⚡️Stranger Things – Season 5 Part 1 (2025)⚡️

“The final season starts… and somehow feels like it’s still setting the table.”

Let’s start by showing y’all the trailers shall we? 🎬

Before I even get into the episodes, I’ve gotta give the marketing team their flowers for ONE smart move. That first official teaser trailer that dropped a few months ago? It was actually clever, because it only used footage from Part 1. That’s a rare case of restraint in modern trailer culture, and it made the rollout feel controlled. Like “we’re not gonna spoil the real endgame.” Then they dropped the Volume Two trailer and it only shows Part 2 footage, which confirms they’re keeping Part 3 locked in a vault. That’s honestly one of the coolest things about Season 5 so far… which is kinda funny, because it says a lot when the trailers are the most impressive part of the experience.

I also want to bring up the fact I wasn’t a fan of them splitting this into 3 parts, when I saw they are splitting it into 3 parts I got frustrated, because this felt like desperation on Netflixs end, also why the 8pm show times? What was with that? This id a stream service, not a TV network.

Now a lot was riding on this season, it took them 3 years to give us this season after the events of season 4. So it was safe to say this was one my most anticipated shows of this year, so did it live up to expectations? Uhhhhhhhhh hmmmmm, stick around and find out because oh boy i have thoughts.


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🧩 Non-Spoiler Plot Overview

Season 5 Part 1 opens with a flashback that I actually really liked: Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) being taken into the Upside Down, with the show making it clear that Vecna / Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower) was there all along. That’s strong. That’s creepy. That’s the kind of long-game connective tissue this show used to be really good at. It reframes earlier seasons in a way that feels unsettling instead of cheap.

And we see Vecna shoves a tube into Wills mouth as it shoves some sorta fluids into him, uhhh ewe yeah those are words together I never thought I’d be saying.

Then we jump forward with a time skip (which feels like it exists mostly because the actors are older now). Hawkins is quarantined, there’s military everywhere, and the town is somehow functioning like… weirdly normal? People still go to school, people still go to work, and the cracks are patched up with metal plating like they’re repairing a pothole and not the literal gates of hell.

Also according to the main characters it’s been 4 years since the kidnapping of Will Byers, 4 years!? Oh really, in what universe do they look like its been 4 years? They look like they are in their 30s.

No idk why theres still people living here, why its a town closed off with people in the town! Also oh yeah they patched the giant cracks of the upside down with giant plates of metal, yes thats right. Like chernobyl, because when u get a giant catastrophic situation that happened or is gonna happen. Just place metal on top of it and call it a day, jeepers.

Also I was really hoping for a Mad Max styled season, instead well ehat do we get instead? Nothing really, they patched the floor up and everyone continuing their 9 to 5s, uh huh so any tension and suspense thst sess9n 4 left us on has all evaporated.

Part 1’s main thrust is that Vecna has shifted into targeting kids again, and the story uses that as the engine to pull everyone back into “mission mode.” We get new threats, new tactics, and a much bigger military presence, including a new antagonist in Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton) who is absolutely a menace. The problem is, Part 1 keeps introducing new pieces when we’re in the final season, and it creates this constant feeling of “why are we spending time on this instead of closing arcs?”

So yeah. The season is busy. A lot happens. But “a lot happens” isn’t the same thing as “it’s working.”

Also i should bring uo that the Duffer Brothers are bending over backwards to cram in the plot hole lore from the Broadway prequel and jaming it into season 5.

Also if any y’all are curious on the Broadway, heres a video breaking it fown and a second video breaking fown the retcons.

The only positive I can and will give the Broadway is that the actess Isabella Pappas plays Joyce, if y’all don’t know who that is. Shes a new upcoming actress who first made her debut in a more recent Disney sitcom Villians Of Valley View, I recommend checking out my reveiw on that show, (oh good grief im promoting my reveiws in a reveiw. What have I become?).

This will go as hands down the thing that harmed this show the most, relying on people to have seen the Broadway prequel to understand season 5, even though it was only available in specific countries, good job.

Where season 4 shows us and tells us that Vecna aka One aka Henrey Creel was the big bad and was behind everything, which added tension and nuance to sesson 1.

Now season 5 is telling and showing us instead, well what if Henry Creel wasnt evil? What if he was a misunderstood person and its the Mind Flayers fault, right its the Mind Flayers fault. You know, that creature he created himself when he entered into the upside down? Yeah somehow it was that creatures fault, even though ut wasnt created until he got sent there by Eleven when he was an adult, and If were going off the Broadway lore apparently the Mind Flayer controlled him when he was a kid.

