“Is this sh*t safe to breathe?” The Spores Aren’t What You Think | Part 1
Part 2
For something that appears (key word: appears) to have no importance to the plot, the Upside Down spores sure have been brought up a lot. In season 5 alone, the spores were mentioned how many times? Three to be exact. (If I’m not mistaken). I’m sorry I couldn’t help myself.
The spores have been bothering me for quite some time, so naturally, a curiosity voyage began. I started my research by asking one simple question.
Where do the spores come from?
When I think of spores the first thing that comes to mind are fungi/mushroom spores. There aren’t any mushrooms in the UD (I could’ve sworn there were but I think I’m hallucinating) but there is this “demogorgon egg” which just so happens to look a lot like a mushroom, particularly a morel.
The funny this about this “egg” is that it’s huge. We saw how small Dart was, he certainly didn’t need an egg this size. And he’s a polliwog, they don’t have eggs like this one. Some of the biggest dinosaurs have smaller eggs than this. It doesn’t even appear to have a shell, it just looks like mushroom material. I really don’t think it’s a demogorgon egg.
“Nearly all fungi form and release vast quantities of spores as part of their life cycle. Spores are the main reproductive units for fungi and are usually single cells. They may be produced either directly by asexual methods or indirectly by sexual reproduction. Spores are commonly formed by the fragmentation of the mycelium or within specialized structures (sporangia, gametangia, sporophores, etc.). Some spores, especially those of primitive fungi, have flagella and can swim, though most are nonmotile. When a spore lands in a suitable location, it germinates and grows to form a new fungal individual.”
(Source)
Fungi produce spores, it’s how they reproduce and spread. There’s already weird squishy looking thing in the tunnels from ST2 that sprays spores everywhere.
With these few similarities in hand, I decided to dig deeper into the mushroom kingdom which brought me to parasitical fungi.
Bingo! I had found my goldmine.
Before we continue I would like to say that I know there is a difference between the UD spores and the MF particles. The lines do tend to blur sometimes, however. (I’m not even sure if the MF is real but anyways). For the sake of this post, let’s imagine the MF particles and UD spores are linked very closely. It’s all so confusing and we really don’t know what’s actually going on in this show.
“Parasitic fungi attack living organisms, penetrate their outer defenses, invade them, and obtain nourishment from living cytoplasm, thereby causing disease and sometimes death of the host.”
(Source)
Tell me this is not screaming Will’s possession? Will could’ve died. Remember Jonathan screaming, “you’re gonna kill him!”
Not to mention, parasitical fungi literally invade plants. Which causes crop loss!
“Among the most common and widespread diseases of plants caused by fungi are the various downy mildews (e.g., of grape, onion, tobacco), the powdery mildews (e.g., of grape, cherry, apple, peach, rose, lilac), the smuts (e.g., of corn, wheat, onion), the rusts (e.g., of wheat, oats, beans, asparagus, snapdragon, hollyhock), apple scab, brown rot of stone fruits, and various leaf spots, blights, and wilts. These diseases cause great damage annually throughout the world, destroying many crops and other sources of food.”
(Source)
Here are some crops infected with parasitical fungi, a mushroom that gives similar vibes, and some ST references:
So, Will Byers’ possession and uh… *checks clipboard* the rotting pumpkins… *flips page* both happened, and it just so happens that the same thing occurs with parasitical fungi?
Coincidence? I think not!
“In humans, parasitic fungi most commonly enter the body through a wound in the epidermis (skin). Such wounds may be insect punctures or accidentally inflicted scratches, cuts, or bruises.”
(Source)
Here’s where the MF particles and spores get mixed up again. Similarly, to the parasitical fungi, the MF particles do actually invade people, but for the sake of this theory let’s say the Hawkins residents could breathe the spores in.
“‘Cause after we inhaled those spring-time snow flakes, I mean, who knows what’s wrong with us? Maybe we’re fine… maybe not. No one really knows for sure.” - Robin Buckley ST5:EP1
“Invasive candidiasis is a serious fungal infection. It occurs when a yeast called Candida overgrows and spreads to your internal organs. Another name for the infection is systemic candidiasis.”
“Invasive candidiasis symptoms may include: Belly pain, chills, fever, muscle pain, skin rash, weakness or fatigue.”
“Some symptoms are specific to the location of the infection. For example, invasive candidiasis that affects your eyes may cause: Blurred vision, sensitivity to light, vision changes.”
(Source)
Chills? He likes it cold… Weakness and fatigue? Will feeling “out of it”… the pain he felt all over from the hive mind… vision changes (okay, I’m sure they don’t mean like Will’s vision changes but I’m including it anyways). Not to mention all the flayed in ST3! Billy had blurred vision and light sensitivity at the pool.
“The parasitic fungi such as the host-specific pathogen Ophiocordyceps unilateralis sensu lato can control insect brains and manipulate their behavior to reach death locations that are optimal for spore dispersal, the so-called fungal extended phenotype.”
“Parasites often manipulate the behavior of their hosts; for example, crickets or grasshoppers commit suicide by drowning when infected by the parasitic hairworm Spinochordodes tellinii. A striking death grip behavior has also been observed in carpenter ants (Camponotus spp.) following infection by the parasitic fungus O. unilateralis. The infected, moribund ants essentially behave like zombies; they walk alone and erratically climb to a certain height in the vegetation (approximately 25 cm above the soil surface).”
(Source)
Will, slowly, gets taken over fully by the MF. His actions and words aren’t entirely his own, he starts to forget everyone and everything, his mind is corrupted. He (or rather the MF in him) even attempts to choke Joyce during his exorcism. Basically, Zombie Boy!
I just want to point out this very random scene, which is directly followed the spores entering the atmosphere through the giant tear across Hawkins.
In conclusion…
To my dismay and frustration, I discovered that The Last of Us has used this parasitical spore concept in their story. But that aside, the Duffers have confessed to taking inspiration from TLOS before. Do I think the Duffers would directly copy TLOS? No.
Despite all that, my research, however, still stands! I’m calling this sporegate!
I am making an edit using a bunch of clips and stuff showcasing all the times spores were brought up, will I ever finish it? Who knows? I am a master procrastinator after all. I’ll add it here when or if I finish it.
