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Stranger Things season 5 review: In the weeks leading up to the release of the much-awaited Stranger Things Season 5, the internet was busy compiling long, almost unbelievable lists of shows that managed to premiere and conclude entirely in the years between Stranger Things’ debut and its final season. Some of the names felt almost unreal to read back-to-back: Ozark, Westworld, Succession, The Crown, even Riverdale. The Duffer Brothers (Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer) introduced the “Upside Down” nearly a decade ago, back when I was a kid, when the main cast were kids, when Netflix still had the personality of a young disruptor aggressively expanding across continents. We’re firmly in the ‘endgame’ now of this not-so-teen show anymore, and neither the cast nor I are teenagers anymore, but somehow the show remains suspended in a strange adolescence of its own.
The Duffer Brothers have split the final season in Netflix’s now-familiar format, releasing Volume 1 – the first four episodes – before the remaining parts arrive on Christmas and New Year. These four episodes are meant to set the tone, to push the last dominoes into place, to carry the weight of expectation that has swelled over the 3.5 years since Season 4. And Stranger Things has always been a master at this kind of pulpy entertainment: adrenaline-soaked sequences, tightly engineered emotional beats, punchy visual spectacle, and an ensemble cast that once felt impossibly charming. But this time, the show feels like it’s serving the same beloved recipe in a slightly fancier plate, hoping the garnish will distract you from the familiar taste.
Volume 1 follows the same template the show has strictly adhered to for at least the last two seasons: characters split into different groups, each following parallel plots and half-baked plans, long montages set to era-appropriate tracks, D&D references sprinkled like seasoning, and the introduction of a new human antagonist, in this case, Linda Hamilton’s character, Dr. Kay, who feels less like a narrative necessity and more like a checkbox requirement. The mechanics are all still here, almost as if written on a whiteboard titled “How To Stranger Things.”
What’s changed, however, is the energy around those mechanics. The cast has grown up, some are married now, and yet the narrative continues to treat them as high-schoolers fretting over bullying and following parental orders. It becomes increasingly difficult to suspend disbelief when the writing refuses to evolve alongside the actors. The Duffer Brothers’ emotional attachment to this original group is understandable, even admirable, but the execution on screen creates a dissonance that’s hard to ignore. These are adults trapped in roles written for kids who simply never finished growing up on the page.
That said, Stranger Things is still fun in the moment. I barely touched my phone through all four episodes, one of which stretches to a feature-length 84 minutes, a runtime most films wouldn’t dare attempt. The pacing is breezy, the scares calculated but enjoyable, and the narrative momentum strong enough that you rarely feel bored. But the question that keeps lingering is whether this feels like a product that took 3.5 years to craft. And the honest answer is: not really. The ambition is visible; the execution feels oddly stalled.
Part of this comes from the narrative itself. Without revealing spoilers, Volume 1 positions the story on familiar turf: Hawkins facing the consequences of the breaches or “rifts” left by Vecna’s rampage, our heroes grappling with growing dread, and the sense that the real fight is yet to come. It’s atmospheric, it’s packed with setup, but it occasionally feels like a show carefully rehearsing its greatest hits instead of composing something new. The emotional stakes are promised, hinted at, repeatedly pointed towards, but rarely delivered with freshness.
Still, the areas where Stranger Things has always excelled continue to shine. The production values remain staggering, the VFX work is muscular, cinematic, and deeply immersive. The music choices are evocative and persistently effective, especially Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” sometimes carrying scenes harder than the writing does. And the cast, despite the constraints of the narrative, deliver performances that are grounded, warm, and often moving. They are the heartbeat of this show, and the reason it still works as well as it does.
Volume 1 is, in essence, old fun. It’s enjoyable, confidently made, often thrilling, but not groundbreaking. And when a show has been placed on a pedestal as high as Stranger Things has, “old fun” may not be enough to secure its place in the hall of all-time greats. The promise is that the real emotional and narrative weight lies in the upcoming volumes, that the fireworks are still being loaded. For now, these four episodes feel like the warm-up to a finale that has a lot to prove, and even more to live up to.
It’s a familiar world returning one last time, but for the first time, you can feel the strain in the nostalgia, the weight of expectation pressing down on every shadowy hallway and every flickering light. Whether it all pays off will depend on Christmas morning and New Year’s. Volume 1 is the doorway. The real reckoning, as always, is still waiting in the Upside Down.
Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1
Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 Cast – Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Joe Keery, Sadie Sink, Noah Schnapp, Maya Hawke
Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 Director – The Duffer Brothers, Frank Darabont
Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 Rating – 2.5/5
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