This recap and review contains spoilers for Stranger Things 5: Volume One.
After three years of waiting for the final season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” fans are more than excited about the recent release of the first four episodes. These episodes were released on Nov. 26, and the rest of the season will be released on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.
Chapter One: The Crawl
The season opens with a flashback of young Will Byers stuck in the Upside Down. He is chased by a Demogorgon sent by Vecna, the main villain, who captures him and hints at his own plans for Will.
It then jumps to 1987, where the Byers family has moved into the Wheelers’ house. Holly Wheeler also returns, older, and is a central character this season.
Meanwhile, Robin and Steve work at a new job, a radio station. They secretly send messages to the group and explain the rules for the military in Hawkins.
Across town at Hawkins High, Dustin is experiencing hard times after Eddie Munson’s death last season. The school jocks, also returning, use his grief to bully him.
Next, you see the iconic duo Hopper and Joyce watch El push her limits while she runs through a course, in a discrete place. She times herself as she runs through, hoping to get as fast as she can. Many high officials are looking for El, this introduces another antagonist, Dr. Kay, who also has a base in the Upside Down.
Elsewhere, Eleven trains in hiding with Hopper and Joyce as government forces search for her.
Will begins having visions again and senses a Demogorgon targeting the Wheelers’ house. El and Nancy rush to the house to stop it. The episode ends as a gate opens in Holly’s bedroom ceiling.
Chapter Two: The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler
This episode picks up right where the last one left off. A Demogorgon tears through the gate in Holly’s room and tries to drag her through. Holly escapes her room and tries to warn her mom, Karen Wheeler. Karen heard about Holly’s “imaginary friend” for some time, so she figured it was her imagination. Until she sees an injury on Holly’s head.
The Demogorgon rushes through the house, missing Holly and Karen hiding in the bathtub. It ends up attacking Ted Wheeler downstairs. Karen attempts to fight back against it, but ends up getting badly hurt. El and Nancy reach the house, and Holly is gone.
Hopper and El, in the Upside Down, use a trail and El’s powers to look for Holly. They end up running into a huge wall, like a barrier. Right outside of it sits Holly’s shoe. Weirdly, El’s powers aren’t strong enough to hold the wall open.
At the hospital, Nancy and Mike want answers about who took Holly. They try to see their mom, Karen, but are denied by the hospital staff. A few minutes later, they dressed as a nurse and patient, making their way to Karen’s room. Karen ends up telling them that the “friend” Holly has been seeing goes by the name Henry, also known as Vecna.
Holly, who is unaware of who “Mr. Whatsit” truly is, trusts him. She holds his hand as he leads her into the imaginary Creel House. She seems hesitant, but Henry reassures her, the door shuts behind them, and it cuts to black.
Chapter Three: The Turnbow Trap
In this episode, Hopper and El escape a military ambush in the Upside Down and interrogate a soldier to learn more about the government’s involvement.
Back in Hawkins, Will warns the group that Vecna is targeting other children. The group sets a trap to protect Derek Turnbow, successfully luring and tracking a Demogorgon.
Back in the Creel House, Holly spends time exploring the house. Henry told Holly she can do anything in the house, but she is restricted from going into the woods. Holly ends up walking outside and checking the mailbox, which includes a letter with a map and compass, instructing her to “Meet me at the X.” Holly is unsure if she should go to it or not.
In the Upside Down, Hopper and El start interrogating Akers with her powers. El attempts to pry his memory to figure out what he knows about the military base, the wall, and the unknown creature hidden in the base behind huge vault doors.
The decision is made, and Holly makes her way through the restricted woods. She figured Henry wrote the note, too. She meets the “X” in a cave, and she looks through the wide gap and sees a quick movement. It scared her, so she turned and started running until she tripped and tried to hide behind a rock. The moment slowly pans to the person who led Holly there, Max Mayfield.
Chapter Four: Sorcerer
The last episode starts with Derek waking up and being very confused about what is happening. Joyce tries to warn him about the monsters that took Will, who are now after him too.
A Demogorgon bursts in. Joyce tries to fight back with an axe to push it out of the barn. Will has another vision, and the Demogorgon retreats out, running back into the portal. Some of the group, Steve, Nancy, Dustin, and Jonathan, go through the portal as well, following the tracker into the Upside Down.
The group races to protect Derek as the military begins rounding up children in Hawkins under the aspect of “protection.”
You then see the new duo, Holly and Max. Max explains to Holly that “Mr. Whatsit” is Victor, and the truth about him. You get to see what Max went through as everyone else saw her in a coma.
While the group tries to save the kids, Robin and Will’s friendship is shown through a vulnerable conversation. Robin tells Will that when she was a kid, she was so carefree and fearless. She was looking for answers in somebody else, but she had all of them; she just had to stop being scared.
This scene is one of my favorites this season. I think it showed such a huge message to so many people, and others agree.
Hopper and El break into the military base to find out what is behind the vault. A returning character from season two, 008, also known as Kali. She shares similar powers to El and was captured by Dr. Kay.
Portals begin to open all around Hawkins, causing panic and chaos everywhere. During this, a portal opens in the military base in the normal world. Vecna reveals himself, and the soldiers release fire, but fail to realize how strong the villain is.
It then cuts to a flashback scene of when Will and Mike became friends very young, on a swingset. You see Will’s childhood memories, awakening what Robin had mentioned earlier. As the “feeling that you could fly.”
You then see the Demogorgon that jumped at Mike stuck in the air, held up by Will. The episode ends as Will wipes the blood off his nose and stares back at you, a scene that went viral online as it left everyone stunned.
Student Thoughts
Many students at Santa Fe are buzzing about the new season. The unexpected plot twists and emotional moments have gone viral everywhere.
Will, being an important character this season, is one of the main topics people talk about. Junior Syndey Stancil thinks Will’s character development is something that surprised her most.
“In the past seasons, we just got to see him as this little kid with rarely any character because of how much that was happening to him, but this season he has more screen time, and I think we get to see him more on a personal level, I’m surprised but also liking the character development through these episodes,” Stancil said.
Senior Isy Peugh also thought Will was a major character this season. When asked what moment surprised her most, it was one of Will’s huge scenes.
“I was really emotional about it, I was just crying,” Peugh said.
There were many small and big moments in these four episodes that stuck with people. However, Stancil picked a moment that was brushed over and not seen a lot online.
“A moment that really stuck with me from the episodes is Jonathan opening the music tape box, and there being a ring inside for Nancy. I have no idea what’s gonna happen there, so I feel like it’s definitely one of the moments from the new episodes that I need to know what happens next,” Stancil said.
This ending left me and so many others super excited for the other episodes to come, and I can’t wait to see how the last season of Stranger Things wraps up.
