Brandon is wrong because the formation of the 1st elements cleared the space required for light without being absorbed. It was fundamental during the early steps of the Universe.
The early Universe
About 14 billion years ago, all of the matter and energy in the universe began to expand rapidly, which is nowadays called the Big Bang.
The Universe became completely transparent to the light when it had approximately 380,000 years old from the Big Bang, and from this moment it stay transparent to the long-wavelength light.
Nowadays, it is believed that the early Universe needed many years to fully become transparent to light.
Learn more about the early Universe here:
https://brainly.com/question/640086