Should I see the Stranger Things theatre show before season 5 comes to Netflix?

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Though a new season of Stranger Things hasn’t been released yet, the world of the show is still captivating audiences with a recent theatrical release.

This story, written by the creators of the show, serves as an official prequel to the Netflix series, set 24 years before the first season. Viewers will see younger versions of characters they already know, like Joyce Byers, Jim Hopper, and Bob Newby, when they were in high school. It also features the origins of the latest villain, Henry Creel – also known as Vecna and One.

This stage production focuses on Jamie Campbell Bower’s well-known character, revealing a lot about his history and how he became the biggest danger to the group in Hawkins.

With the show coming back for Season 5 this November, I’ve been thinking – how much of the original story do you really need to know going in? Let’s break it down and get you up to speed.

What is the plot of Stranger Things: The First Shadow?

“Stranger Things: The First Shadow” tells the story of a young Henry Creel – the same Henry we meet in season four of the Netflix series. The play shows Henry’s arrival in Hawkins with his family and his time as a student at Hawkins High. We see him interact with classmates who will become familiar faces, like Joyce Maldonado (who later becomes Joyce Byers), a young Jim Hopper, and Bob Newby, along with a new character, Patty Newby, Bob’s adopted sister.

Henry and Patty start to connect, realizing they both feel like they don’t quite fit in – Patty doesn’t know anything about her mother, and Henry was expelled from his previous school after injuring another student. As Henry falls in love with Patty, his extraordinary abilities develop, and a disturbing pattern of animal deaths begins in their town.

Joyce, Jim, and Bob quickly focus their investigation on Victor Creel, Henry’s father – a World War II veteran struggling with PTSD, as seen in the memorable ‘Dear Billy’ episode of Stranger Things Season 4. But it turns out Henry is the real culprit, though it’s unclear if he’s acting on his own or is being manipulated by the Upside Down.

Henry developed his abilities as a child after vanishing for twelve hours in the Nevada desert. During that time, he was transported to another dimension – sometimes called the Upside Down or Dimension X – and the powerful energies there, including those of the Mind Flayer, changed his blood.

As the show progresses, Henry’s mother, Virginia, becomes increasingly afraid of him and asks a secretive Dr. Brenner to take him. This leads to a frantic search: Brenner hunts for Henry while Joyce and her friends look for Victor, all happening on the same night Patty is in her school play.

Read on below for ending spoilers

What is the Stranger Things: The First Shadow ending?

The play concludes with a tragic climax: Henry, furious that his mother is trying to have him committed, kills both her and his sister. Although his father manages to escape using music – a method also seen in the TV series – he is ultimately found guilty of the family’s murders.

He goes to school, but while being chased by Brenner, he accidentally causes a crash that seriously injures Patty.

The story jumps ahead several months, revealing that Patty is alive and reunited with her mother. Meanwhile, Henry is being held at Dr. Brenner’s lab and forced to help with experiments on children, including Eleven. This is the starting point for the events of Stranger Things Season 4.

Does Stranger Things: The First Shadow link in with the Stranger Things series?

As a huge fan of Stranger Things, I was really excited to see ‘The First Shadow’ and it totally delivers! It beautifully fleshes out the history and characters we’ve come to love, giving us a much deeper understanding of everything that happened before the show even started. It really adds a lot of color and context to the world.

In season 4, we discover that Henry Creel is actually One, the very first child experimented on by Dr. Brenner. He tricks Eleven into releasing him, then kills all the other children in the lab. Eleven eventually stops him, but not before he’s forced back into the Upside Down, where he’s severely injured and becomes the monster known as Vecna.

The stage show merely fills in the gaps before then.

Should I see Stranger Things: The First Shadow before Stranger Things season 5?

The play leaves a few questions unanswered, and it will be interesting to see if season 5 provides some answers. For example, Joyce and Hopper had their own storyline in season 4, so it wasn’t clear if they remembered anything about Henry Creel. The play didn’t reveal whether they knew he was behind the animal deaths in Hawkins, and it’s still uncertain if the show will connect their pasts to this event.

The show hints that Henry is actually being manipulated by the Mind Flayer, the villain from seasons two and three. But earlier episodes made it seem like Henry was the one calling the shots. So, is Henry the true enemy, or is he just a puppet controlled by the Mind Flayer?

Generally, the stage show ties up most loose ends and fits seamlessly with the story told in the Netflix series. You can enjoy both together, appreciating how well they connect, or simply follow the Netflix series, as it’s expected to conclude the storyline in its next season.

What do you need to know before seeing Stranger Things: The First Shadow?

You don’t need to be familiar with the original story to enjoy the Netflix series, but it’s best to watch the series before seeing the play. The play is straightforward enough, but you’ll get much more out of it – understand the feelings behind the scenes and appreciate the hidden meanings – if you already know the story from the series.

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2025-10-31 15:06