The suspenseful series “Stranger Things” released its fifth season on Netflix in three volumes, starting on Nov. 26, to conclude the show almost 10 years after its season one debut in July 2016.
Taking place in the 1980s in Indiana, a group of young friends (Mike, Will, Lucas, Dustin and later Max) battle supernatural threats from an alternative dimension known as the Upside Down that bleeds into their world from secret government experiments that took place in their small town, Hawkins.
Season five was released in three volumes; volume one premiered on Nov. 25, volume two on Christmas, and the season finale on New Year’s Eve. Season four left fans on the edge of their seats with apocalyptic-type earthquakes and a ground-splitting ending. It left season five to have the answers for how the “party” was going to save Hawkins from an upcoming war and how “Stranger Things” creators, the Duffer Brothers, were going to end the show.
In the fourth season, the kids were separated between Hawkins and California and introduced to Vecna. Later in the season, they reveal that Vecna is Henry Creel and the first experiment at Hawkins Lab, making him Eleven’s first lab “brother.”
In season five, Hawkins is under military surveillance and quarantine, which was unusual as no one knew why. Mike and Nancy’s little sister, Holly, became the protagonist as her family and friends are concerned with her mental state due to her seeing and talking to her imaginary friend, Mr. Whatsit. Adding Holly (Nell Fisher) was fun for the show because viewers get to see her impact with Vecna’s destruction.
Despite the Hawkins quarantine, the characters perform “crawls” using tunnels to continue to search for Vecna in the Upside Down. Eleven continues to stay hidden and trains to hopefully join her “dad,” Hopper, in the crawls.
Holly gets abducted by Mr. Whatsit along with 11 other kids. Eventually everyone figures out Mr. Whatsit is Henry, and the kids are placed in a coma, but also in Henry’s mind as a type of undercover prison.
As Will’s connection to Vecna grows stronger, he gains more insight into Vecna’s plans while Eleven and Hopper try to save Holly and the other kids in the Upside Down. Though the kids needed to be saved, the characters figured out why the military was after Eleven. With the added character, Kali, or 8, they discovered they needed Eleven to continue Hawkins’s lab experiments.
Will’s (Noah Snapp) acting intensified the show this season and added deep emotion. His connections with the other characters grew, including his mom, which showed how much they went through together and how all she wanted was for Will to be happy and safe.
The show included an epic new plot line, adding drama and suspense to the season. Using the characters to discover facts regarding the Upside Down and how it’s a wormhole to the Abyss, the characters discover Vecna’s plans with the children and the connecting of the worlds. With that new information, Vecna was able to be destroyed, and the children were saved.
Going into the new season, the fans knew there would be heartbreak. With the show reigning for almost 10 years and a major season-ending cliffhanger, certain deaths would have to be inevitable. After volumes one and two, controversy from fans about who would die added more tension, making watching the episodes that much scarier.
Also, fans on social media came up with tons of theories, convinced that their theory would be how the show was ending. It brought fans together and created excitement during the waiting periods between volumes. A popular theory circling social media was that fans were expecting Steve’s demise.
Despite Vecna’s destruction, the finale was filled with heart-aching montages of what the kids went through, and as expected, the show ended with the heartwrenching death of Eleven, sacrificing herself in the destruction of the Upside Down, to prevent the never-ending cycle of child experimenters from continuing. Devastation surrounded all of the characters, but most of all affecting Eleven’s great love, Mike, and her dad, Hopper. The acting during this scene was perfect and portrayed Eleven’s impact on the show.
Despite critics giving feedback for the finale and its quick ending, the finale portrayed nostalgia with Mike, Will, Lucas, Dustin and Max going to their roots, playing Dungeons and Dragons, while Mike explains the possibility of Eleven’s survival.
The Duffer Brothers left Eleven’s interpretation up to the fans, but as the show closed, “I believe” filled Mike’s basement, as Eleven’s forever friends hoped that Eleven found peace.
