A decade has passed since Stranger Things the phenomenon had begun, and the Duffer Brothers had plenty of time to create a strong conclusion to their hit streak. But the start of the show's fifth and final season feels like a mad race to the end.
Bye Stranger Things it wasn't Netflix's first breakout hit, it was streamer catapulted to new levels of pop culture fame by telling an incredibly compelling story that had everyone talking. Modern nostalgia for the 80s has not gone away, but Stranger Things ushered in a new wave of shows and films that made it feel like other studios were doing everything in their power to recreate the success of the Duffer Brothers. Stranger Things was an important phenomenon that showed little sign of dying out during its first few seasons.
However, by the fourth season, new episodes of the series were being released at a much slower rate due to production delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. While the larger Stranger Things The franchise was growing with a stage show and plans for an animated spin-off, after the 2023 writers' strike caused even more delays, it seemed like Netflix might have a tough time getting everyone to return to Hawkins for the main series' final season.
In the first four episodes Stranger Things 5you can feel the Duffer Brothers trying to resolve past production issues that were beyond their control while also exploring the narrative. the ideas they outlined long before the series aired. While this season picks up where the previous one left off, it's full of details that highlight just how much time has passed in the real world since we last saw these characters.
The young cast looks and feels much older, which can't be attributed to a sudden growth spurt. And the characters tend to talk to each other in humorous passages, as if they know they're being watched by people who need a memory refresher. These elements Stranger Things 5 call for a suspension of disbelief, which seems reasonable given all the external factors that prevented this season from debuting faster.
Although much has changed in Hawkins in the months since it was almost completely destroyed by the Upside Down, most people can still go about their daily lives. Everyone remembers how amazing interdimensional energy split the streets. But they try not to think about what happened now that the damage is mostly covered by massive sheets of metal.
Aside from mandatory medical examinations and a military quarantine that prevents civilians from leaving the city, things seem relatively normal to people unfamiliar with Vecna.
(Jamie Campbell Bower) and his many demogorgons. But for Eleven/Jane (Millie Bobby Brown), Hopper (David Harbor) and the rest of their crew, the unnatural calm is a sign of how much more dangerous things are about to get.
To remind you how this twisted story began and to highlight what kind of monsters Stranger Things“The characters are pitted against each other; the new season devotes much more time to Will Byers (Noah Schnapp). Will insists on playing a larger role in the teens' plans to fight Vecna in the present, but the series also goes back in time to explore what happened to the boy when he was first dragged into the Upside Down in season one. As unsettling (in a good way) and impressive as many of this season's otherworldly sets and visuals have been, a Will-centric flashback featuring new child actor Schnapp's rejuvenated face is superimposed undermine some of the show's fantasy. Looks like a show previous experiments to slow the aging of rapidly growing starsthe effect doesn't quite work on a visual level. But it does give the feeling that the Duffers really want some characters' stories to wrap up this season.
You can feel the same urge at work when the series shows missing children posters of the youngest, Eleven, before revealing that she was actually hiding in the woods with Hopper and training to use her powers in battle. Hop, originally introduced as a drunken mess in the first season, knows that his adopted daughter is no longer a little girl. He and Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) realize that Eleven may be their only hope of defeating Vecna for good, but they find it difficult to accept her willingness to risk her life.
Stranger Things has always had a huge cast of main characters and has done a (mostly) solid job of weaving their storylines together in a way that feels organic. But since this season is so focused on providing every one last hurray, the show is quickly starting to feel too busy for its own good.
The season oscillates between Hopper's family drama, the school problems of the other remaining members of the Hellfire Club (Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Priah Ferguson) and a dangerous love triangle between some of the older teens. Moments like the growing friendship between Will and Robin (Maya Hawke) have to develop relatively quickly because the show has so little time. And things get even more hectic as Stranger Things 5 gives new prominence to Mike's little sister Holly (Nell Fisher) and her foul-mouthed classmate Derek (Jake Connelly).
Bye Stranger Things 5 tries to flesh out some of its players, it often feels like the show is moving along on the assumption that you still know and like these characters enough that simply seeing their arcs completed is enough to create a satisfying story. However, after all this time spent in the assembly line, what Stranger Things “You've Got to Really Stick to the Ground” is the final chapter, and it's a compelling narrative of its own. The show may be able to achieve this in the final four episodes if it can slow down and really dive into the emotional drama that has created Stranger Things such a knockout in previous seasons. But this season is already halfway behind usStranger Things 5 You will have to make every effort to achieve this.
Stranger Things 5 also starring Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Brett Gelman, Cara Buono, Amybeth McNulty and Linda Hamilton. The first four episodes are already streaming, the next three will debut on December 25, and the final part will premiere on December 31.
