A Stranger Things Story You’ve Probably Never Seen Is Key To Season 5

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The first part of Stranger Things Season 5 revealed a crucial backstory for Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower). While the season mainly dealt with the growing danger from other dimensions, it briefly showed a memory Henry tries to hide, featuring a strange cave. This seemed confusing to most viewers, but fans who saw the Stranger Things: The First Shadow play on Broadway instantly understood its importance. Now, with the release of the second part of the season, the connection is clear: key details for the show’s ending were first revealed in a stage play that most people couldn’t see. This means the TV series has to fill in some gaps, because events from the past are now directly impacting the fight to save Hawkins.

Warning: Spoilers below for Stranger Things 5, Volume 2.

Season 5 of Stranger Things sees Holly Wheeler and Max Mayfield trapped in a broken, dreamlike world created by Vecna, desperately searching for an escape. They experience a key moment from Vecna’s past: a young Henry, wearing a Boy Scout uniform, is questioned by a scientist with a metal case. When the scientist shoots Henry’s hand, Henry violently retaliates, killing the man with a rock. The scene ends with Henry opening the suitcase, revealing a crucial part of how he became the villain known as Vecna.

As a huge fan, I was really fascinated by what Dustin figured out in the play! It turns out the Upside Down isn’t just another world like ours, but more of a weird connection point. He described it as a sort of bridge through space and time, held together by some strange, powerful stuff. It basically links Hawkins to this completely wild, chaotic dimension he calls The Abyss. Apparently, both the backstory of Henry and the idea of a whole other reality were key parts of the story in The First Shadow.

The First Shadow Is Stranger Things‘ Most Important Spinoff

A key part of the story in The First Shadow focuses on Dimension X, which Dustin later calls the Abyss. In the play, this place is depicted as an old, desolate landscape of grey ash and floating stone structures, existing long before the Upside Down. It’s home to the First Shadow, a living cloud of particles that the TV show identifies as the Mind Flayer. The play reveals that Dimension X is a different plane of existence that Henry Creel first made contact with in 1953.

In the story, a young Henry Creel discovered a hidden opening within a cave near Rachel, Nevada. There, he found a scientist in hiding with a stolen device linked to a secret 1943 Navy experiment called Project Rainbow. This experiment involved the USS Eldridge, which mysteriously disappeared into another dimension. The ship’s captain, who was Dr. Martin Brenner’s father, was the sole survivor. When Henry unintentionally activated the device, he was pulled into a strange void for twelve hours, becoming the first person to encounter the First Shadow. The story suggests Henry wasn’t born with psychic powers, but instead developed them after being infected by something from this other dimension. These interdimensional particles altered his blood and granted him abilities as a result of this parasitic infection.

As a huge fan, I’m a little worried about how they’re handling the Season 5 finale and The First Shadow. Because that play isn’t widely available, building the finale around its story feels like a big risk. They have to explain what’s in the suitcase and what’s going on with the infection in Nevada, but without leaving out those of us who haven’t been able to see the play. It would be frustrating if understanding the end of a story we’ve followed for years suddenly depended on seeing a stage show! If the finale doesn’t make everything clear for everyone, it’ll feel less like a satisfying conclusion and more like they’re just trying to get us to watch another piece of media.

Volume 2 of Stranger Things Season 5 is now available on Netflix. The last part of this popular supernatural series premiered on January 31st.

Will the show’s ending give enough background on Henry’s story for viewers who haven’t watched The First Shadow? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

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2025-12-26 04:12