‘Stranger Things 5’ review: Mature, monster-filled, restless ride

With a fragile barrier parting the Upside Down from the Downside Up, Stranger Things Season 5 has made Hawkins a hard place to exist in and left fans antsy in their seats.

After a wait of almost three and a half years, the Netflix chilling sci-fi mystery returns for a fifth and final season, which is justified as a grand finale.

The series features several jaw-dropping turns of events, making you jump in your chair in joy.

Max returns after being trapped in Vecna’s memories, Kali/Eight makes a surprising comeback, and Vecna, with his Demogorgons, terrorizes Hawkins, targeting the town’s children.

The season’s biggest shock? Will Byers reveals unexpected psychic powers, leaving fans questioning how he gained them and what lies ahead in Stranger Things.

So, what really happened? Let’s break it down at once.

Recap of the Season

Season 5 of Stranger Things kicks off with a flashback revealing what Will Byers experienced in the Upside Down, abducted by the ultimate villain, Vecna.

The Upside Down’s timeline, frozen since Will vanished in 1983, ties back to Eleven accidentally opening the first gate.

Hawkins remains militarized, and the town is still reeling from Season 4’s chaos, including Max’s coma after Vecna controlled her grief.

Will’s ongoing connection to the Upside Down and his “now-memories” hint at his latent powers, empowering his psychic emergence. Meanwhile, Eleven uses sensory deprivation and the Void to spy and understand threats, while the crew navigates familiar tunnels to evade danger.

Henry Creel, a.k.a. Vecna, is explored in depth, showing his childhood trauma, powers, and transformation into the first test subject at Hawkins Lab.

Kali returns briefly, Max remains trapped in Vecna’s mind before almost coming out of the coma, and Will’s magical potential as a “sorcerer” is teased, setting the stage for a high-stakes, emotionally charged season.

What has happened to ‘Stranger Things’ kids?

Season 5 of Stranger Things stars the cast as young adults rather than kids.

The series, once centred on clever kids outwitting monsters in 1980s-style adventures, now struggles with grown-up characters trying to fit childhood antics.

Familiar faces like Dustin, Robin, Eleven, Mike, Lucas, and Jonathan continue their roles, while Joyce and Hopper remain integral.

Though the core traits of the group persist, the shift in age makes the nostalgic charm of BMX chases, basement schemes, and Dungeons & Dragons escapades feel less convincing, creating a bittersweet dynamic for longtime fans.

What did Vecna do to Max?

Max remains in a coma in Season 5, Episode 3, with Lucas playing Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill to reach her, and she almost came back before the song stopped and the portal closed.

In Season 4, Vecna targeted Max, exploiting her grief over Billy’s death to manipulate her mind. The Hawkins crew used her as bait while Eleven entered Max’s mind to confront Vecna in a psychic showdown, aiming to stop his plan to open the four gates to the Upside Down.

What’s new with Will in ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5?

Since Season 1, the Duffer brothers have hinted that Will might possess powers, inspired by his D&D character, Will the Wise.

In the game, he plays a wizard who casts spells like fireballs and uses “Wizard Eye” to see distant places. Memories of him drawing green fireballs foreshadow his potential abilities.

Mike points out that while Will is a wizard in the game, he’s more like a sorcerer in real life, innately magical rather than learned. Season 5’s Episode Sorcerer emphasizes this, teasing the emergence of Will’s latent, real-world powers connected to the Upside Down.

With the four episodes flowing seamlessly into one another, the season feels like a five-hour action-comedy-horror epic, each segment given plenty of room to unfold.

Episode one focuses on setup, while episode four delivers a thrilling 90-minute spectacle of flame-throwing and bullet-dodging, showcasing an apparently limitless effects budget and ending with a moment that will have fans leaping from their seats in sheer excitement.

Throughout their journey, the gang rigs traps, navigates tunnels, enlists spies, and tinkers with radios, all while cheering, bickering, and improvising their way through every seemingly impossible challenge, just like they always have.

Stranger Things Season 5: Volume 1 is now playing on Netflix.

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