From Camazots and the Upsidedown, to WSQK, The Squawk and Hawkins High School, the plot is thickening as we delve into one last chapter of a supposedly never-ending story. 

Volume One: 

Volume One provides us with the first four episodes of the season, and was released the day before Thanksgiving. This volume opens up with the party, older characters, and several others all spending their time back in Hawkins, which is under military quarantine. Mike, Will, Lucas and Dustin are all in their junior years, and are fairly average teenagers despite a few traumatic bumps in the road during previous seasons.

The plot thickens quickly, and in the first 20 minutes Hopper is already in the upside down. Although, since there was so much of a jump from last season’s ending to this new season, I hoped that there would have been a little more exposition in the beginning. 

However, the cast did not come to play this season, as everyone presented an incredible performance for one last time. A really standout actor this season was Noah Schnapp. With all of Will’s character development this season, such as gaining powers, he tied up his character very well. 

Steve and Johnathan have a weird, almost cliché rivalry over Nancy. Instead of giving off a light-hearted feel, it was painful to watch, as two very beloved characters started to become extremely annoying. All things considered, Joe Keery (Steve) and Charlie Heaton (Johnathan) played it very well, despite the interesting choice of writing. 

Vecna, the series antagonist, begins a new plot that involves kidnapping children from Hawkins. This was one of the more interesting angles of this Volume, as we follow the Wheelers’ youngest, Holly, and Max’s attempt to escape from “Camazots”, or Vecna’s mind. 

Although the plot of this volume had us all on the edge of our seats, it served as a kind of honeymoon phase. As episodes went on, more and more plot holes were created, and some storylines from previous seasons were completely lost, such as Will’s painting for Mike. 

Because of this inconsistency, many fans of the show began to create extravagant theories that started to appear more complex and interesting than the season itself.

Volume Two

Volume Two was the beginning of a downward spiral. Released on Christmas, this volume provided us with three new episodes. 

Parts of the plot were still quite strong, and the Alice in Wonderland-style plot was working very well for Max and Holly. It evoked a feeling of stress, almost as if you were also experiencing the chase through Vecna’s mind. 

That being said, the rest was really not working well, and after leaks and rumors of several episodes and plots being entirely cut, it began to make sense as to why.

In this volume, it became evident that the cast was way too big. There was no room for individual characters to shine through, and because of this, some of the usual stand-out characters, such as Eleven and Joyce, began to sink and blend in with every other character on the show. 

One of the more inspiring and impressive scenes this season was Will’s coming-out scene. Schnapp’s acting really shone, but I wish it were under different circumstances. The writing felt rushed, and almost like the scene had been slapped together the day before. For such an incredibly important plot, this moment did not serve it justice at all. 

Too many moments in season five included heart-to-hearts that at some point just seemed like time fillers. Joyce and Will were constantly pulling each other off to the side to discuss something new. This time could have been filled with something better, such as one of the many scenes allegedly cut out. 

Volume Three

Just hours before the first seconds of the new year, the two-hour final episode of the series was released, closing out this chapter of Stranger Things for good. 

This episode was action-packed, with the main crew traveling into the abyss where Vecna was keeping all the kidnapped children, as well as his hub where he channels his powers. Through a series of unfortunate events, Vecna is finally killed, and the children are saved. 

By the end of this episode, not a single main character had officially been confirmed dead, other than Kali (Linnea Berthelsen), who only showed up in the last few episodes after being absent from the series since season two. Although this seems like a foolish thing to complain about, if more characters had passed away, I think it would have made the last episode truly dramatic and big. 

In spite of that, this last episode was slightly emotional, as it truly began to feel like everything was coming to an end. Most characters had found their somewhat happy endings, and life had returned to normal. 

However, some fans found some inconsistencies in the final episode, such as the graduation gowns being orange, Steve’s position as a baseball coach when he played basketball, and the lack of prosecution for the characters who took out military personnel. This led to a rumored secret episode that would release on Jan. 7, also known as “Conformity Gate”. 

Conformity gate was the belief that the happy endings of certain characters in the show were fabricated, and they were living in an illusion created by Vecna created by Vecna instead. This rumor was evidently untrue, and episode eight remains the last of the series. 

Something that stayed consistently strong throughout the entire series is the incredible soundtrack choices that the Duffer Brothers made. Closing out the series by Mike saying goodbye to Eleven with “Purple Rain” by Prince playing in the background was an incredible choice. Other songs like “Upside Down” by Diana Ross and “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by the Clash will forever remind me of the show. 

Final Review

There is undoubtedly so much nostalgia from this show, as it has now been around for about ten years. Because of this, seeing Mike close the door during the last moments of the show was quite touching, and did feel like a strong final scene. The rest of this season, however, was not as powerful. Compared to previous seasons, the writing felt weaker and less thought through, especially for the last few episodes. Overall, I would rate this season a 7/10.