Also according to the Broadway lore, Hopper and Joyce went to school with Henry Creel. And also Hopper witnessed animals dead with their eyeballs blown out their sockets, yet in season 1 he didnt belive Joyce when she said something weird is going on and his whole thing of him saying this is Hawkins. Nothing weird happens here.

My dude! U went to school with Creel and u witnessed the upside down and animals eyeballs blowing out of their sockets! According to the Broadway lore! What do u mean nothing weird happens here!? Also last rant ill go on but the ages in the Broadway dont line up with the show timelines, but here we are in season 5 bending over backwards to accept well maybe Henry was never evil!

Also how did Joyce and Hopper forget they went to school with Henry Creel? And found the entrance to the upside down? When in season 1 they never heard o the upside down? What, did they all have selective amnesia?

Also according to the Broadway, Henry opened the first portal as a kid. Even though season 4 told us Eleven did when she vanquished Henry to the upside down!

And if I wasn’t clear already, the Broadway makes Henry into a hero. He saves kids from the school that get trapped in the upside down, uh huh. Btw when the Duffer Brothers were asked about this retcon. What was their response? Was it eh rhe Broadway isnt Canon, no i wish. Instead they said eh Henry is an unreliable narrator. Excuse me? Thats your big answer? That Henry is an unreliable narrator? Go Fuck off, thats a cop out.

So now hes an unreliable narrator? Thanks show, y’all promised us one thing back in 2022 in season 4 then made us wait 3 years and introduced a new product, no no you can’t do that. You cant go hey trust us, to actually nevermind dont trust us.

So essentially what the Duffer Brothers are saying is hey don’t try to make sense of this because it doesn’t, but we say it does because we can.

Yeah uh if someone calls this good or creative writing, I just want y’all to not say anything and shove that opinion somewhere else. Anwyays moving on.


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🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Character Rundown

Let’s talk characters — with actors — because this is where Part 1 starts feeling shaky.

Eleven / Jane (Millie Bobby Brown) is still the core emotional anchor, but Part 1 keeps doing the same thing the show loves doing: limiting her, neutralizing her, unleashing her, giving her new abilities, then limiting her again. It starts feeling like the plot is controlling her power level like a video game patch note.

Jim Hopper (David Harbour) is back in full “overprotective dad” mode, except this time it tips into him being a barrier more than a character. I understand why he’s terrified of losing her, but it feels like we’re repeating old beats in what should be the final run.

Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) is insanely overprotective of Will (Noah Schnapp), and again… emotionally I get it. Structurally, it’s exhausting. It feels like the show needs conflict so it turns everyone into a stressed-out jerk.

Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) is actually one of the most interesting parts of Part 1, even though the show makes his abilities feel weird and suddenly expanded. His connection to Vecna is deeper, and it drives multiple major moments. The downside is the show starts acting like Will is basically a psychic Wi-Fi router for Vecna’s victims, and the rules feel messy.

Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) is in the thick of things with Will and the gang, but Part 1 makes him look dumb in places because the plot needs him to communicate poorly so scenes can happen.

Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) is hardened after Eddie, and I like the concept of that… but Part 1 pushes it into nonstop bickering. The Dustin/Steve dynamic used to be one of the best things in the show. Here, it feels like they’re arguing constantly instead of feeling like people who genuinely care about each other.

Steve Harrington (Joe Keery)… listen, I still like Steve. But this season keeps writing him like a guy who solves everything with reckless stunts and “dude logic,” and it starts making him feel less like the evolved Steve and more like a walking set piece.

Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton) gets dragged into weird “one-up” bickering with Steve again, which is wild because we already did this.

Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke) still has charm, but Part 1 puts her into some extremely silly moments that kill tension, and her relationship secrecy subplot is handled in a way that feels wedged into chaos instead of given room.

Still is my favorite character.

Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin) is stuck in the emotional wreckage of Max and the continuing fallout, and honestly? The show should’ve given him more focused material.

Erica Sinclair (Priah Ferguson) is suddenly positioned as the convenient character who’s into the science exposition, which felt like a plot assignment more than an organic trait.

Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer) is still in problem-solving mode, and she gets several big “plan-forward” moments that drive the action.

Karen Wheeler (Cara Buono) and Ted Wheeler (Joe Chrest) matter again because of what happens with Holly.

Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink) is… the biggest “WHAT” factor in Part 1, because the show has her doing things that raise way more questions than answers.

Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman) has basically become “plot Santa.” Every time the group needs a thing, Murray produces a thing.

Now the new characters:

Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) becomes a central target and plot driver, which is wild because most people barely remembered her. She’s given an imaginary friend angle that becomes a huge reveal.

Derek Turnbow (Jake Connelly) is introduced as the new kid Vecna is after, and he’s basically written as a spoiled brat plot device. The story spends too much time on him for a final season.

Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton) is the new military antagonist running operations and research, and she’s a menace… but the show gives her a plan that makes the military feel unbelievably stupid.

Also I don’t buy into Linda Hamilton as a evil person, I just can’t.

Way too many characters, who’s bright idea was it to introduce 2 new characters in the season finally?


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⏱️ Pacing / Episode Flow

Part 1 has a pacing issue where it’s constantly moving, but not always progressing. It’s a lot of setup, a lot of new mechanics, a lot of new threats… and somehow not enough payoff for something that took years to arrive.

It also has a major tonal issue. It jumps between horror, drama, comedy, and then straight-up slapstick in some monster scenes. Season 4 had weight. Part 1 often feels like it’s allergic to letting a serious moment breathe.


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✅ Pros

There is good stuff. I’m not pretending it’s all trash.

That opening flashback showing Vecna was there the whole time? That’s genuinely cool and creepy.

The trailer strategy — hiding Part 2 and Part 3 content — is creative and smart.

Some of the ideas on paper are strong: quarantine Hawkins, military escalation, Vecna targeting innocence again, Will’s connection deepening.

And Dr. Kay as an antagonist concept works. Linda Hamilton carries menace naturally.


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❌ Cons

Now the stuff that drags it down hard.

The show is introducing new characters in the FINAL SEASON, which is insane. We didn’t need Derek. We didn’t need an expanded list of military dudes. We didn’t need to be worldbuilding this late.

The monsters feel defanged. The Demogorgon used to be terrifying. Part 1 treats it like a problem you solve with improvised traps, chaos, and luck.

Vecna’s new design looks over-detailed, spiky, and busy. It doesn’t look scarier. It looks like a “final boss upgrade” that somehow feels less effective.

Power creep is out of control. Everyone is getting new abilities. New counters. New gadgets. New rules. The suspense starts dying because the rules feel optional.

And the biggest problem: so much of this feels like characters making dumb decisions because the plot needs them to.

Also the show makes it clear by keep saying that it’s been 4 years since Wills kidnapping in season 1. Yeah 4 years, bullshit i don’t buy that, these actors now look like they are in their early 30s if not late 20s, 4 years my ass. Get out of here with that.

The stakes feel stagnant, at no point do I fear anyone is gonna die. Everyone says the stakes are high, but instead of showing us the stakes are high. What do we get? A lot of monologuing! Just a bunch of people telling the audience how they feel, what we should be feeling, if thats not lazy then idk what is.

Also theres monologuing, just so much damn monologuing.

Also since when has Holly been a character? Because they are treating her like shes always been a character.

And lastly if this sesson is going down the route I think it is? Which ill get back to y’all on that when part 3 airs. Then I am truly gonna hate this season.

Hey heres a question, how come Vecna hasnt been able to locate a comatose Max during 18 months!? I bet in thr town of Hawkins there’s only 1 hospital, ohhhh is it because he doesnt know the room number? Right right checks out, the main baddie who can enter people’s minds cant locate a comatose girls hospital room, sigh.

Btw this season has no consistency for demogorgon

They are a bullet sponge that absorb bullets but as soon mikes mother stabs it with a broken glass bottle the demogorgon gets hurt.

Uh huh, also this season suffers from monologuing, constantly monologuing. Guess we need to gain the attention of those people who look at their phones the whole time while they put this show on in the background, its called second screen viewing (don’t believe me? Look it up, it’s actually a real thing that especially Netflix been pushing).

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🧠 Final Thoughts

I’m giving this a 6/10 because I don’t hate it, but I’m not impressed either — and that’s the sad part. Season 4 was really good, and even when the CGI was messy, the story had weight and focus. Part 1 feels like it’s trying to do too much while also not feeling like the final season yet.

I really hope Part 2 makes improvements, because right now this feels like a loud setup act when we should be driving toward closure.


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⭐ Rating

6/10, I hope part 2 and 3 improves on the story. Otherwise this season might be disappointing.


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🚨 Spoiler Warning

Alright — spoilers from here on out for Season 5 Part 1 (Episodes 1–4). If you haven’t watched it and you somehow made it this far, go flee.


