Season 5 of Stranger Things has teased that Vecna’s past is marked by a disturbing encounter inside a mysterious cave but the franchise’s stage play has already shed surprising light on that hidden trauma.
In Part 1 of the final season, released Wednesday, November 26, fans watched Max (Sadie Sink) return to the story in a haunting way. Trapped in a sealed-off corner of the Upside Down, she fights to break free, only to be relentlessly hunted by Vecna Henry Creel himself (Jamie Campbell Bower). But just as he closes in, something unexpected happens: the moment Max reaches a cave, Vecna stops cold.
Season 5 of Stranger Things teased a tragic backstory for Vecna, hinting that a traumatic experience in a cave shaped Henry’s dark path but some of the details have already been revealed through the show’s offscreen prequel play.
When part 1 of the final season premiered on Wednesday, November 26, it brought back Max (Sadie Sink), who found herself trapped in a locked section of the Upside Down. As she tried to escape, Vecna, aka Henry (Jamie Campbell Bower), pursued her stopping only when she reached a cave.
The cave was a manifestation of Vecna’s memory, recreated in the Upside Down. Max noted it was the one place the villain refused to enter, hinting at a hidden fear.
Creators Ross and Matt Duffer confirmed that this moment references the Stranger Things prequel play, The First Shadow.
“When we were developing the play with Kate Trefry, Henry’s backstory was already outlined,” Matt, 41, told Cosmopolitan. “We had to carefully balance how much of it would appear in the play. Director Stephen Daldry and producer Sonia Friedman wanted more details, while we felt some should be saved for the show. You’ll notice, especially by the final episode, there’s more overlap between the play and the series.”
Matt confirmed that fans “absolutely do not have to have seen the play to understand” the story. While the Easter eggs from The First Shadow will likely be explored in the next two installments of the series, Us has provided a breakdown of the play’s revelations.
In Stranger Things: First Shadow, Henry is shown as a child living near caves in Nevada. A nearby military base was conducting experiments aimed at making objects invisible. During one of his explorations, Henry stumbled across mysterious technology in a cave that accidentally transported him to another universe known as Dimension X.
This event profoundly shaped Henry, ultimately leaving him susceptible to possession by an entity that manipulated him into becoming the series’ central villain. Vecna, first introduced in season 4, initially appeared as a more benign character named One before evolving into the show’s ultimate antagonist.
“I first received two sets of [script] sides, one from Primal Fear and one from Hellraiser,” actor Jamie Campbell Bower told Variety in May 2022. “I had no idea who this character was. I wasn’t given any material from the show itself.”
Watching the series finally brought clarity to Bower.
“I went a little crazy for two days,” he admitted. “In my apartment, I put a picture of Will Byers [Noah Schnapp] in the center and all the other characters around it. Then I created this Claire Danes–style mind map from Homeland of who I thought this person was. After two days, I stepped back, thought, ‘That feels kind of good,’ took a photo, printed all the pictures, and organized them into a folder and then got a phone call saying Matt and Ross [Duffer] wanted to meet.”
From there, Bower shared his vision for the role with the creators. “They were like, ‘This is literally perfect. Everything you’ve brought here is perfect your references, your inspiration, everything,’” he recalled. “Then they asked if they could show me some additional visual references, explain more about the character, and share their thoughts. I think, by that point, they realized I wasn’t completely insane.”
Bower previously shared that playing the character throughout season 4 allowed him to develop empathy for Vecna.
“Am I able to see him as a villain? I can certainly view him as a source of conflict,” he told Variety in July 2022. “But in terms of being evil or villainous? I understand him, I love him, and I relate to him. I just got a pain in my eyes saying that maybe I should stop! But I truly understand him, and I’m always going to be on his side.”
Stranger Things returns with Volume 2 on December 25, with the series finale dropping December 31 on Netflix.
