#tfsgate

'The First Shadow', written by Kate Trefry, is based on a story written by the Duffers, Trefry, and Jack Thorne. Trefry said the play is "totally integrated" into the show:

She also said TFS is a "missing puzzle piece":

Hm, that sounds familiar...

Oh yeah, when Hopper said this while looking directly at us! 👁️👁️

Netflix called 'The First Shadow' the "beginning of the end" and teased it held the "key to the end":

That article was originally published on December 15, 2023, but interestingly enough, it appears to be last edited on the same day ST5 Volume 1 aired...

That is nearly two years later. Why would they do that? Unless 'The First Shadow' is important to season five, and they want us to know it!

After the "finale", the fans who did see the play were upset because of all the hype it got and how important to season five they thought it would be. The Duffers claimed they realized not everyone would be able to see it, so they left out a bunch of context from the play:

Which contradicts everything above and also a Hollywood Reporter interview from April 2025:

So, everything "links and connects" and sets up "big reveals" (plural) for season five. Although the only "big reveal" that comes to mind, that ties into both ST5 and TFS, was the fact that Henry is possessed by the Mind Flayer and has been for most of his life. Which doesn't really seem like a setup for a big reveal since it was already revealed in the play.

But seriously, why write an original story, then have one of your writers—who you wrote that story with—write a play about it while simultaneously writing two seasons?

Just for you to decide, not everyone can go see the play, so we gotta make sure it's not actually important to season five? Something doesn't add up here. Also, everyone could have seen the play had you recorded it and released it on Netflix, but they decided to do that after the "finale". Hm, why would they do that? I wonder if they changed something. They've already changed the play before; the West End and Broadway versions are both different.

The Duffers said the play was supposed to explore Henry's humanity:

Why bother setting up a redemption arc just to not follow through and brutally kill him instead?

The main question asked in 'The First Shadow' is: "Can love defeat fear?" But love didn't win, it didn't save Henry. He thought Patty was dead, but she isn't. Why tell the audience that she's alive at the end just to do nothing with that?

Unless they are going to do something, and there is more to ST5 than we currently have!

After the play first came out, the Duffers kept saying it was important to see the play to understand ST5. I think that was a half-truth, because with the season 5 we have currently, that's not true. I mean, sure, it adds some context, but like be serious. Also, they could have put it on Netflix before the season started airing, but they chose not to wonder why. They're releasing it now because of what they said: you need to see it to understand what comes next.

I already suspected there would be more coming before they announced they were filming the play, but that really solidified it for me. Especially because it took a whole week with no audiences, that's not common. Usually, when a show is filmed, it is in front of an audience, and it certainly doesn't take more than 2 or 3 days. Unless they needed the week because they were rehearsing new material for Netflix, then continued the show as usual after filming so as not to spoil the surprise.

And, no, they didn't take a break either:

That's Patty's actress responding to a fan online

In 'Behind the Curtain' (TFS doc), Kate Trefry (writer) said the Duffers told her to cut about 80% of what she initially wrote for the play to avoid "spoilers" for ST5.

[29:06]

I bet they put back what was originally cut.

This is probably a side note, but Kate spoke highly of the Duffers throughout the doc and even called them "narrative geniuses". I don't think she went out of her way to sing their praises if she didn't honestly mean it. She also seemed really proud of the work she did on ST5 and said she "totally fucking delivered".

Also, in the documentary, the Duffers talk about how the play and the show are "building to a surprising and emotional conclusion."

[6:22]

surprising you say👀

And yet, that's the finale we got? I don't buy it for one second. They have been working on season 5 since around the same time as season 4. And, no, I don't believe they started filming ST5 with an unfinished script for the finale, there's no way Netflix would allow that for one of their biggest shows. They had plenty of time to give us a good final season to a good show. What we currently have is only the end of beginning.

First, let's talk about this Entertainment Weekly article from December 2025.

A few things stood out to me, so here we go!

So, they specifically wanted 'Tales from '85' to be made and oversaw its production while simultaneously working on ST5.

