Stranger Things, after a three-year hiatus, has remarkably defied the trend of long breaks wrecking TV show finales, a fate that befell prestige giants like Game of Thrones, The Witcher, Sherlock, and True Detective. While extended gaps typically crush momentum, fragment fanbases, and transform finales into score-dropping spectacles, Stranger Things managed a rare feat: a finale debut that remained embraced, steady, and surprisingly unified within a ruthless scoring environment. Modern fan culture, fueled by social media and binge-watching, significantly inflates expectations during hiatuses, leading viewers to mythologize shows and judge new chapters against idealized versions. This phenomenon often results in review-bombing and intense scrutiny, yet Stranger Things Season 5 debut avoided the instant implosion that affected its predecessors, demonstrating stability and an ability to unite audiences.

The return of Stranger Things for its fifth and final season brings Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) back to terrorize Hawkins. This season delves deeper into Vecna’s origins and his connection to the Mind Flayer, challenging previous assumptions about who the true villain is. In Season 5, Volume 1, Vecna abducts children into his dreamworld, Camazotz, where Holly Wheeler discovers Max (Sadie Sink) in a coma, reliving memories. Max's exploration of these memories unveils crucial details about Henry Creel's backstory, tying directly into the prequel play, The First Shadow.

The First Shadow reveals Henry Creel's high school years and the origins of the powers wielded by Henry, Eleven, and Dr. Brenner's experiments. During World War II, a US government experiment gone wrong sent a military ship, carrying Brenner's father, to Dimension X, where he acquired a unique blood type. Years later, a young Henry Creel, exploring a cave in Nevada where his family lived, was exposed to Dimension X and the Mind Flayer, emerging with the same unique blood type. The play depicts Henry, then Louis McCartney, attempting to resist his terrifying powers and connection to the Mind Flayer to live a normal life. He falls in love with Patty Newby and attends high school with young Joyce Byers, Jim Hopper Jr., and Bob Newby, who investigate strange animal deaths. Despite his efforts, Henry is ultimately possessed, becoming Experiment 001 in Brenner's lab and beginning his transformation into Vecna.

In Season 5, Episode 4,