Depending on your level of investment, Stranger Things 5 is either a welcome arrival, or a court-appointed pop culture event. The series that bills itself as a “cultural phenomenon” has started to conclude through a multi-tiered release of its final season. With the final 9 episodes kicking off through four introductory chapters, the road ahead feels bumpier than ever; and not in a good way.
Even if you’ve kept up with all things Hawkins, Volume 1 may leave you scratching your head.
Stranger Things 5 starts with Hawkins, Indiana being quarantined after the events of Season 4’s finale. With Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) threatening to nab all of the kids in this mid-west burg, it’s up to the usual suspects to save the world. Already, the “rinse/repeat” formula of The Duffer Brothers’ mass appeal-driven hit shows its lack of range. What makes this outing worse is the fact that some developments feel like they came out of nowhere; which may be due to a couple factors.
The over three-year wait for Stranger Things’ huge finale certainly doesn’t help casual fans. Those looking to drop in after merely watching previous seasons are going to be left with questions – especially when it comes to fresh antagonist Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton). At the same time, returning favorites have questions attached to their evolving roles, which only doubles down on the questionable storytelling choices.
On a basic level, the tale of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Will (Noah Schnapp), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), and the rest of the gang works. It’s when Stranger Things 5 tries to advance its story that it sees its greatest difficulties arise. Despite all of the hallmarks expected in the fifth outing of this prolonged Netflix hit being present, some plot points feel like they come out of nowhere.
Why is Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton) such a formidable big bad, besides the fact that she’s the latest government stooge to be assigned to this hellmouth? This example is the least spoiler-intensive, but it’s also one of the largest sticking points for this supposedly epic finale to a “cultural phenomenon.” This is the wrong time for big new questions such as this, which is amplified by the new release strategy – which we’ll circle back to in a moment.
If you’ve already got your favorite Stranger Things characters picked, that’s not going to change.
For all of the big swings that Stranger Things 5 attempts, its most solid base hits actually score the most points. Catching up with Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) in his state of mourning after Eddie’s sacrifice in the previous season is one of the better plot lines to be presented. Causing friction with the rest of the gang, as well as fan favorite Steve (Joe Keery), Matarazzo finds a space to really sell the conflict without getting too dark or whiny.
It’s the familiar faces that bring the most joy in this final battle, whether the choices made make sense or not. An early Volume 1 moment where Cara Buono’s Karen Wheeler becomes a Ripley-style warrior to protect her young daughter is an out-of-nowhere choice. But it’s hard to complain about the moment itself, which is why anyone looking to judge is going to have to hold off until the payoff lands.
Once again, it’s the older teens in Stranger Things that really carry the show’s heart – especially Maya Hawke’s ‘Rockin’ Robin’ Buckley. Watching her go from radio revolutionary to romance-stricken teen is probably the most electric part of what Season 5, Volume 1 has to show the audience.
Plus, Robin’s burgeoning sexuality offers a moment where she gives advice to young Will Byers that makes his eventual coming out story feel like an organic thread – rather than a somewhat late addition to the mix in Season 4. If the rest of the season could be focused on Robin, Dustin, Steve, and the continually underused Erica Sinclair (Priah Ferguson), we might be working with a winning team.
The prolonged release of Stranger Thing Season 5 feels like the worst choice.
Like it or not Stranger Things is a product of its time. Saturated with ‘80s nostalgia, and occupying a place as one of the streaming realm’s biggest hits, this final season seems to be waning in its interest in either. Which means that The Duffer Brothers seem to be focusing on something the series has sneakily been constructing over some time: the lore.
Here’s where all of those new questions come in, as the stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow is now drawn into the mainline plot. Something huge could be coming out of that choice…but we won’t know just yet, as there’s still about a month before this tale concludes.
Keeping that in mind, the “cliffhanger” for Episode 4 – “Sorcerer” feels more like a moment to end on before clicking “Next Episode,” not “See ya at Christmas!” Pausing in-between volumes is only going to give fans more room to ask bigger questions. That’s a recipe for disaster, as the upcoming handful of feature-length episodes will need to tie off even more loose ends in the name of a satisfying sendoff.
Die-hard fans may buy Stranger Things 5’s staggered release of its final stories, but others may find their patience tested. Though the loyalists in the party might also become annoyed, as we saw with Netflix employing a similar strategy with Bridgerton’s most recent season. Leaving the crowd waiting could work in the long run, but doing so in the final seasons of a “cultural phenomenon” already looks to have been a big miscalculation. Still, at least we have Frank Darabont back in the director’s chair for two episodes. So it’s not like we haven’t gotten something out of the deal.
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