SPOILER: This column contains potential spoilers for “Stranger Things” season five.
The first volume of the final season of “Stranger Things” released Nov. 26 after three and a half years of anxious waiting from fans. While I was nervous for how the showrunners, Matt and Ross Duffer, would go about bringing this show to an end, the first volume proved to be a promising and epic comeback.
There are many moments I loved from these episodes, but what really stood out to me was Will’s (Noah Schnapp) character arc. I have been Will’s No. 1 fan since I started watching the show in middle school. I was excited to hear this would be a Will-centric season so he could get his moment to shine, but the way the Duffer Brothers handled his character arc surpassed my expectations.
I specifically loved that the Duffer Brothers chose to make Will’s queer identity a focal point of the season. Seeing Will interact with Robin (Maya Hawke) and finally find someone who understands him and shows him it’s okay to be himself was so beautiful.
When I first started watching the show after season two came out, I had my suspicions about Will being gay, but it always felt like more of a fan theory than something that would canonically happen. Seeing his journey to acceptance with his sexuality in season five means so much to me and to so many queer fans.
Robin’s speech to Will that helped him accept himself was beautifully written, and I think it’s something every fan of the show can relate to and lean on to find self-acceptance. I don’t think I can fully put into words how meaningful it was to see a moment like that in such a mainstream show, but I am sure it is going to be impacting fans for years to come.
I’m excited to see how the Duffer Brothers continue his storyline, especially with him now having powers, and I hope and pray he doesn’t die.
Apart from this plotline, I also loved Max (Sadie Sink) and Holly’s (Nell Fisher) storyline. I was scared Max would spend most of the season in a coma, not actually contributing to the plot. When she showed up at the end of episode three, I couldn’t contain my excitement.
Additionally, I enjoyed how this season upped the action. These episodes have already been filled with high-intensity moments that have kept me on the edge of my seat. The scene where the Demogorgon attacked the Wheeler family in episode two especially got my heart racing.
I also like that this season has a darker tone than the others. This definitely fits the finality of the show and highlights that these aren’t just kids playing “Dungeons & Dragons” anymore. The scene with Nancy (Natalia Dyer) in the hospital bathroom after her parents got attacked was especially emotional. It felt like one of the darkest moments in the show, and it was absolutely heartbreaking to watch.
On the other hand, I appreciate that the show still has its humor. I was scared the season would have fewer humorous moments with the more intense and darker tone, but the first four episodes were already filled with funny and iconic scenes.
Episode four’s scene where everything goes wrong in the bathroom heist is especially funny to me. The sound effects, as well as the editing and camera work, somehow made it feel like a sitcom for a split second. I loved it.
The entirety of episode four was one of the best parts of this volume. This episode has already cemented itself as one of the best episodes in “Stranger Things” with a rating of 9.7 out of 10, surpassing season four’s “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab,” the second-most popular episode on IMDb, which has a 9.6.
I truly loved every moment of this episode, from the fight scenes to the jokes, to the Will and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) moments and, of course, the epic ending.
I’m excited the show brought Eight (Linnea Berthelsen) back to tie her into the larger narrative, and I’m interested to see where her character will go.
And, of course, that final sequence where Will discovers his powers was absolute perfection. I think that has become one of my favorite scenes in the entire series, and I love that the entire fandom is collectively freaking out about it.
While the season definitely has some amazing moments, I also thought there were some flaws.
The main part I didn’t love about this season was Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Hopper’s (David Harbour) storyline in the Upside Down. El is widely considered the main character of the show due to her powers, and while I understand the Duffer Brothers wanted to focus more on Will this season, I still feel like they could have given El a more interesting plotline and arc.
This storyline felt slow and pretty boring. I also feel like Hopper has lost some of the spark that made his character so infectious in earlier seasons. I hope this plotline picks up in the next volume, especially with the addition of Eight.
Going into the final season, there was so much that had to be done and explained and yet, now about halfway through the season, it doesn’t feel like the show has addressed any of these issues.
For example, the show glossed over the fact that the entire town of Hawkins was ripped open at the end of season four, looking like a literal battlefield. While they quickly explained what happened to the town in a radio show recap, it seems unlikely for Hawkins to be so back to normal given its state at the end of season four. Vecna has also barely been present this season, so it is unclear how he survived, and much about his past is still unknown.
Additionally, the end of season four left Mike and El’s relationship in a pretty unstable and uncertain place, yet they seemed perfectly fine at the beginning of this season without ever explaining how they got to that point.
I’m hoping that now with some major events having happened, the audience will get more answers. However, considering we’re now halfway through the season, it feels like a bit of wasted time on unimportant things that aren’t moving the narrative forward, like the characters’ constant elaborate plans that always end up falling apart.
I’m excited to see where the rest of this season will go, but I’m also terrified of my favorite characters dying. I will be spending the next month anxiously awaiting the next volume but also living in ignorant bliss before learning the fates of the characters and Hawkins.
