No one expected the ‘Stranger Things‘ stage show, ‘The First Shadow‘, to drop so many bombs, but it did anyway. And, we’re here to spill all the beans. Fans walked in expecting a nostalgic prequel with familiar faces and ’50s Hawkins vibes. But, surprise! ‘The First Shadow‘ almost rewrote the entire ‘Stranger Things‘ universe. We’re talking about things like Vecna’s long-lost love, Brenner’s Upside Down’s origin, and more.
1. Henry gets his powers from Dimension X, not from birth
Henry randomly disappears for 12 hours in Nevada, where he lives with his family. During that missing time, he ends up in Dimension X in ‘The First Shadow‘, which seems to be what gives him powers and connects him to the Upside Down that we’ve seen in ‘Stranger Things‘. When he comes back, Alice says he no longer seems like the same person. Afterward, he keeps slipping into the void, sometimes by choice and sometimes without meaning to, and he later uses it to communicate with Patty while stuck in the lab.
2. Brenner’s obsession starts with his father and the SS Aldgate
Brenner’s dad captains the SS Aldgate, a ship tied to a government program called Project Rainbow, and everyone thinks it disappears at sea. The truth is that the ship travels to Dimension X, and every crew member dies except Brenner’s father. He returns extremely sick and cannot receive blood transfusions. Before he dies, he tells young Brenner about the other dimension. Brenner later admits in ‘Stranger Things‘ that he spends his life trying to reach it and tells Henry that the two of them will create a gate there.
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3. Henry’s disappearance happens near Brenner’s secret tests
Brenner already runs experiments in that same Nevada area in ‘Stranger Things‘, trying to locate Dimension X. A lab worker even escapes with stolen equipment and vanishes forever. When Henry returns, something feels wrong, and it only gets worse.
4. The Mind Flayer already influences Henry and makes him kill
The play strongly suggests the Mind Flayer gets inside Henry early and pushes him to kill animals, including Claudia’s cat. Brenner later confirms that killing increases Henry’s strength. Henry almost kills a classmate, so the Creels move from Nevada to Hawkins. Virginia becomes terrified of her own son and treats him harshly.
5. Henry and Patty fall for each other, and it changes everything
When Henry meets Patty, they connect instantly. Henry is awkward and shy. Patty is bold, funny, and loves comic books. She tells him he can use his powers for something good. Henry admits he has nightmares and hurts things without meaning to, and she encourages him to learn control. At one point, Henry uses his powers to give Patty a happy vision, which becomes the only time he successfully uses them for something positive.
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6. Trying to help Patty goes completely off the rails
Henry tries to help Patty find her missing mom, but he loses control, and the Mind Flayer takes over. Patty’s dad arrives, and Henry almost kills both of them until Patty tells Henry she loves him. That snaps him out of it like it did for Max in ‘Stranger Things‘. Patty’s father later tells her that, while under Henry’s control, he went to Dimension X, saw the Mind Flayer, and even drew it. He believes Henry did not cause it and says Henry actually fought the monster to protect him. That gives Patty hope, even though she is scared.
7. Virginia sends Henry to HNL, and Brenner gets his hands on him
Before Patty can reach out again, Henry arrives at HNL because Virginia cannot handle him anymore. At the lab, Henry learns that his blood is not like any other human’s, and the doctors believe his 12-hour disappearance created his powers and Upside Down connection. Brenner constantly provokes him, encourages him to hurt animals, and claims that killing gives Henry energy.
8. Brenner pushes Henry to kill a human, and Henry refuses
Brenner insists that killing a person would make Henry much stronger than killing animals. Henry refuses and fights back. He injures Brenner and two other workers and then escapes. At another point, Brenner forces his way into Henry’s mind so aggressively that Henry almost dies, but Brenner succeeds and sees demogorgons on a lab monitor.
9. Henry learns his mother betrayed him, and everything snaps
When Henry returns home, Virginia does not want him there. He sees her memories and realizes she secretly spoke to Brenner, who told her to act normal until he came back for Henry. He also sees her saying that maybe he was always evil. Brenner later decides Henry escaped because he loves a girl and demands Patty’s name. After this, Henry lets the Mind Flayer kill his mother and sister.
10. The school confrontation destroys what is left of Henry’s humanity
Henry goes to Patty, who is about to perform and “fly” in Joyce’s school play. Brenner arrives too and urges Henry to kill Patty and remove his weakness. Henry begs Patty to leave with him, but he loses control and throws her off the balcony above the stage. Everyone thinks she died, and Henry gets told she did. Later, inside the void, he learns she survived.
11. The numbered children come from Henry’s blood, including Eleven
In ‘The First Shadow‘, Brenner captures Henry again, drugs him heavily, and gains total control. He reveals that he has been recruiting pregnant women for experimentation. He introduces Henry to a pregnant woman and proudly says, “Meet 002.” The show explains that Brenner creates all the numbered children using blood transfusions from Henry to pregnant women. ‘The First Shadow‘ ends with Henry holding newborn Eleven, calling her 011, and saying he is excited to see her because he has something new planned.
