With alternate dimensions, superpowers and a real-life game of Dungeons and Dragons, Netflix’s hottest series makes its biggest comeback yet. “Stranger Things” returns after a three-year hiatus for its fifth and final season with longer episodes, deeper plot twists and the end of an era. 

“Stranger Things” made its big debut on July 15, 2016, partnering with Netflix to bring a fresh sci-fi perspective to the screen. Ross and Matt Duffer, otherwise known as “The Duffer Brothers,” lead productions as head directors alongside executive producer Shawn Levy. Working hard to create a new take on nostalgic fiction, they began the story in 1983 in Hawkins, Indiana with a group of middle school boys, a missing friend, monsters and a strange girl with abnormal powers. 

Season 1-4 Refreshers

Season one began with Eleven, a young girl from Hawkins Lab with telekinesis, meeting the show’s main friend group of four boys after their friend, Will Byers, goes missing and is trapped in an alternate dimension. Police Chief Jim Hopper and Will’s mom brave the other side and find Will after a season-long search. Eleven uses her powers and sacrifices herself in the last few minutes of the season, saving them all from the monster from another dimension, the Demogorgon, and seemingly ending all of Hawkins’ issues.

The show continued with season two in 2017, only growing bigger with new characters and an introduction to a bigger monster, a shadowy figure known as “The Mind Flayer.” The group of boys continues to grow despite the absence of Eleven and gains a new addition to their group, Max Mayfield. Eleven returns to the real world and goes rogue after Hopper takes her in, to find her long-lost sister and mother in an attempt to understand her past. When she is disappointed by what she finds, she returns to her Hawkins family. The group works together to exorcize Will after his possession by the Mind Flayer and the season ends with Eleven closing “The Gate”, but the entity from Will remains in the real world. 

Season three followed in 2019, being the most popular season with its retro essence and detail. The third season brought bright colors, big hair and the desirable 80’s teenage perspective, but also introduced another bad guy, the soviets. Alongside the character’s growth, the issue in Hawkins grows bigger with monsters from earth’s alternate dimension, “The Upside Down”, infiltrating the town and escalating the situation due to Soviet instigation. “The Mind Flayer” from the previous season wreaks havoc as more people become possessed or “flayed”, and a large monster made from human flesh becomes the group’s new task to defeat. Sacrifice, grief and change end season three as the battle is finished, but many were lost, such as Hopper, or chose to leave Hawkins, including Eleven and the Byers family. 

Olivia Saldivar, ‘26, began watching the show in sixth grade, feeling the nostalgia many early watchers cherish. 

“Season 3 had such a fun yet dark atmosphere and I loved the mall setting and 80s summer feel,” Saldivar said. “This season captured the light elements but was also really intense and emotional, especially with Billy and Hopper.”

Season four followed in 2022 after delay from COVID and the writers’ strike, appearing darker than prior light-hearted seasons and primarily being held in a Russian prison where Hopper was taken after his supposed death. Eleven and The Byers live their new life in California while the other kids continue to grow in Hawkins as freshmen. A new monster named Vecna, a once-human entity with powers and control of the monsters, is introduced as the primary source of all trouble with the Upside Down.

Eleven’s connection is shown with Vecna in her youth and is used alongside her friends to take down Vecna, but they remain unsuccessful. In their defeat, Max is killed by Vecna and revived with Eleven’s powers but remains in a coma with an unforeseeable future. The season ends with Hawkins being infiltrated by the Upside Down due to an earthquake, setting up for season 5 with a loss for the good guys and trapping everybody in Hawkins.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

Season 5 Part One Recap

Season 5 began its scheduled release on Nov. 26, 2025, with the first four episodes added to Netflix, continuing the story of Hawkins ablaze. The season begins jumping back to 1983 when Will was taken, revealing that Vecna connected with Will on a deeper level in hopes of using him for a bigger plan and part of that connection still remains. 

Part one then takes viewers back into the present town’s tragedy, now set over a year after the big “earthquake” and various murders from Vecna, blamed on the town martyr Eddie Munson. Dustin Henderson, similar to Max in Season 4, is deeply affected by Eddie’s death, distancing himself from both Steve and his friends. The group is now adapted to their quarantine, learning to speak in code over Hawkins’ radio broadcasting channel, the WSQK, run by familiar favorites Robin and Steve. The group of teens and adults are also now able to navigate the Upside Down while searching for Vecna in hopes of destroying him once and for all. 

Episode One is titled, “The Crawl,” designated to their planned hunts or “crawls” to find Vecna. Episode one takes fans back into the story before bringing the action at the end of the episode with a Demogorgon infiltrating 10-year-old Holly Wheeler’s bedroom and Will being able to see through Vecna’s sight through this newfound connection. Episodes two through four keep up with intense action, with both of the Wheeler parents being brutally attacked and hospitalized in the first 5 minutes of episode two. 

 

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Senior James Emerian watched “Stranger Things” for the first time two days before the release of Part One, finding the new episodes telling about the rest of the season. 

