Warning: spoilers ahead.
4.5/5 ★
For 3 years, fans of Stranger Things have been waiting for the 5th and final season of the show. Production was delayed following season 4’s release in 2023, due to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike (Pitchfork).
The 5th season has been highly anticipated by fans and its episodes will be released in three parts. The first part streamed to Netflix on Nov. 26, with the first 4 episodes, the next releases will be on Dec. 25, and the finale on Dec. 31. The finale will be available on Netflix as well as offered in select theaters.
The first 4 episodes focused on Hawkins after the “big quake”. The episodes felt jumpy and lacking in necessary information. Each episode is over an hour long and explores new events while also using flashbacks to provide context.
Episode 1: The Crawl
The first episode was slightly disappointing. The episode started off in the setting of season 4’s end, but not directly after season 4’s last events. Season five has a lot of questions to answer for fans regarding government involvement with the rifts, Eleven, and the grey grass that spread at the end of season 4.
The flashback to Will in the Upside Down from season 1 tied the seasons together nicely, reinforcing the “end starts with the beginning” motif.
Character relationships also stayed consistent despite the season’s chaos. Robin and Steve still continue to work; probably to keep making that money and, as fans found out later, to inform the rest of the main cast about the next Crawl with information smuggled in by a season 2 favorite, Murray Bauman.
All in all, the first episode did a pretty good job of referencing what happened in previous seasons, namely season four, and also providing new content. Though it is a very slow start and received the lowest rating on IMDb out of the first 4 episodes of season 5.
Episode 2: The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler
Anyone who’s ever watched Stranger Things would probably call Holly Wheeler a background character. She has no relevance to the plot and has never had any emphasis throughout the show. To see her suddenly grown up foreshadows there will be something evolving her–whether that be good or bad is still unknown.
Throughout the seasons, Stranger Things has repeated situational irony. In season 4, Nancy foresaw that Hawkins would burn and her family would die in Vecna’s Vision. In season 5, her mother and father get seriously injured but don’t quite die and Holly goes missing.
Leading up to this, it’s shown that Holly’s imaginary friend, Mr. Whatsit, isn’t actually imaginary. The reveal of his actual identity is antagonizingly slow but it was definitely worth it. Watching Karen Wheeler write out
Henry’s name and piecing together that Holly was being stalked by Henry/Vecna/one was very surprising.
Since the revelation of Henry being her friend and her being in his house later in the episode, fans on Instagram have brought up the fact this isn’t Holly’s first incident with the Upside Down. In season 1, Holly sees the Demogorgon trying to break through the wall at Joyce’s house, making this the second episode with Holly’s name in the title.
Also, Karen Wheeler’s badass moment fighting off the Demogorgon, both drunk and with a broken wine bottle, was filled with so much emotion. Karen has always been unaware of her childrens’ acts; not because she doesn’t care, but because they hid everything from her. The second she picked up the empty wine bottle, broke it, and started throwing hits was such a power move. It was truly a badass-woman moment.
Episode 3: The Turnbow Trap
“And I told you to eat, your damn, pie,” is exactly how this episode made me feel.
I was on the edge of my seat almost every minute. Constant close-calls with the characters, the Upside Down and even the government had a more prominent role this episode.
Since season 4, the government had been after Eleven and suspected she was the one behind all the killings and disappearances–that she was a sort of weapon meant to be used against the government. Holy airball, this government doesn’t know anything.
For half the episode, I couldn’t stop thinking about how the government needs to just stop and listen. They just make assumptions about a girl who’s doing everything to stop the one person out to destroy their town–Vecna.
On another note, although Derek Turnbow seemed like a throw away character this season, his role was pretty interesting. Though he was basically used as bait, he brought the comedy aspect similar to Erica in season 3.We also finally got to meet the famous Tina, Erica’s best friend, really bringing the seasons to a full circle again and tying everything together.
However, as most fans would probably agree, the best part of this episode was of course the ending; the cliffhanger of seeing Max. Which can only mean one thing: she’s alive and coming back– hopefully.
Episode 4: Sorcerer
Wow. That’s really all that’s needed to describe this episode. It was a cinematic masterpiece.
Will getting powers was such a power-move. Although, it wasn’t unheard of. Lots of fans before the release of season 5, and even many years prior, brought up the idea of Will getting powers The way the Duffer Brothers showed how he discovered them and the way he used them was meaningful.
Just as every other episode, this one ties in with the rest of the show, but on a deeper level. All the way back in season 1, Will goes missing. He gets rescued eventually but he’s still a little off. In season 2, he becomes sort of possessed, and to try and bring him back, his family and friends tell him memories. His mom recalled when she bought him a new crayon box; his brother explained how they built Castle Byers; his friend reminded Will how they met and became friends.
All of these memories and Robin’s speech about how, deep down, Will just needs to accept and love himself creates a beautiful moment of his acceptance and turns him into a powerful being– a sorcerer.
Final thoughts
Season 5 is packed with emotion, lore and a killer soundtrack. It started slow but built into something spectacular. If this is just the beginning of the end, then the finale is going to be unforgettable. Remember: if the lights flicker, stay away from the ceiling.
