By: Hayden Hendricks 

     On November 25 at eight p.m. Eastern time, Stranger Things season five’s first volume came out and took the community by storm. Millions of fans started to watch what would happen to Vecna, A.K.A. Henry, and the kids who hunted him. People all around the globe tuned in to dissect the season’s teasers and rumors about the next part of the season. The Duffer Brothers have promised a season that brings the story full circle, looking back to the character-driven narratives of the show’s early days, while simultaneously raising the stakes to catastrophic levels. 

     After the end of season four, the jump from then to season five was roughly one and a half years, and the episodes leading up to the finale of season four added to the stranger things plot tremendously.  

EPISODE 1 

     At the start of season four, the kids are in high school, and they have joined a club about dungeons and dragons, called Hellfire Club, which sets up a conflict between the side antagonists and main characters, Dustin, Mike, and Lucas. Lucas is on the school basketball team currently, and he is trying to get in with the “cool kids.” Meanwhile, Dustin and Mike are trying to get him to come and play Dungeons and Dragons with them instead of going to the championship game. Lucas ends up going to the game, abandoning his friends while they continue to play their Dungeons and Dragon’s campaign. During the game, the main villain of the season, Vecna, is introduced as a boss in their campaign, foreshadowing his appearance.  

EPISODE 2 

     In the next episode, Mike goes to California to see his girlfriend named Jane, or Eleven, who they met back in the first season and who “defeated” the upside-down in previous seasons. Vecna is introduced and kills a girl named Chrissy, a paranoid cheerleader who had some mental problems leading up to the killing. She decides to buy some questionable things from Eddy, the leader of the Hellfire club that most of the main characters are in. In the trailer park that Eddy lives in, Chrissy had a bad episode in which Vecna took control of her mind, killing her in the process. Eddy was surprised and scared, which caused him to run away because he didn’t know what else to do. In Hawkins High School, Eddy was seen as a rejected weirdo who couldn’t graduate, but not to some close friends. Eddy opens up about what he saw with the kids, and they assure him they think he’s telling the truth. Eddy describes how Chrissy lifted into the air and all her limbs broke backwards and then her eyes popped. Nancy, Mike’s older sister, is a journalist in the town of Hawkins who went to investigate the death of Chrissy 

EPISODE 3 

     Episode three kicks off in the good doctor’s house, where the government goes to ask about Eleven and if she was the cause for Chrissy’s death. They then take things from the house and leave without a word. The show then cuts into California where Eleven gets in trouble for hurting a bully at her new school. They go home and Eleven has a nightmare about the mean doctor who hurt her to exploit her powers when she was a kid. Vecna is shown being lifted into the air by some weird tentacle things. The crew of basketball guys take Lucas to hunt Eddie down since they think he killed Chrissy. Dustin and some other main characters, Max, Steve, and Robin, go to Eddy’s hideout and bring him food and water. Then, out of nowhere, a bunch of cops and an ambulance blare by whilst on their way to another death scene of a boy who was working as a journalist. He was manipulated in the same way Chrissy was, broken limbs and popped eyes. This indicated he was killed by Vecna. Nancy Wheeler, whom was with the boy who died whilst they were trying to find out what happened at the trailer park, was interviewed and met up with Dustin, Steve, Max, and Robin. Meanwhile, in California, Max and Jane have a talk about what happened at the roller rink. Jane faces serious consequences, and Will Byers’s mom went to Alaska to try and get their friend Hopper back, who supposedly died in season 3’s finale, but was captured by Russians. Back in Hawkins, the gang of basketball guys go to find his friends other than the main characters, they hurt them badly when they didn’t know much about Eddie’s whereabouts. Nancy and Robin try to figure out how to defeat Vecna by searching through old newspapers, and they find something about a guy named Victor Creel. His whole family experienced the same strange deaths many years ago, and he was left alive for what he thought was to be tortured by being able to live. Max goes to the counselor’s house to find out more about what mental problems Chrissy had. Lucas tries to warn Dustin and the gang about the basketball guys trying to find them. Jane is intercepted by the good doctor and taken to a lab to get her powers back. Hopper’s plot develops in the Russian prison. Meanwhile, the Byers house is being looked after by a cop under the good doctor. Max has a mysterious vision in which a grandfather clock chimes three times.  

EPISODE 4 

     The episode starts with Max, who is deeply affected by learning. She is the next target of Vecna. Her PTSD with her older stepbrother’s death comes back to haunt her since she feels as if she caused his death. She starts to be withdrawn from her friends and attends grief counseling sessions but finds it difficult to get her true feelings out. Strange occurrences begin to plague her, like the ticking of the grandfather clock and disturbing visions, indicating that she is being targeted by Vecna. She is running out of time to find out how to get rid of Vecna, Nancy and Robin go to meet Victor Creel at an insane asylum and he gives his part of the story, describing the gruesome deaths. Meanwhile, in Russia, Hopper is hard at work trying to plan an escape to get to Joyce. 

