Stranger Things Season 5’s Missing Character Was Still Secretly Part Of Vecna’s Story

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A character who didn’t appear in the fifth season of Stranger Things was actually connected to Vecna’s backstory. While the show’s ending wraps up the stories of the main characters, the futures of some supporting characters – like Dr. Sam Owens, Suzie Bingham, and Dmitri “Enzo” Antonov – remain unknown.

Though we’ve met all these characters in earlier seasons of Stranger Things, some weren’t present in the prequel play, Stranger Things: First Shadow. The play focuses on a young Henry Creel and his life in Hawkins before he becomes Vecna. Despite not appearing in the final season of the Netflix show, one key character from the play still influences Vecna’s story.

First Shadow’s Patty Newby Was Missing From Stranger Things Season 5

Credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

In the prequel, The First Shadow, we meet Patty Newby, Bob Newby’s sister. She’s the only one who truly understands and is nice to young Henry, as both of them feel like they don’t fit in at Hawkins High School.

After discovering Henry’s abilities, Patty motivates him to use them to do good, and he repays her kindness by helping her find her birth mother. When Henry is captured by Dr. Martin Brenner, Patty attempts to help him, but he unintentionally injures her. Thankfully, she recovers and eventually finds her mother in Las Vegas.

Okay, so everyone was buzzing about Patty after Stranger Things 4 – would she be back for the final season? The connection between her surviving and her bond with Henry (aka Vecna) led to tons of theories. Fans were pointing to things like the cave Vecna avoids and even details from the school play in his backstory, suggesting she’d be key to The First Shadow storyline in season 5. Turns out, Patty doesn’t actually appear in the final season, and she isn’t even mentioned by name. But her impact is still felt – the writers cleverly wove her into the narrative in a more subtle way, influencing events behind the scenes. It’s a smart move, honestly, and a testament to the character’s importance even in her absence.

Patty Was Secretly Part Of Vecna’s Mr. Whatsit Story

In a Netflix documentary called One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, Jamie Campbell Bower explains why Vecna focuses on the memory of his childhood home when deceiving people. He believes it represents the life he always desired and serves as a painful reminder of when he was close to Patty. You can hear Bower’s explanation in the video below.

What’s striking is that he’s mentally returned to his childhood home. He had the freedom to imagine being anywhere, but he chose this place. It’s as if the house has become an idealized version of his past – a blend of what he wished it had been and what it actually was, and that’s what makes it so relatable. Personally, I was very isolated growing up. Patty Newby was the only person who showed me kindness.

Bower’s depiction of Vecna was informed by both the Netflix series and the play, The First Shadow. Even after becoming a villain and years later, Henry is still haunted by his past with Patty, which continues to affect his actions as he manipulates Holly Wheeler and her friends.

Adding Patty to the fifth season probably wouldn’t have worked well. It would have confused viewers who didn’t know the original story and required a lot of backstory. Also, her character, who always saw the best in Henry, didn’t align with the show’s choice to keep him as a villain without offering any chance for him to change.

Even though Patty wasn’t in season 5 of Stranger Things and wasn’t directly mentioned, it’s reassuring to know she still played a quiet but important role in the overall story of Vecna.

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2026-01-15 05:31