How does 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' connect with the TV series?

The final series of Stranger Things has come to an end, but if you still have questions, The First Shadow in the West End is likely to have the answers.

Summary

• Stranger Things: The First Shadow is the prequel story to the hit TV series
• The TV show and the stage play overlap in a number of ways
• You can find out more about Henry Creel's backstory by seeing The First Shadow

Stranger Things has finally come to an end after 10 years, five series, and one stage play — that can be seen both on Broadway and in the West End. A documentary has already been made about the creation of Stranger Things: The First Shadow and a new one about the making of season five of the TV series will be released on 12 January, also on Netflix.

The story of strange goings-on in the small, fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana has taken the world by storm, following the lives of a group of teenage friends (including Max, Eleven, Will, Mike, Lucas, and Dustin) as they attempt to fight interdimensional evil. The First Shadow expands on the origin story of Henry Creel, a young, disturbed boy who arrives in Hawkins 30 years before, turning the town upside down and evolving into the series' main villain Vecna.

The TV series and the play overlap in plenty of ways, and we've broken down exactly how they connect. But the only way to get the full picture is by topping up your Stranger Things prequel knowledge with tickets to the stage show.

See how it all began, and book Stranger Things: The First Shadow tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

This article contains major spoilers for Stranger Things season five and Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

The First Shadow shows adult characters like Joyce and Hopper as teenagers

In the Stranger Things TV series, we meet characters such as Joyce Maldonado, Jim Hopper Jr, Karen Childress, Ted Wheeler, and Bob Newby as adults, but in the stage show they are teenagers attending Hawkins High.

Many of the dynamics seen in the TV series are already evident at this early stage, with Bob, Joyce, and Hopper in a low-key love triangle (Joyce goes on to have relationships with Bob in season two and, later, Hopper) and Karen and Ted presented as smitten teenagers. The latter end up in a mundane marriage in the TV show, but they get small moments in the spotlight in season five. The parents of other kids in the series are also seen in the play, such as Sue Anderson and Charles Sinclair (parents to Erica and Lucas) and Claudia Yount (mother to Dustin).

The First Shadow also shows when they first meet Henry Creel

The TV series never addresses the fact that Joyce and Hopper meet Henry Creel before he becomes Vecna — the villain who is threatening to destroy Hawkins. When he arrives in Hawkins and befriends Bob’s sister Patty Newby, he also ends up cast as the lead in Joyce’s school play Dark of the Moon, about a witch boy's forbidden love for a normal girl.

In season five, Max and Holly journey through Henry’s memories, which include a scene in a busy hallway at Hawkins High, in which Joyce is flyering for Oklahoma!. In The First Shadow, the musical is used as a decoy so the rebellious Joyce can really stage the more subversive Dark of the Moon.

The First Shadow reveals how Dimension X was first discovered

The First Shadow opens with the disappearance of warship USS Eldridge, which was the subject of a real-life teleportation hoax named The Philadelphia Experiment. In the play, the ship is teleported to hostile, alien territory named Dimension X, which becomes the setting for the final big battle in the TV show.

Dr Brenner’s father was the captain of the missing USS Eldridge and was the only survivor on its return. However, he came back with his blood type altered and he died shortly after. This was the motivation for Dr Brenner to set up The Nevada Experiment.

The First Shadow reveals more about Max’s cave

In season five, Max — and, later, Holly and the kidnapped children — hide from Henry in a cave that he is too terrified to enter. When Holly and Max are trying to escape his mind prison, which they call Camazotz (named after a sinister planet from Holly’s book A Wrinkle in Time), they happen on another memory that shows why he is so scared — but doesn’t give the full picture without The First Shadow.

In the play, we are told that a scientist fled from Dr Brenner’s experiment after stealing essential interdimensional technology (a rock containing Mind Flayer particles). The TV show reveals Henry meeting this scientist in the cave, killing him in self defence, and then opening his suitcase. He touches the Mind Flayer particles, which infect him, send him to Dimension X, and alter his blood like Brenner’s father.

The First Shadow shows how Henry first met Dr Brenner

In season five, Henry is carrying a spyglass when he goes into the caves. In the play, Dr Brenner discovers the spyglass and uses it to track down Henry in Hawkins, where he establishes his laboratory. As the Mind Flayer begins to take over Henry, and his murderous tendencies start to cause problems for the Creel family, his mother Virginia gets in touch with Dr Brenner for help. This is how Brenner first got access to Henry and eventually used him to begin altering the blood types of other children to unlock powers that allowed them to reach new dimensions.

The First Shadow gives Henry a more sympathetic backstory

In season five, Will psychically communicates with Vecna to try to convince him to fight the Mind Flayer that has infected him since childhood. But Vecna views them as one entity, positioning himself as a willing partner, rather than a pawn in the Mind Flayer’s plan. In The First Shadow, Henry’s origin story positions him far more sympathetically: he is shown as a young boy trying to fight the evil within him and desperate to protect Patty from the monster.

Book Stranger Things: The First Shadow tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: Stranger Things: The First Shadow in the West End. (Courtesy of production)