all have sparks, imaginations

That's how our minds create creations

Right at the start of everything that's new

One little spark lights up for you."

Oh, boy!"

Imagination, imagination

I made a long post about this image recently—

—and somehow forgot to include two very important details about it!! To quickly summarize a little bit, Figment is a purple dragon that is Disney’s Epcot park mascot and is meant to be the full embodiment of imagination and freedom + to not let thoughts remain thoughts and to bring them into reality. He appears in an attraction called Journey Into Imagination with Figment too (I used to work in Epcot, next door to this ride, and am very familiar with Figment), which is extremely important for the full analysis. This dragon is sitting below Suzie’s window, and the entire shot itself holds significance I believe connects to imagery from seasons 1 & 2 and may indicate specific foreshadowing for s5. I highly recommend reading about that here in my original post if you haven’t and are interested, because I can’t summarize everything without rewriting my original post (including thoughts on my theory that Mike will come up with the final solution to defeat Vecna, which is connected to my Rubikscubegate theory). The most significant thing to take from it is the importance of freeing your mind and letting no one control it (also freeing yourself from forces that want to control you).

What I can summarize is this: Figment’s queer-coding and possible creation powers for Will. Both of these details are covered in one image from Figment’s attraction, at the very end of the ride. Throughout the ride, Figment is trying to get a character named Dr. Nigel to understand his perspective in that imagination shouldn’t be captured and controlled but free instead. Because if you set your mind/imagination free, your way of thinking can be turned around for the better. By the end of the ride, Dr. Nigel understands Figment’s perspective and celebrates it. The ride goes dark, and then we get a burst of color:

In my initial post, I talked a lot about what Figment’s character would clearly associate with for ST’s queer characters and the real queer people they represent. And how parts of the GA want to restrict and control the freedom to be different and think differently. What I didn’t remember to include is Figment’s association with rainbows. He’s been associated with rainbows ever since his character was created in 1983 (wow what a coincidence)!! In recent years as well, Figment is becoming more of a queer icon among fans for his non-conforming free thinking and ‘anything is possible’ mentality!

Now, when the rainbow appears in Journey Into Imagination, Figment is singing about how dreams can spark from ‘me and you’ when imagination is set free! And you know where this rainbow is sprouting from??

From a paint tube!!! And the tube says Figment Pigment; it’s insinuating creating from your imagination to bring thoughts into reality!!

In my original post, I mentioned Will could be multi-powered (like a wizard) and this could manifest in the form of creation abilities. Which would align with his artistry. He takes what his mind sees and puts it into reality.

And there’s Figment in Suzie’s room. And this character literally holds a paint tube that pours out a rainbow, encouraging the unrestrained power of free-thinking through song, and in s3 Dustin and Suzie sing the lyric “There upon a rainbow is the answer to our never ending story,” and back in s1 Will went missing but could’ve possibly bent the appearance of the UD with creation abilities (which happened to be in the same year Figment was created)…

We say on this tag all the time that gay love will save the world, and that’s entirely true because Figment’s presence makes that clear. He is against forced conformity and embodies freedom. He is a growing queer icon. He is sitting below Suzie’s window, where we see vibrant green outside. Will is the character we will circle completely back to in the final season. It’s his love for Mike, and in turn Mike’s love for Will, that will break the imprisoned web Henry has built and intends to keep building. And, I still believe, it’ll be Will (along with Mike because he is also a creator of words; it’s him and Will together) who ultimately opposes Henry’s standard of conformity with the power of free-thinking—his ability to create in opposition to the restriction Henry has forced.

-

Here’s my own Figment plush paired with the world-saving symbol💚