Review: ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Volume 1
By the time Stranger Things reached its fifth and final season, the show was no longer just a series—it was a cultural artifact. For nearly a decade, Hawkins, Indiana, has been shorthand for friendship forged under pressure, kids growing up too fast, and the creeping horror of worlds colliding. Season 5 arrives carrying the weight of that legacy, and for the most part, it earns it. Creatively, emotionally, and narratively, this final chapter delivers the closure fans have been hoping for. Logistically? Netflix made it far more complicated than it ever needed to be.
[Warning: spoilers from Stranger Things Season 5 Vol. 1 are below!]
Hawkins at the edge of everything
Season 5 picks up in the immediate aftermath of the cataclysmic events of Season 4. Hawkins is no longer pretending everything is fine. The Upside Down has bled into the real world in visible, terrifying ways. The town is fractured—physically and emotionally—and so are our characters. This is a season about reckoning. Vecna is wounded but not gone, and the question is no longer how to stop him but what we are willing to lose to end this for good.
The core group—Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Will (Noah Schnapp), Max (Sadie Sink), and the now fully entrenched older teens—are no longer reacting to chaos; they are actively preparing for war. There’s a refreshing urgency to the storytelling. Gone are the sprawling detours that occasionally slowed earlier seasons. Stranger Things Season 5 is tightly focused, deliberately paced, and emotionally direct. Every subplot feeds the central conflict, and every character is given a clear arc that acknowledges who they were when this all began versus who they’ve become.
Without spoiling specifics, this is the most character-forward season the show has ever produced. The supernatural spectacle is still there—often impressively so—but it never overshadows the human cost. The final season understands that the real horror of Stranger Things has always been about loss, guilt, and the fear of being left behind.
From a creative standpoint, Season 5 Vol. 1 largely sticks the landing. The performances across the board are strong, but the younger cast—who are no longer really “kids”—rise to the occasion in a way that feels earned rather than nostalgic. There is a sense that these characters are saying goodbye to each other and to the audience at the same time.
The season also smartly returns Will to the emotional center of the story. His connection to the Upside Down, which has lingered quietly in the background for seasons, finally receives the attention it deserves. It’s a reminder of how deeply the show’s mythology has always been intertwined with its emotional core.
Visually, Season 5 is cinematic without tipping into excess. The horror elements feel more restrained but more effective—less about jump scares, more about dread. The score leans heavily into motifs from earlier seasons, which could have felt indulgent, but instead works as a reminder of how far this story has come.
The Netflix rollout problem: splitting the season was a mistake
Here’s where things get frustrating.
Despite the strength of the content itself, it’s genuinely difficult to understand why Netflix chose to split Season 5 across multiple release dates. The explanation—“eventizing” the finale, building anticipation, allowing episodes to breathe—sounds nice in theory, but in practice, it undercut the emotional momentum of the story.
This is not a show that benefits from interruption at this stage. Season 5 is designed to be consumed as a complete arc. Breaking it up fractured the experience, stalled the conversation, and created artificial cliffhangers that felt more strategic than storytelling-driven. For a series built on binge culture and communal discovery, the staggered release felt oddly out of step with its own history.
Fans weren’t confused about what was happening—they were confused about why. When a final season is already guaranteed attention, splitting it feels less like a creative decision and more like a platform tactic.
Then there was the theater controversy. When news broke that Netflix was exploring theatrical screenings for parts of Season 5, the reaction was swift and divided. Some fans were excited by the idea of seeing Stranger Things on the big screen; others were understandably frustrated at the implication that access to the full experience might require leaving the couch—or paying extra.
To Netflix’s credit, the eventual compromise was smarter than the initial plan. Rather than locking episodes behind theatrical exclusivity, the platform opted for limited, optional theatrical screenings of select finale episodes as special events, while still releasing everything on Netflix within the promised window. This allowed diehard fans to experience the show communally without penalizing viewers who preferred—or needed—to watch at home.
Still, the entire situation highlighted a tension Netflix hasn’t quite resolved: Stranger Things may look like a blockbuster, but it was built as a living-room phenomenon. Treating it like a theatrical product, even briefly, risks misunderstanding why it became a hit in the first place.
Final Thoughts on Stranger Things Season 5 Vol. 1: A Strong Goodbye, Despite the Noise
Season 5 of Stranger Things is, at its core, a satisfying and emotionally grounded conclusion to one of the most influential TV series of the modern era. It honors its characters, respects its audience, and resists the urge to overcomplicate its ending. The creative team clearly knew where this story needed to land—and they got there.
The frustration surrounding the split release and theatrical flirtation doesn’t diminish the quality of the season itself, but it does feel like unnecessary noise around what should have been a straightforward victory lap. This was a moment to trust the material and the fans. The show deserved a clean goodbye.
Still, when the final episode fades out, what lingers isn’t the rollout drama—it’s the journey. Stranger Things ends the way it began: with heart, horror, and the understanding that growing up is its own kind of Upside Down. And that, even when the world is ending, friendship remains the most powerful force of all.
Stranger Things season 5, Vol. 1, is streaming exclusively on Netflix, with Volume 2, comprising episodes 5-7, arriving on Christmas Day! What are your thoughts on this season of Stranger Things so far? Let us know @BoxSeatBabes on all social media platforms!
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