*SPOILERS AHEAD!*
It has been three years since the fourth season aired in 2022, and nine years since the first season of “Stranger Things” aired in 2016. Fans have waited patiently over the years for each season to come, and anticipated the amazing story line and cinematography each year.
On Nov. 26, 2025, the first volume of the fifth and final season of “Stranger Things” was released.
With a run–time of four hours and 34 minutes for only the first four episodes, it received 59.6 million views within the first five days of its streaming. The release also received a record for Netflix’s “Most Viewed Premiere-Week English Language Show.”
The show was created by Matt and Ross Duffer, otherwise known as the Duffer Brothers. Taking inspiration from 80s movies, classic horror films and their own childhood experiences, the show was originally called “Montauk,” named after alleged governmental experiments that took place at Camp Hero on kids to test for psychic abilities. After some adjustments, it finally got its name and millions worldwide now know it as “Stranger Things.”
After many pitches to many different networks from the Duffers, Netflix finally picked up the show. Stranger Things was off the ground in 2016. Now, after so many years, fans still love the show for its nostalgia and tight-knit community.
The first episode of season five, vol. 1, titled “The Crawl,” opened with a flashback scene of Will Byers (one of the main characters and a recurring victim of Vecna, the main villain) while he was upside down in season one.
Some fans were not impressed with the CGI on the young actor’s face, who was meant to be playing Will. Since Noah Schnapp (the actor of Will) is 21 years old, it would be inappropriate to play his 12-year-old self. Due to this, they got a different actor to play him, and CGI’d his face to look like a young Noah Schnapp.
The first episode jumped right back into the story. We find out that it is now November 1987. We are reintroduced to all of the main characters (Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair, Will Byers, Eleven, Max Mayfield, Joyce Byers, Jonathan Byers, Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley and Hopper) in the first 20 minutes of the show and how they are dealing with life in Hawkins after multiple gates between the small town and the Upside Down (a dark, parallel dimension filled with monsters that mirrors the town of Hawkins) were opened in season four, leaving many citizens dead. The government covered up this catastrophic event, saying it was a massive “earthquake.”
The military appears to have taken over Hawkins in its efforts to protect the town from Vecna. Other than the main characters, who have been fighting the Upside Down and the creatures from it for years now, the rest of the town has no idea of what has actually happened or who Vecna is.
The group has been searching for Vecna in the Upside Down while going on missions they call “Crawls.” During crawls, everyone in the group takes various positions in Hawkins, communicating on the radios and making sure Hopper knows when it is safe to hop onto the military vehicle that drops off materials to the military base in the Upside Down. In this episode, we follow along on one of these missions, hoping it will be the last one and that they will defeat Vecna. It takes a big turn, leaving Hopper stuck in the Upside Down.
Back at the Wheeler House, Holly is in trouble. While sitting in her room, we are shown that a Demogorgon (a monster from the Upside Down) breaks through the ceiling from the Upside Down, and that is where the episode ends.
The first episode is good at connecting the story line back to its previous seasons and incorporating past aspects of the show. Overall, it started out with a bang, diving straight into the story and not missing a beat. It was an exciting experience and gave the audience a taste of what’s to come.
Episode two is titled “The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler,” and picks up right where it left off in the previous episode. The cinematography, color-grading and acting were very well done. While this season has strayed from the gore, the special effects department still operates meticulously to make every wound look realistic.
The Demogorgon successfully breaks through the ceiling, attacking the Wheeler family, leaving Karen and Ted Wheeler seriously injured and dragging Holly Wheeler into the Upside Down. Eleven runs after Holly, but can’t catch up. Instead, Eleven reunites with Hopper in the Upside Down.
Back in Hawkins, Mike and Nancy discover that Holly’s imaginary friend, Mr. Whatsit, turns out to be Henry Creel (a.k.a. Vecna). Will realizes that he is still deeply connected to the hive mind of Vecna. This means, for a brief moment, he can see through the eyes of the Demogorgons.
In this episode, we get great acting scenes from the actors individually. Some intense acting scenes in particular is when David Harbour characters (Hopper) gives an emotional speech to Eleven while in the Upside Down, when Caleb McLaughlin’s character (Lucas) is talking to Max, who is still in a coma, in the hospital and when Natalia Dyer’s character (Nancy) is shown scrubbing blood off her hands after her mother was attacked by the Demogorgon.
Episode three, titled “The Turnbow Trap,” featured many great action scenes and cool shots from the Upside Down. It really established where exactly the characters were, pulling viewers in with them. This episode also featured great action scenes from a very realistic-looking Demogorgon.
Eleven and Hopper are still in the Upside Down, where they are met with a new device that is designed to nullify Eleven’s (and people like Eleven) powers.
In Hawkins, Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, Robin, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Will and Joyce discover Vecna’s next victim. They make a plan to take the family and the next victim somewhere safe so that they can catch the Demogorgon, but the plan goes in a different direction, and the Demogorgon comes for where the victim is being hidden.
Holly appears to be at the Creel House in a different dimension that Vecna has taken her to. She begins to explore her new surroundings, and we are reintroduced to Max Mayfield, who has also been living in this dimension since Vecna took her.
The last episode of vol. 1, titled “Sorcerer,” was a fan favorite due to its dramatic scenes, and also tied together a lot of missing plot points and fan theories from past seasons. According to IMDb, the episode received the highest rating of the series so far, with a 9.8/10.
Children of Hawkins are taken to the military base in hopes of protecting them from Vecna and the Demogorgon. Mike, Lucas and Robin come up with a plan to help them escape, but not before the military discovers what they are doing and things go south. Eleven and Hopper are still in the Upside Down, where they come across a discovery of her lost sister, 8. In the last part of vol. 1 during a battle between the military and the Demogorgons, Will taps into his hive mind and gains powers. He uses his powers to save Mike, Lucas and Robin just before they are attacked by the Demogorgon.
As a result, fans are left wanting more after vol. 1 and are already anticipating the release of vol. 2.
Volume two of Stranger Things season five will be released on Dec. 25, 2025, at 5:00 PM P.T., and the finale will be released on Dec. 31, 2025, at 5:00 PM P.T.
