Vecna’s fear of the cave is explained by the Stranger Things play, The First Shadow

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Note: contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 5 episodes 1-4

The first part of Stranger Things season five left fans reeling! Those who weren’t shocked were probably cheering, because did anyone expect Will to suddenly gain powers?

Okay, so we’ve all been riding high on the new season, but now that things are calming down, I’ve been thinking… Vecna, or Henry Creel, really seemed to avoid that cave, and it’s got me wondering why. It’s a big question mark now that the initial excitement has faded.

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In the fourth episode, ‘Sorcerer,’ we learned that Max had actually been stuck inside Vecna’s mental world all along.

Max explained to Holly Wheeler that she’d been hiding from Henry by going into his memories.

She fled into a network of caves, discovering they were the only place in this mental world where she could find real safety from him.

“He’s really frightened,” she explained to Holly. “Not just scared, but truly terrified. There’s something about this cave, about what happened here, and it’s keeping him from entering.”

The play Stranger Things: The First Shadow offers some insight into the origins of his fear. It explores the events that led him to become so afraid.

The play, which premiered in London’s Phoenix Theatre in December 2023, reveals that young Henry Creel became involved in one of Dr. Brenner’s (Matthew Modine) experiments while exploring a cave in Nevada. The experiment aimed to reopen a gateway to Dimension X, and Henry was unintentionally caught up in it.

Dimension X is considered a separate place from the Upside Down, and it’s where The Shadow – which many believe is the same entity as The Mind Flayer – resides.

Dimension X was first discovered during World War II. While the US government was attempting to develop invisibility technology for its warships, they accidentally transported one ship to this other dimension.

Everyone on board perished except for Dr. Brenner’s father, who came back with a changed blood type. This fueled Dr. Brenner’s dedication to the mission, and he eventually managed to open the gate, not realizing his son, Henry, was already inside.

Henry disappeared for twelve hours and somehow ended up in another dimension, known as Dimension X, where he encountered a being called The Mind Flayer. What exactly happened to him there remains a mystery, but when he came back, he had changed. He not only developed new abilities, but people also noticed a difference in his personality.

My parents were worried about me at first, but then they started being afraid of me. They thought moving to Hawkins would fix things, give us a fresh start. Yeah, that definitely didn’t work out how they planned.

Although the play doesn’t fully explain what Henry went through in the Upside Down, we have a good understanding of the Mind Flayer’s power and cruelty based on Will’s terrifying ordeal.

But the fear on Henry’s face showed that his particular type of cruel treatment was different and had far worse results.

Henry suffered a tragic fate in The First Shadow, succumbing to the Mind Flayer’s control before our eyes, unlike Will who managed to survive.

But in season five, it appears the mindscape is holding onto a bit of his humanity. This is suggested by the appearance of the cave and the flashback to 1959 Hawkins High, where we see him attending school with young Joyce Byers, Hopper, Bob Newby, the Wheelers, and the Harringtons.

These events raise some important questions: Who truly holds power in Hawkins now – the Mind Flayer or Vecna? Why could Will fight off the Mind Flayer when Henry couldn’t? And now that Will is connected to the hive mind, is he even more vulnerable to the Mind Flayer’s control?

With the release of the second part still a ways off, everyone has plenty of time to ask questions and come up with theories.

In an interview with Variety, the creators of the show, Matt and Ross Duffer, revealed that the upcoming final season will connect to the stage play, with hidden references for those who have seen it. However, they also assured fans that watching the play isn’t necessary to understand or enjoy the final season.

The first part of Stranger Things season 5 is now available to watch on Netflix. The second part will be released on Christmas Day, and the final part on New Year’s Eve (with a slightly delayed release in the UK).

The latest issue of Living Legends is now available! You can purchase Ariana & Witches at newsstands or online for only £8.99.

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2025-12-02 14:20