‘Stranger Things’ Fans Demand ‘The First Shadow’ Play on Netflix After Series Finale ‘Confusion’

[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for Stranger Things‘ series finale.]

Stranger Things has officially come to a close. Still, fans are already clamoring for more of the franchise’s content to stream on Netflix.

The Wednesday, December 31, series finale saw Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and the Hawkins gang finally defeat the villainous Henry Creel/Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), but not before the show offered key insights into the antagonist’s backstory. While much of the information was new to viewers, it was familiar to those who have seen the Stranger Things stage play, The First Shadow.

The prequel show — which debuted on London’s West End in December 2023 before opening on Broadway in April 2025 — follows the story of how a young Henry gained his powers and grew up to become the center of Dr. Brenner’s (Matthew Modine) supernatural experiments. The play also explores Henry’s connection to the Abyss and the Upside Down, and dives into the high school days of Joyce (Winona Ryder), Hopper (David Harbour), and Bob (Sean Astin).

As explained in the play, Season 5 revealed that Henry gained his powers in a Nevada cave after being exposed to material from the Abyss. His connection to the other world led him down a dark path, culminating in his plan to use the children of Hawkins to draw the Abyss to our world. His plan is ultimately thwarted by the show’s lead characters, with Joyce delivering a gruesome final blow by chopping off Vecna’s head.

 

“Seeing a lot of confusion about the cave scene so here’s a short little explanation: the first shadow (the stranger things prequel stage play) reveals that young henry creel went missing for several hours, and when he was finally found in the cave, he came back with a different,” one fan clarified via X in November.

While the final season includes many references to the play, several fans are hoping Netflix will make the play available to stream to tie up those loose ends that remain from the show. “Wow, the Stranger Things finale was about 20 times better than I thought it was going to be,” one person wrote via X on Wednesday. “My biggest complaint about the entire series is about The First Shadow not being widely viewable before this. What a strange decision.”

Another person wrote, “I don’t know if i’m mad that Stranger Things basically didn’t touch on anything they show on the play or if i like that they didn’t cause the general public could not watch The First Shadow.”

“It’s not fair to make the first shadow canon to stranger things unless you’re going to have a professional recording available on streaming,” someone else shared. “Why do i have to go see a broadway play to understand the tv show ive been watching for the last decade?”

A different person demanded, “@netflix i need stranger things the first shadow streaming NOW.” Another user wrote, “Not for nothing but imma say it first shadow should’ve been season 5 vol 1 for stranger things. One episode to explain Henry’s backstory and why he does what he does makes this season of Stranger things make much more sense. Not everyone saw or knows of first shadow.”

Stranger Things: The First Show is currently playing at the Phoenix Theatre in London and the Marquis Theatre in New York City. The show’s Broadway production recently broke the venue’s nine-performance house record, scoring $2,510,948 for the week ending Sunday, December 28. Ahead of the series finale, Bower surprised the play’s December 19 Broadway audience by making a cameo as an older Henry at the very end of the show.

A documentary of the making of the play, Behind the Curtain: Stranger Things The First Shadow, is currently streaming on Netflix.

Stranger Things, All Seasons Now Streaming, Netflix