The Upside Down opens in the epic final season of the Duffer Brothers’ spectacular supernatural retro series to see how the threat came to be in Hawkins. Between Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) taking more children and the government looking for Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), stranger things‘The gang of heroes must gather troops and be ready for anything.
Nancy (Natalia Dyer) leads the charge with Hopper (David Harbor) and Joyce (Winona Ryder) in planning to kill Vecna - while also tipping off government surveillance to find out what the military is doing in the Upside Down after the ground explodes in their city.
Eleven hones her powers for the final showdown against Vecna, who is recruiting the Hawkins youth in the guise of Henry and calling himself Mister Whatsit; His targets include Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher). As chaos ensues due to both Vecna and the government, Steve (Joe Keery), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Robin (Maya Hawke), and Erica (Priya Ferguson) all step up to become Hawkins’ protectors.
But it’s Will (Noah Schnapp) and Max (Sadie Sink), whose connections to the Upside Down may come in handy in backing up Eleven, who really have us so excited for the rest of the season.
Here are the things we liked about season five, volume one — and some things we didn’t like so much.
Liked: Will’s connection to the hive
Will’s discovery of “Gooseies” gives him access to the hive mind, which makes him this season’s secret weapon. His ability to access the shared consciousness that powers Vecna ultimately comes in handy, giving Hawkins’ heroes an insider who can recognize the dangers coming.
Liked: Radio Station
Robin Hawkins works as a radio DJ and is the voice of the station he, Steve, and Nancy run. It’s a way to send secret messages to Murray (Brett Gelman) and his team, including Hopper, about government moves – if you pay attention to his yelling in between the favorite music played. Loved Diana Ross’s “Upside Down” needle drop. The home base change is welcome and adds a new layer of nostalgia for the days before music streaming and the heyday of radio personalities.
Also, it feels very star wars Using radio signals to track the bad guys and figure out how to smuggle weapons and goods in and out of Hawkins. When Steve runs the mobile station, intercepting the Upside Down’s radio signals while Hopper is out there doing more spy business, he gives us Han Solo vibes to the max. Dustin, as his co-pilot and technical genius, wins our hearts.
Didn’t like: Jonathan’s obsession with Steve
Since returning from California, Jonathan has been focusing on the fact that Steve is superior to him to a strange extent. Their competition for Nancy’s attention is exhausting, and even Steve is fed up with it. She appropriately calls out Jonathan for focusing more on her than Nancy because she is just useless as a boyfriend. Steve has demonstrated that he has matured by being in the trenches with the kids and protecting them since his early days in high school. This is emotional development that Jonathan is missing and it won’t be fixed by proposing to Nancy, which made us angry when we saw the ring that Murray smuggled in for her. I feel scared the moment he asks that question.
Didn’t like: Not enough Henry Creel original explanation
Fans are lucky to be able to attend Stranger Things: First Shadow The play (or, barring an actual theater tour that scoured TikTok for its recaps) will be more aware of Henry Creel’s past than those who just watch the series. We get a brief glimpse of his younger years on the show, but not enough to really understand what it’s like to go to school with Joyce, Hopper, Bob Newby, and a random Harrington. In the play, while he is learning about his powers with Brenner, he is fighting the Mind Flayer’s control with the help of Bob’s sister, Patty Newby.
Liked: Vesna as Mr. Whatsit
In the wonderful third episode, directed by Frank Darabont, we see Henry return to an idyllic version of his home, which has become stagnant during the time he was last there. His new plan is so scary because he actually resembles Freddy Krueger and stalks the children, luring them in his Henry form as a friendly guy who wants to save them from monsters. It’s pretty awesome, and the American version of his mansion in Wonderland, where he acts like Mister Rogers around Holly Wheeler and others, is absolutely fantastic.
Liked: Nancy is becoming the heroine of the 80s
Nancy becoming the de facto leader is giving Sarah Connor excitement – in a season where Linda Hamilton arrives to boot. Vecna capturing Holly after she attacks the Wheeler parents really changes her and makes her more interested in destroying Vecna than the boys (thank god). She is the brains behind the operation, guiding every player at the table to use their skills to defeat Vecna. Under his leadership, they learn that Vecna is targeting children and create a plan to protect them.
Didn’t like: Not enough Dr.
Linda Hamilton as Dr. K is such an iconic choice, and as soon as we learned of her casting, we were looking forward to her introduction. There are a lot of character arcs in season five, so it’s probably to be expected that we haven’t seen much of it yet. But knowing that she’s basically the new Brenner-esque big bad in a lab working for the government makes us nervous. We want to know more about why she wants Eleven and whether or not she really intends to find a way to control Vecna.
Liked: Robin and Will’s connection
Will’s coming into his own with the help of Robin is a beautiful subplot. Will and Robin know each other in a way that others don’t, and that’s absolutely true. Robin being a mentor to Will in helping him embrace who he is, coupled with his acceptance of his connection with the Upside Down, really creates the best payoff in volume one.
Liked: Eleven Training to Kill Vecna
Eleven’s training montage was bad, and it was great to see her finally leaning into her powers in the Upside Down. She has grown up, and Hopper has done well with his ward and helped her be empowered by the people she loves. Whether or not she’s the one who (we guess) delivers the final blow to Vecna, we can’t wait to see.
Liked: All friendship
Steve and Dustin still have our whole hearts; It would be better for this show not to touch a single hair or curl of his head. (We know it will.) And that’s what’s great about the show: Every friendship dynamic, not just theirs, and even new ones like Will and Robin, feel really relatable and it becomes even more important when they’re in danger. Plus, all the new kids get great moments to shine in their kidnapping plot, including Holly, who feels very much like Amblin-Wes Craven meets Wes Craven.goonsLots of fun moments within the dangerous action!
Liked: Max lives (kind of)!
Max is, in a way, alive; She resides in Henry’s mind and can see his memories as well as his plans. Sadie Sink’s return as a hero to the “Dreamworld” area of the Upside Down is a wonderful epic to watch as she leads Holly away from Henry’s deception. She also has a way of finding Vesna’s weaknesses and has survived long enough to defeat her in her own mind by hiding in a cave.
Disliked: Mysterious Cave
Okay, so I found the intro to the cave annoying because I know that’s where Henry first encountered the entity that powers the Upside Down, which is explained in stranger things play. I know this is still only the first volume, but giving incremental information doesn’t really help the audience understand why this setting matters and why Vecna is intensely afraid of the cave.
Liked: Eleven’s Sister Eight Returns
Eight is back! Turns out she’s the one K has used to find Vecna in the Upside Down base, just like Brenner was trying to use Eleven to do the same in the first season. It’s exciting to see his return and his lost thread finally connects to the action. It gives Eleven her sister back, which we love.
Liked: will get powers
Will and Vecna meet face to face in the middle of the action, where the Demogorgon is snatching children left and right. It’s horrifying and drawn out in a way where you feel like Hawkins’ heroes are taking another L, especially when Vecna says he chose Will because he was weak, taking him back with him like the others. And just when you think the Demogorgons are about to kill Mike, Joyce, Lucas, and Robin – Will breaks into the hive to take control of the Demogorgons, then destroys them with newfound psychic powers, the same way Vecna kills Chrissy. He successfully turns the tables on Vecna, and seeing her reclaim her agency against her captor is a major accomplishment.
More stranger things Episodes for season five will drop on December 25, with the grand finale arriving on Netflix on December 31.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
<a href