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💀 Spoilers

After the opening flashback showing Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) being captured in the Upside Down and revealing that Vecna / Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower) was there all along, we jump forward to Hawkins in quarantine. The town is patched up with metal plating over the cracks in the ground like this is a normal infrastructure problem, even though nothing about the Upside Down is “normal.” Society is basically running like usual, except the place is crawling with soldiers and fear.

The show introduces the new threat angle: Vecna is going after kids again. That becomes real when Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) starts seeing an imaginary friend named Mr. Whatsit, who is basically Vecna manipulating her with kindness and gifts like he’s suddenly Santa Claus. Holly gets lured deeper into this “safe” fantasy until the Demogorgons attack and she’s kidnapped. Karen Wheeler (Cara Buono) and Ted Wheeler (Joe Chrest) get injured in the process, and it’s one of the few moments that actually feels like “oh, this is serious.”

When Holly is taken, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) follows the Demogorgon through a portal that closes behind her and ends up in the Upside Down. She finds Hopper (David Harbour), who is injured, and instead of this feeling like a united front, Part 1 has them bickering again because Hopper doesn’t want her there. They push forward and discover this giant fleshy wall structure that seems connected to where Holly might be trapped.

One of the biggest plot twists in Part 1 revolves around Mr. Whatsit, the so-called imaginary friend that Holly Wheeler starts seeing. At first, the show frames it like a familiar Stranger Things setup — a kid coping with trauma, an unseen presence, something unsettling but vague. Then the reveal hits: Mr. Whatsit isn’t imaginary at all. He’s Vecna. Henry Creel. And the way he’s operating this season is… honestly bizarre.

Instead of pure fear and torment, Vecna keeps Holly trapped inside what’s basically a paradox mind palace that looks like a perfect suburban neighborhood. It’s clean, safe, familiar — a warped reflection of normalcy. He keeps her inside his old house, but instead of horror imagery, he uses kindness, reassurance, and toys. He promises protection. He tells her he’ll keep the monsters away. He presents himself as a guardian rather than a predator, slowly isolating her from reality while convincing her she’s safer with him than with her family.

Also did i forget to mention hes wearing a brown fedora, glasses, light brown suit, and has a pocket watch. Uh huh.

And I’m sitting there watching this thinking…
What is he now? Santa Claus?

Also here’s q fun fact for the day, original the Duffer Brothers we’re gonna have him dress up as the conductor from i kid you not The Polar Express. Why? Just why? Why was this even a thought that came in your guys heads?

This would have made this show feel more like a parody then anything if they went that route, glad they didn’t. On second thought, hmmm idk can’t be any worse then where this story goes.

This is Vecna — the same character who snapped bones and psychologically tortured teens — now luring children with gifts and gentle lies like he’s running some nightmarish daycare in the Upside Down. The show clearly wants this to feel disturbing in a new way, but it mostly comes off as confusing and tonally off. He’s not terrifying here — he’s manipulative in a way that feels too soft, almost sanitized, especially for a final season villain.

The idea of Vecna trapping kids in a fake, comforting reality could’ve been brilliant if it leaned harder into the uncanny horror of it. Instead, it feels like the show is afraid to fully commit, turning what should be deeply unsettling into something oddly tame. The concept is strong on paper, but the execution makes Vecna feel less like an omnipresent nightmare and more like a villain who suddenly changed tactics because the plot needed him to.

This season feels like it’s bending over backwards to accommodate the Broadway prequel, and the result is lore that no longer lines up with what the show itself established in Season 4.

Meanwhile the rest of the gang starts trying to figure out Vecna’s pattern and who’s next. They land on Derek Turnbow (Jake Connelly), a spoiled brat kid who Vecna is after next, and they rope Erica Sinclair (Priah Ferguson) into trying to help because she has access to Derek’s sister. Erica doesn’t even want to help because Derek sucks, and she literally would rather stay in class listening to wormhole lectures than deal with him. The gang doesn’t even lead with “Holly was kidnapped,” which makes them look stupid until Erica calls it out like “why didn’t you just say that?”

Which yeah does make Lucas and Mike look stupid.

The gang’s plan turns into something that honestly feels horrifying when you think about it: they steal medicine from a hospital through Robin’s girlfriend’s workplace connection, and they drug Derek’s entire family by dosing dinner so they’ll all pass out. Erica stands behind Derek’s sister and says a creepy line about the pie like she’s a villain in a thriller, then the family gets taken to a barn/safe spot to “protect” them. It’s framed like a plan, but it’s basically kidnapping and drugging a family. The show just barrels past how insane that is.