As for showrunner Eric Robles, he said some pretty interesting stuff:

"Any future season will remain under the 'Tales from '85' title."

Hm, wasn't TF85 renewed for a second season already​? Also, the show is set between the end of ST2 (November 1984) and the beginning of ST3 (July 1985). He seems to think he needs 25 seasons to cover eight months—why? Because it progresses "hours by hours, day by day" and hey, wait a minute! That sounds really familiar. Where have I heard that before?

Oh, right, Henry's speech in season four!

"each life a faded, lesser copy of the one before"

"waiting for it all to be over, all while performing in a silly, terrible play day after day"

"hour by hour, day by day"

Tales from '85 is a faded, lesser copy—a silly, terrible play—and we're all waiting for it to be over.

Yes, we do, because 'Tales from '85' takes place between seasons two and three of a five-season-long show!

It's a Trojan Horse

I don't think 'Tales from '85' is a real show. But I do think the fact that they're previewing the first two episodes in movie theaters tells us something. I think the episodes they'll show in theaters are real, in the sense that they were written, animated, and recorded as if they were part of a real show. It's their way of going, "See, these episodes are real; therefore, the show is real." I'm not convinced. It's most likely a Trojan horse wait for the horse, just not for what you expect.

I've seen people speculating about TF85 being a Trojan horse for the rest of season five. But I don't think they're going to surprise-drop the remaining episodes of one of the biggest shows in the world; it would most likely take a while for most people to notice, which means Netflix isn't making bank right away. There's no way they did a fake-out ending just to not make a big deal about it later. Think of the hype there's going to be when the Duffers reveal the truth: Stranger Things is not over yet, that Vecna and the Mind Flayer won—and think about all the officially licensed merch they're going to sell🤑.

A prequel play most people aren't that excited about, especially after that "finale", however...

That's right, 'The First Shadow'!

Hear me out! 'The First Shadow' literally has a fake-out play, a Trojan horse, in it. The students tell everyone they're putting on 'Oklahoma!' but really they're doing a completely different play, 'Dark of the Moon'.

The Duffers have been telling us what they're up to the whole time!

Oklahoma! = Tales From '85 Dark of the Moon = The First Shadow

'Oklahoma!' is a classic, comfortable choice—the same reason Joyce chose it to front 'Dark of the Moon'—like a Saturday morning cartoon.

'Dark of the Moon' is a story of love, fate, and tragedy, about a witch boy who falls in love with a human girl, directly paralleling 'The First Shadow'.

Also, in 'Tales from '85', the kids are solving a paranormal mystery.

In 'The First Shadow', Joyce, Bob, and Hopper team up to investigate mysterious animal killings around town. The culprit, of course, is a Mind Flayer-possessed Henry Creel. Sounds paranormal to me!

And Robert Englund, who played Victor Creel in season four and Freddy Krueger—an inspiration for Vecna—will be voicing a character in TF85:

It's just interesting that the actor of a character directly related to Henry, and is in 'The First Shadow', is going to be in 'Tales from '85'.

This is the perfect setup to a big reveal!

In the very first chapter Mike said this:

which I'm sure we're all familiar with, as it was used in the official promo!

The final chapter is titled: “Countdown”

Based on this, we're getting something “next week”—seven days. Alternatively, it could be that the “Countdown” will be backwards from 10.

I know I've mentioned this before, but in an Entertainment Weekly article, Eric Robles said something suspicious:

and ‘Tales from '85’ has been (allegedly) renewed for another season:

I say “allegedly” because I've checked for other sources and I can't find anything official, so take that with a grain of salt. Although, it is weird for a plant to say something like that.

Anyway, I'm gonna go mark my calendar for April 30th and/or May 3rd!

When you hear the word "traitor", you probably think one of the heroes will turn bad or is a villain in disguise. But that's been done before, it's easy, trite if you will. Heroes aren't the only ones who can be betrayed, it happens to villains all the time.

I believe the Mind Flayer will be betrayed by Henry Creel; he's the traitor.