EPISODE 5 

     The episode starts with Hopper and Dmitri escaping the Russian prison, starting their trek across the rough terrain. The good doctor is taking Eleven to Nevada where she is forced to confront her past demons and problems with the bad doctor. Mike, Will, Jonathan, and Argyle continue their journey to find Eleven while in California. Meanwhile, in Hawkins, the kids search a crumbling house for clues on who, what, and where Vecna resides. Vecna also claims another victim, who is a member of the basketball team with Lucas. The Hawkins kids find out that each kill he gets opens a gate to the upside-down they find out that he needs four gates to open and then he can destroy Hawkins.  

EPISODE 6 

     Episode six starts off with the kids investigating the latest Vecna murder, leading Nancy and Steve to a disturbing alternate dimension to the Creel house. They find out more of Vecna’s past and his method of picking victims. Meanwhile, Joyce and Murray fly to Alaska to find a man named Yuri, hoping to rescue Hopper from the Russian prison. Eleven’s training intensifies, encountering more painful memories, getting closer to regaining her powers. The California group inches closer to finding Eleven’s location, facing challenges to test their resolve. The episode ends when the Hawkins group realized they must venture into the upside-down to stop Vecna, setting the stage for a dangerous confrontation. 

EPISODE 7 

     In this season, Eleven uncovers the full truth about her past at Hawkins lab. Through her training, she remembers how she was manipulated by One, who possessed powers like hers. One tricked her into removing a device that limited his powers, leading him to massacre the people at the lab. Eleven, realizing the extent of his evil, confronts and overpowers him, sending him to the upside-down, where he turns into Vecna. Meanwhile, in Hawkins, the group prepares to enter the upside-down to confront Vecna. Hopper and Joyce continue their efforts to escape Russia. 

EPISODE 8 

     In this episode, Eleven’s past continues to haunt her, as the bad doctor tries to make her into a weapon against Vecna. Eleven fights with her memories and the moral implications of her powers, while the California group finally reaches her location, facing off against armed guards. Meanwhile, in Russia, Hopper, Joyce, and Murray find themselves in a deadly battle with a Demogorgon, using their combined skills to survive. The Hawkins group prepares for a final showdown with Vecna, gathering many weapons and formulating a plan to get into the upside-down. The episode is filled with action and emotion, preparing the watcher for an intense final episode 

EPISODE 9  

     The episode shows a massive showdown against Vecna. The Hawkins crew executes their plan to attack Vecna from multiple fronts, with Robin, Steve, and Nancy entering the Creel house in the upside-down while Dustin and Erica assist from the real world. Eleven’s newfound strength allows her to confront Vecna telepathically, battling him in his mind. Meanwhile, Hopper, Joyce, and Murray face off against the remaining Russian monster, fighting to weaken Vecna’s connection to the upside-down. The episode ends with the upside-down collapsing Hawkins, due to Vecna collecting his fourth kill with Max, who ends the season in a coma and around many buildings are destroyed, killing many people. 

     This sets season five into motion where new characters are introduced and returning favorites come back. There are mixed opinions of season five, but Isaiah Reagle, junior at Eisenhower, thinks it was pretty good. The Squire asked Reagle what he would rate the new season out of ten and he replied with, “7.7; it wasn’t completely perfect, and they’ve been milking the show for a little while, but that doesn’t necessarily make it bad. It was decently entertaining, just not extraordinary.” This is a common rating for the new season. The rating on Rotten Tomato is 84% on the Tomatometer. One review from Sunshine State Cineplex Staff stated, “In part one, we got a great look at how the characters have grown and evolved with each other, opening the door for each of them to shine.” They ended with a final rating of eight out of ten. Though they did have something critical to say, “While some CGI issues still exist…It’s still an improvement from what came before.” The review has a good balance of being critical and giving praise, making it a reliable review.  

     The Squire asked Reagle what his favorite scene and character were, and he said, “The bathroom scene because it’s low key the only funny scene this season.” His favorite character is, “Derek Turnbow.” We also asked if he was satisfied with the first part of the season and he explained, “It was satisfying enough for it only being part one, but I’m really hoping for more in the second part.”  

     Stranger Things fans won’t have to wait long for part two, as it will be released on December 25, with a possible finale in theatres on December 31. This will be the last season for the popular series, so be sure to tune in.