Stranger Things 

Season 5 -Volume 1 (Netflix)

By: Dave Hughes

Stranger Things has become a cultural phenomenon, the likes of which few shows will ever achieve. It has become a force that made Netflix a juggernaut and made 80’s pop culture more relevant  than it had been prior to the show’s 2016 debut. The teen-driven science fiction series  has returned for its 5th and final season to wrap up what seems like countless mysteries and say a goodbye to its beloved characters. It’s a heavy task, but one The Duffer Brothers successfully navigate, even as they appear to face difficulty in resolving the many lingering mysteries in Hawkins.

Season 5 takes place in a different Hawkins than viewers have seen before. Due to the catastrophic events of Season 4, the small Indiana town has been quarantined from the outside world , and the group of friends must now work to wrap up countless mysteries and say goodbye to their childhood adventures. The military has moved in, attempting to understand the “Upside Down” while simultaneously searching for Eleven, the powerful test subject played by Millie Bobbie Brown who is the center of the Stranger Things universe . This high-stakes operation requires that critical sectors of Hawkins be completely isolated, restricting contact even with the town's remaining population. The group of friends that have been with the audience from the beginning of the show must now work together to attempt to access the Upside Down while also making sure that all the threats from that world are truly vanquished. This dual, high-stakes objective and the characters' looming final battle have fractured the once docile town, replacing community trust with palpable unease and a pervasive sense of uncertainty about what comes next.

The emotional core of Stranger Things has always been the group of kids whose imaginary adventures transformed into a genuine, real-life nightmare. While the show has evolved significantly, this core cast remains largely intact. Over the series' five-season run, the creators have done an excellent job building the cast of  characters, ensuring every member of the ensemble feels fully established and deeply familiar as the final chapter begins. For instance, Eddie Munson’s sacrifice at the end of Season 4 provides depth for Gaten Matarazzo’s(Please Don’t Destroy, The Blacklist)  Dustin and gives him a new edge where he has been comedic support previously. Their enduring bond is what will ultimately guide the audience through the series' final moments.The depth of familiarity becomes a tremendous comfort for viewers. As events escalate, the potential loss of any character creates a pervasive, genuine fear.

In a show as expansive as Stranger Things, it's a frustrating inevitability that not all characters and storylines can maintain equal momentum. Some supporting characters fade into the background, barely contributing to the narrative in the show’s 5th season. The writers appear to have relegated Maya Hawke’s(Inside Out 2, Fear Street) Robin to the role of pure comedic relief and support of other characters’ strife, a noticeable downgrade from the complex, high-risk character she was in previous seasons. Similarly, Joe Keery’s(Free Guy, Spree) unforgettable Steve Harrington remains mired in a familiar love triangle that has worn thin over multiple seasons. This pattern of relegating fan-favorite characters to recycled storylines or purely comedic beats becomes the most persistent structural frustration of the final season thus far.

Of the first batch of episodes released, Episode 4: Sorcerer stands out as the best, containing the highest emotional intensity and delivering one of the most stunning action sequences ever created in Stranger Things. It is also the scariest episode of the bunch. The episode successfully pays off years of character work through smaller, impactful moments, particularly with Will Byers. After being relegated to the background of previous seasons, Will is finally repositioned as the emotional and narrative catalyst for the events of "Sorcerer". Volume 1 of Season 5 concludes with a pivotal and dramatic reveal, fundamentally changing the established rules of the Upside Down and raising profound questions about the consequences moving into the series' final chapters.

Target Score: 7/10 The Duffer Brothers are racing toward the conclusion of Stranger Things, yet with a show of this immense scope, the final shape of the ending remains tantalizingly unclear. While some mysteries have been revealed, the challenge of tying together every remaining loose end risks diminishing the series' overall impact.