“I think that the first five minutes of episode two really set the theme for the rest of the season, introducing a dark and fearful tone and adding actual stakes to the plot,” Emerian said. “They really expanded on characters this far into the season too, and I think part one set up for a great ending.” 

Plot twists come into play with the discovery of a strange wall in the Upside-Down blocking off all connection with what lies on the other side, explaining issues with Eleven’s ability to find Holly and revealing Vecna’s impenetrable hiding place. Holly is pictured safe and sound in Vecna’s hidden fortress, living in the house of once-human Vecna or Henry. In this hidden place, Holly finds Max hiding in the caves where Vecna can’t reach, learning how Max is stuck in this realm, but still alive.

Other twists such as Vecna taking his human form in the right side up as “Mr. Whatsit” and luring kids in remain relevant in part one. Will’s visions lead the group to  10-year-old Derek Turnbow and they use him to try to save the kids. While Eleven is down and trapped by guards and evil military Dr. Kay, Will and the others are swarmed by Demogorgon’s and trapped in impending doom. Hopper saves El and proves once again his heroic nature in the Upside Down.

The biggest plot twist yet comes in the end of part one. For Will, through the love of his friends, his Vecna-like powers awaken, allowing him to control the Demogorgon’s before they get to Mike, Lucas and Robin. This big event ends part one of season 5, leaving fans anticipating what’s to come in the final 4 episodes. 

Part one of season 5 brings back the nostalgic feel of the 1980s in various aspects, such as music and outfits, songs like “I think we’re alone now” by Tiffany and plenty of denim being featured. Alongside the nostalgia, fans and viewers see Mike back again as the group leader similar to season one, creating a full circle and showing his newfound maturity. We finally see the group together once again for the first time since season one, showing the original united front and bringing hope and excitement into play. Tying up the ends of the story and nostalgia remain relevant to the Duffer brothers, focusing on filling the plot holes to end this “never ending story”.

“Season 5 is about bringing everything full circle,” Duffer said. “Because the story really began with Will and his disappearance, it felt, in order to go full circle, it needed to really end with him in so many ways.”

Will Byers plays a large part in the story, fans believing that he won’t survive this season because of his abilities and sacrificial willingness. Impending doom lies amongst many characters in the show with a statement from the Duffer Brothers explaining the planning and brutality of deaths to come, and fans are unsure of who is next on Vecna’s hit list. 

“I would say season five is not as violent as season four, but it has the most violent death of any season,” Duffer said. “The deaths in this season are earned; we don’t want to kill characters just for shock value.”

The first four episodes are filled to the brim with intense scenes and impressive cinematography, fulfilling the wants and needs of viewers with detailed and satisfying scenes. Scenes like the mauling of the Wheeler parents and the battle at the Hawkins army base have become one of the most violent, yet attention-catching scenes in the show to date. The visuals, camera movements and auditory details of the monsters and characters perfect the intensity necessary to portray the severity of the massacre happening in Hawkins. 

Returning Actors are continuing their story lines, perfecting their portrayals and improving drastically since season one, aligning their personalities and mannerisms to become their characters. New Actors Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler and Jake Connelly as Derek Turnbow have taken their roles to the next level, setting a high standard in the acting industry for kids through their vivacious performances in intense scenes. These newfound actors have incorporated a refreshing amount of humor into scenes, keeping scenes lively and distracting from the morbid situation. 

Part One of Season 5 remains one of the most action-packed and explanatory parts of the series yet. These beginning episodes have perfectly set up what is to come to continue and end the extraordinary series after 9 years.

Upcoming Releases

Part Two of Season 5 is set to release at 5 p.m. PST on Dec. 25, 2025, potentially devastating millions on Christmas with what occurs to fan favorites in the next three episodes. Run times for part two have yet to be released, but are anticipated to be similar to part one, averaging around an hour and 15 minutes. 

The big Finale of “Stranger Things,” Season 5, will be released at 5 p.m. PST on Dec. 31, 2025, but this time a bigger ending has been planned. Various theaters in the U.S. and Canada are welcoming fans to view the finale in theaters on the night of release, ending off the year with a final goodbye to “Stranger Things”. Tickets went on sale on Dec. 2, 2025, for select theaters, viewers rapidly purchasing all available tickets for this big night. The run time for Episode 8 was confirmed at a lengthy 2 hours 5 min, the time of an average movie screening. 

Junior Ashlyn Dyck began watching the show in 2019 after it went viral on social media and TikTok, becoming hooked instantly and eagerly keeping up throughout the years.

“I’m so excited to see what Will gets to do with his powers and how the characters save the world, but volume one left me and watchers with so many questions,” Dyck said. “I am looking forward to seeing all of the chaos and unsolved mysteries come to an end in the finale and to see the characters function as normal people without the chaos.”

The viewers who grew up with the show, new fans and supporters prepare to say goodbye to a global phenomenon with the next final releases, ending the story of a lifetime. 

Stream Part One of “Stranger Things” on Netflix, available now. 

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