Released in 2016, the first season of Stranger Things consolidated Netflix’s status as a major Hollywood player, capable of developing viral TV shows within the confines of its streaming-only platform. In the years since, the streaming market has blown up, with dozens of different companies competing for a slice of Netflix’s lucrative business. Stranger Things, however, remained a widely popular show throughout all the changes, with each season utilizing its unique blend of nostalgia, pop horror, and lovable nerds to attract millions of viewers. Unfortunately, as the seasons unfolded, the series struggled to juggle its expansive cast of characters and complex mythology involving parallel dimensions and psychic powers. Stranger Things 5 still carries over some of these issues, but as the story nears the finishing line, Volume 1 proves that The Duffer Brothers are willing to answer lingering questions and give the narrative a definitive conclusion.
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Volume 1 of Stranger Things 5, consisting of four episodes, kicks off almost two years after the Season 4 finale. Henry Creel, aka Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), has successfully opened a rift to the Upside Down right in the middle of Hawkins, attracting the scrutiny of the military. Meanwhile, the villain sustained severe wounds in the final battle against Hawkins’ heroes, forcing him to go into hiding. Stranger Things 5 picks up from there, showing how the people of Hawkins are adapting to the military siege, keeping Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) hidden, and using their Upside Down expertise to stop Vecna once and for all.
The first episode of Stranger Things 5 Volume 1 is one of the best in the entire series, perfectly setting the stage for the final battle while giving all the returning characters time to shine. While mystery and intrigue are strong elements of the series’ success, we keep coming back for the deep emotional bonds that Vecna’s survivors have developed over the years. Seeing how they adjusted to their new life and found new ways to drive each other crazy is a sweet reminder of how great Stranger Things can be. Unfortunately, while the rest of Volume 1 is still good television, the series keeps falling into the same traps that have been repetadly criticized in previous installments, often splitting the party too thin, refraining from putting the main characters in any real danger, and refusing to edit lengthy episodes that run a little too long.
Rating: 3.5/5
| PROS | CONS |
| The first episode delivers one of the series’ strongest openers. | Low narrative stakes due to the refusal to kill the main characters. |
| Essential move toward answering definitive narrative questions. | Pacing suffers from the overly expansive cast and fragmented storylines. |
| Good world-building and mythology exploration. | Several main characters are trapped in repetitive emotional arcs. |
| Great display of deep emotional bonds among the core cast. | Bland, one-dimensional human antagonists that serve as props. |
Stranger Things Is Still Too Afraid to Put Its Characters in Real Danger
For a series filled with monsters and bloody murders, Stranger Things‘ death count remains surprisingly low. In particular, the series has frequently introduced new side characters each season to use as sacrifices and pretend the danger is real, while allowing its main cast to beat insurmountable odds. Even characters such as Hopper (David Harbour) and Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink) were literally brought back from the dead to ensure the main party remains intact. With Stranger Things 5 giving its main villain new tools to enact his plan to destroy the world, it gets progressively harder to suspend disbelief and accept that luck is always on the heroes’ side. A major set piece on the final episode of Volume 1 is an exemplar of this issue, as dozens of nameless extras are killed while the regular cast remains majorly unscathed.
In addition to reducing the stakes of the story, Stranger Things‘ overprotection of the key characters has also resulted in the main cast growing. That means the Duffer Brothers have to find almost two dozen characters something to do, which obviously gets in the way of pacing. Their go-to solution is to break each episode into several semi-connected tasks, each to be handled by a subgroup of stars. These subgroups will split, band together, and part ways several times across the four episodes of Stranger Things 5 Volume 1, sometimes dragging the pacing of the show.
Dealing with too many side stories also results in some characters being underserved. Even with a bloated runtime, there is not enough space to allow everyone to be essential to the main plot. Once again, Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) draws the short stick, being relegated to supporting other people’s journeys. In addition, Steve (Joe Keery) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) are once again caught up in the tiresome love triangle with Nancy (Natalia Dyer). Finally, some characters get stuck in arcs we already saw unfold before, such as Joyce (Winona Ryder) being overprotective of Will (Noah Schnapp) and Hopper struggling to trust Eleven to handle herself. There are some highlights, as Stranger Things finally allows Will to explore his sexuality with the help of Robin (Maya Hawke), instead of queer-baiting him. Still, it’s bothersome to see the new season carry over familiar mistakes.
Stranger Things 5 Is Still Spectacular, If Flawed
One aspect where Stranger Things always excelled is its ability to create an enthralling supernatural world with the Upside Down and its creatures. The new season finds ways to keep things fresh by allowing the main characters to explore the parallel dimension as they never did before. That will lead to some puzzling revelations that slowly move towards definitive answers about the place’s origins and the rules that bind Vecna and the other Upside Down residents. Volume 1 still won’t give many answers, but it’s already possible to see the pieces moving into place to form a larger picture.
For fans who love the mythic side of the series, Stranger Things 5 also takes the story in unexpected directions, revealing more about how Vecna’s powers work. While we still need Volume 2 to pay off the promises of the first batch of episodes, the series is moving in an interesting direction, ensuring Eleven is not the only major weapon in Hawkins’ arsenal against doomsday.
That said, the series still struggles with its villains. Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan (Sherman Augustus) is back to hunt down Eleven, but he remains an incompetent, uninformed, and one-dimensional mustache-twirling bad guy. There’s also a new human antagonist, Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton), Sullivan’s boss, who’s just as bland and uninteresting as her grunts. The human antagonists are given almost nothing to do, being used as props to justify the many micro-tasks the party has to complete in their adventure. It would be better, then, to allow the military to serve its background purpose, instead of trying to give it a face and failing miserably.
As for Vecna, his new plan to destroy the world is surprisingly similar to the one he enacted in Stranger Things 4, involving a familiar way of operating. The first volume of Stranger Things 5 tried to keep the mystery, so there’s still time for Vecna to become as threatening as he should be. Still, he is not present enough in these first episodes to make a lasting impression.
Stranger Things is still one of Netflix’s best original productions, so it’s still worth coming back to Hawkins to witness the end of an era. However, when all is said and done, it would be better if the final season managed to address the problems critics and fans have been pointing out for years.
The first volume of Stranger Things 5 is set to arrive on November 26, followed by the second on Christmas Day, and the series finale will premiere on New Year’s Eve.
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image courtesy of Universal Pictures, Columbia Pictures, and Millimeter