They set up a trap house situation that becomes straight-up Home Alone logic. There are nails, tripwires, carpet holes, and a mannequin distraction that somehow works on a Demogorgon, and it gets defeated by water balloons and traps in a way that turns the creature into a joke. Nancy comes up with a plan to shoot a tracker into the Demogorgon using a shotgun like she’s tagging wildlife, and it works. They track it using a modified car antenna setup like they’re hunting a radio signal.

All tension has been taken away from the Demogorgons.

Derek wakes up, tries to escape, the Demogorgon shows up again, Joyce starts swinging an axe at it yelling “stay away from my son,” and then Steve’s car comes out of nowhere and runs it over. Then the Demogorgon opens a portal inside a silo, and Steve decides the smartest option is to ram the car through so they can follow it. Which results in the gang trapping themselves in the Upside Down like they just volunteered to enter the enemy’s home turf for no reason.

Inside the Upside Down, the gang tries to navigate back, thinking there has to be some “straight path” that leads them to an exit. Dustin then drops the idea that the Upside Down works like a looping circle and there’s no straight line out. It’s one of those moments where the show clearly wants to sound deep, but it just feels like another rule being invented.

Back at the military side of things, we learn the military is also kidnapping kids, claiming it’s protection, but it’s really Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton) using the child roundups as bait to lure Eleven out so she can use her to kill Vecna. The military even builds a base in the Upside Down, which is the dumbest location choice imaginable, like building a research center inside hell and acting surprised when hell fights back.

Also did i forget to menrion that the military have a base in the Upside Down! Yeah sure that makes sense, no wait it doesn’t what am i even talking about.

Eleven breaks into the military base in the Upside Down, using new jump-style abilities to get over gates. There’s also a sonic frequency “dog whistle” weapon the military uses that only Eleven can hear, and it hurts her and neutralizes her powers like it’s literal kryptonite. Hopper gets grabbed by a tentacle, and Dr. Kay threatens him, using heat and cold explanations about how the tentacles react while trying to force him to give up information. Hopper refuses. He knocks Dr. Kay out, and the show sets up a sacrifice moment where Hopper reveals he has explosives strapped to his chest, tells Eleven he loves her and he’s proud of her, and storms toward the room expecting to kill Vecna.

Then he opens the door and Vecna isn’t there. Instead, it’s the return of Kali / Eight (Linnea Berthelsen), Eleven’s sister from Season 2, tied up, brought back into the story like anyone asked for it in the final season.

Max’s situation gets even weirder. The show claims she’s basically stuck in Vecna’s mind palace, moving through doors that lead through different time periods and memories, including glimpses of past eras like a young Joyce at school and other past moments. The running-up-that-hill music portal concept returns, where the portal “almost” lets her wake up, but when the music stops it closes, Vecna appears, and Max ends up stuck again. She eventually claims she sees Vecna legitimately mortified by a cave-like area in his mind space, which is bizarre because Vecna is a nightmare god living in hell, but apparently caves are where he draws the line.

Near the end of Part 1, Vecna finally makes his big entrance by emerging through this giant flesh gate area near the church where the Upside Down and the Right Side Up collide. He looks redesigned, more skeletal, spiky, and “upgraded,” but the design feels overdone. He looks like a mix between Darth Vader and Groot, but without any of the nuance.

He attacks the military and now has powers that feel like he unlocked a DLC pack. He deflects flamethrowers, manipulates grenades like Magneto, and has tendrils coming out of his hands that go into people’s faces. Then he reanimates Demogorgons that were killed like he’s basically the Lich King now.

Vecna approaches an unconscious Will on the floor, lifts him up, says he’s going to “help him one last time,” then just leaves through the portal. It’s a grand entrance that somehow feels underwhelming because he shows off powers and then exits without a real emotional punch.

And then Part 1 ends with Will suddenly snapping into full power mode. He raises his hands and starts snapping limbs and necks like Vecna did in Season 4 victims, like Will just became Vecna 2.0, then his nose bleeds and that’s the cliffhanger. Which leaves the season in this weird place where now everyone has abilities, everyone has counters, and the rules feel like they’re changing every episode.

That’s where Part 1 ends. And honestly… it left me more confused than impressed. Also can I plz jump ship now? I don’t like the direction things are going in.

Also heres the trailer for Part 2.