Stranger Things season five may only have one episode left to release, but the show still has some fairly major unanswered questions.
One of these centres around a brief snapshot we got into the backstory of Venca (aka Henry) in Stranger Things season five, volume two.
During the middle episode of the volume, Escape from Camazotz, Holly and Max come across a memory of Henry’s, showing the Netflix show’s main villain as a child in a cave. He comes across a scientist with a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist, who shoots at Henry in a panic, before the young boy kills him.
What’s inside the briefcase is never shown and is implied to play a major part in his origins to becoming 001 and later Vecna; however, the biggest of Stranger Things superfans will already know what’s inside.
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What’s inside Henry’s briefcase and how will it affect the Stranger Things finale?
What’s inside wasn’t something shown in a blink, and you’ll miss it moment of the show, but was instead a core part of Stranger Things: The First Shadow.
The prequel play initially only played on the West End before transferring to Broadway earlier this year, but it’s safe to say that the majority of the millions of Stranger Things fans from around the world won’t have seen it.
The play tells the story of a young Henry gaining his powers and being sent to Dr Brenner’s Hawkins Lab.
In The First Shadow, it is explained that the scientist with the briefcase whom Henry encountered in a cave was a Russian spy who stole it from a secret facility.
Dr Brenner’s experiments are described as looking into how his father’s ship disappeared into ‘Dimension X’, which we now know in the show as ‘The Abyss’.
His father returned with changed blood and in a vegetative state. The briefcase contained technology relating to this, with some suggesting it may even be the elder Brenner’s blood.
Regardless of what's most important, what’s most important is that this was Henry’s first exposure to the Mind Flayer, giving him his powers and changing his blood, allowing his blood to be used to create others like Eleven.
Why the prequel play could play a huge part in the Stranger Things finale
Heading into the finale, the prequel play is set to play a potentially huge role.
Speaking about the cave scene in volume one, the first major hint to the play, Matt Duffer said: "When we were working on the play with Kate Trefry, we had Henry’s backstory worked out.
“There was always a balance that we had to find in terms of how much we were going to put in the play. [The director] Stephen [Daldry] and [the producer] Sonia [Friedman] were always pushing for more, and we were pushing back and saying, ‘Well, we have to wait to reveal that in the show'.
"You’ll see, especially as you reach the final episode, there’s more overlap with the play.
As well as the importance of Henry’s backstory to the plot, fans online have spotted a moment from the trailer which seems to indicate the play itself may be addressed.
The finale trailer, which was released earlier today, December 30, has had fans scouring it for clues, with one fan noticing a major part of this.
They tweeted a picture of one particular frame and said: “OHMYGOD THATS A F**KING STAGE.”
Whilst we can probably assume the show isn’t going to suddenly transition to a filmed version of the play, The First Shadow itself features a section in which Joyce puts on a production.
This was briefly hinted at in Volume One when Max went through Venca’s memories, and has fans thinking that there may even be a cameo from some of the important characters from the play.
The Stranger Things season five finale will release tomorrow, New Year’s Eve, at 8pm ET.
Topics: Stranger Things, Netflix, TV and Film, TV
Michael Slavin