Henry was never a villain, he is a victim of the mind flayer—like Will—and has been since he was like 8 years old. (but he said he chose it and that it never controlled him) Imagine being possessed by an incorporeal shadow monster from another dimension that infects and controls your mind and uses your greatest fears against you, and now you have superpowers that you have little to no control over, and no idea what the hell is going on because you are 8 years old.

That's what happened to Henry.

It's easy for people to view Henry as a villain because he was introduced to us as one. We didn't see his backstory for a long time most of it happened off-screen lol. But how many viewed Will as a villain in season 2, when he was "the spy"? Probably not very many! Because we know him, we saw what happened to him, we know it's not his fault and that he was being controlled, like Henry.

Henry was always intended to have a redemption arc. How else do you explain 'The First Shadow'? The play that revealed his past, humanized him, and asked the question "Can love defeat fear?". The answer was "no". Whatever we can expect going forward, I think the show is going to do the opposite, and it applies to Henry, as well as Byler and defeating the Mind Flayer.

As for how his betrayal will come about, I believe Jane/El and Will (& maybe Kali) are going to team up and go into Henry's mind, most likely looking for a way to defeat him and the Mind Flayer. They find his memories, the possession and how scared he was, maybe some of what happened between then and moving to Hawkins, and Patty. He's not the villain, he never was. They use his memories of love to get through to him (like El & Billy in ST3), help him break free of the Mind Flayer's hold, bring him back to the light. He tells them how to defeat the Mind Flayer and offers to help.

I think it's very possible that he is going to sacrifice himself to save everyone. Honestly, I would be surprised if he didn't, I don't necessarily want him to die, but I really don't see a lot of other options for him at this point, unfortunately.

If you're still not convinced and need something more official, this is literally a WSQK broadcast from December 25, Late Nights with Mindy Flare [09:09:11 PM]

Huh, so Mindy needs Vance's help because everything's going wrong, but he's nowhere to be found, and now it's "[Mindy] vs the machines", she has to fight alone; interesting!

So yeah, that's why I think Henry is the traitor, also it would be kinda unexpected by most of the audience, so there's an element of surprise/plot-twist. The more I think about this, the more it makes sense!

If you actually read all that and you're STILL here: thank you, I love you, goodbye!

Before season 5 started airing, the Duffers said it "comes full circle" and they tried "not to leave any loose ends"

"people who are watching in the future won't mind about the delays"👀

Why would they say they tried not to leave loose ends, knowing the "finale" would leave questions unanswered and that they already had a "spin-off series" in the works to address them? It doesn't make any sense!

The alleged "spin-off" takes place in a different town, includes new characters, and features a completely different mythology. Oh, and it's set in a different decade!

"Hopefully it's something announced soon-ish."

That article was published on December 25, 2025, and still the "spin-off" has no title, unless...

'The First Shadow' pro-shot was announced on February 10, 2026. Less than two months later!

The "spin-off" will somehow answer questions raised in the "finale" and explore more of Henry's past—specifically the mysterious rock connected to his powers and the Mind Flayer.

The only way this makes sense is if it's a prequel. But we already have a prequel: 'The First Shadow'. So, what is this? A prequel to a prequel that touches on lore the aforementioned prequel already covers? Why bother going through the trouble of creating a whole new show when you can just add the extra lore to the preexisting prequel?

Unless, it's not a spin-off; it's what's being added to 'The First Shadow'. Think about it: the "spin-off" takes place in a town that isn't Hawkins, and Henry is from Nevada. There are new characters and the uncovering more about the mystery rock—the same rock that was being studied in a lab by Dr. Brenner in Nevada, but one of Brenner's scientists defected, stole the rock and ended up in the cave system where Henry found him.

And every time I look for upcoming Netflix projects, TFS is nowhere to be seen, but do you know what is? That's right, the "untitled spin-off"! Notice how we have no official promo or release date for 'The First Shadow' on Netflix? But do you know what is getting a lot of promo? 'Tales from '85'! I'm pretty sure there's a connection there.