Volume one of the finale season of Stranger Things aired on Wednesday, November 26 at 6:00 p.m. MST. At 6:00 p.m. and 15 seconds, Netflix crashed.
Stranger Things is a full-on phenomenon. Fans have been waiting three years from the end of the last season for this final chapter to come to screens, and the four episodes that came out have gained a total of 4.1 million views at the time of writing (which is less than a week after the premiere).
Fortunately, the wait was worth it: these first episodes of Season 5 are some of the best of the sci-fi series. Furthermore, viewers that stopped watching after Seasons 3 and 4 (and even those that have never watched the show) can start back here, as these episodes not only create a great entry point but also feel fresh and different from prior seasons.
The final season opens in November 1987, about 18 months after series antagonist Vecna destroyed much of Hawkins, Indiana, at the end of Season 4. Hawkins is under a military quarantine as rifts in the town meld our world with the Upside Down, a horrifying parallel dimension full of monsters that is ruled by Vecna. The military believes that psychokinetic teenager Eleven—not Vecna—destroyed the town with an earthquake and are looking everywhere for her in both Hawkins and the Upside Down, where they’ve established a military base.
Meanwhile, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) is determined to kill Vecna after he killed her friend Max (Sadie Sink), whom Eleven resurrected, albeit as a comatose body. Eleven has been hiding from the military with her adoptive father Sheriff Hopper (David Harbour) and Will’s mother Joyce (Winona Ryder), who have been helping Eleven retrain her psychokinetic powers and prepare an assault on Vecna.
Since the only way into the Upside Down is controlled by the military, Hopper and Eleven can only go in briefly to hunt Vecna when the military opens the gate to deliver supplies to their base. Hopper and Eleven know when they can execute these “crawls” thanks to the core group of young protagonists—Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), and Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo)—and coded messages broadcast over the radio by Mike’s older sister Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Will’s older brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), and their friends Steve (Joe Keery) and Robin (Maya Hawke).
However, these attack missions suddenly turn into rescue missions after Demagorgons, vicious monsters under Vecna’s control, start to abduct citizens of Hawkins and take them to the Upside Down.
While this may seem complicated, everything someone who has never seen the show needs to know to catch up is relayed in the first twenty minutes of the first episode through a flashback with Will and an exposition-heavy radio broadcast by Robin. While this setup makes for a slow start to the season, the action picks up by the end of episode one and keeps going.
What really works about this season is how very different it is from the previous seasons. While previous seasons, especially Season 4, saw the protagonists splintered into different storylines, everyone is together a lot more. While the large size of the main cast seems like this would lead to some characters getting ignored, there’s a great balance. Everyone gets screentime and has a role and purpose in the action.
The other major change is in the attitude of the characters—instead of trying to solve a mystery or save someone, the characters this season are being proactive and taking the fight to both the military and the Upside Down. The shift in tone from horror to action (similar to the one between Alien and Aliens) makes more sense than rehashing the horror focus of previous seasons. The characters have all changed a lot since the first season, which is bound to happen since it has been a decade since the first season’s release, and the new tone does a great job of highlighting that character growth.
Connected to the shift in tone, this season does seem to be more comedic than previous seasons, with many jokes scattered throughout the episodes. Many of the jokes are the kind of ironic “gallows humor” that is used in thrillers to alleviate some tension; however, much of the humor feels like it’s just for fun and to soften the horror elements. Again, this isn’t a bad thing—it’s just different.
Another difference that annoyed many fans before the season’s release was the distribution schedule: four episodes on Thanksgiving, three episodes on Christmas, and the final episode of the series on New Year’s. While it can be frustrating to have to wait for the volumes to come out separately, the staggered release makes sense when watching the episodes. Each one of these episodes is over an hour and covers a lot of story. The future episodes will also be longer, with the final episode clocking in at over two hours and even being released theatrically in some locations (including the Westminster Promenade AMC).
More than giving the audience a binge break, the staggered release also builds anticipation, which makes it even more exciting to watch the other episodes. Other streamers have done this for years—Amazon staggered the episode releases of Fallout and Hazbin Hotel, and HBO Max staggers all its premiere series, from The Penguin to the recent It: Welcome to Derry. This way, the social media buzz around the show isn’t just for a weekend but will last for a couple of months.
While Season 5 feels different, it’s still Stranger Things. The acting is as solid as it’s ever been, and the new additions are great. Nell Fisher shines as a recast Holly Wheeler in her first major project since Evil Dead Rise. Jake Connelly is hilarious as nerd-bully hybrid Derek Turnbow, and Linda Hamilton makes for a good villain with her portrayal of Dr. Kay, the head of the military forces.
The scenes are all shot really well, and this season the Demogorgons look even scarier than usual thanks to the CGI they have used on set. There is a lot of CGI used in this season, but it mostly looks realistic (one exception is a de-aged Noah Schnapp playing 13-year-old Will Byers from the first season). With the episodes directed by series creators the Duffer Brothers and Frank Darabont of Walking Dead and Shawshank Redemption fame, the pacing and camera movement are energetic yet expertly composed.
Season five also packs the episodes with the plot twists and shocks that the series is known for. The fourth episode is by far the best—the twists are jaw-dropping and will guarantee viewers will be counting down the days until the next episode’s release. Online anticipation is already through the roof for the next volume, which will release on December 25.
This isn’t just good television—it’s historic television. There is no doubt that Stranger Things Season 5 will sweep awards and become one of the most watched finales in history. For anyone who did not care for the first four seasons, it’s definitely worth it to give the final season a try. Skipping out on this will be like skipping out on a cultural moment that will surely be the talk of this holiday season.
