Coming back from Thanksgiving break, the hallways of CA are abuzz with talk about the release of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things. This nostalgic childhood series, which has spanned almost a decade, is finally coming to a close. The season has been broken up into three volumes. The first volume, containing the first four episodes, was released on November 26, 2025. The second volume, containing three more episodes, aired on December 25, with the season finale released on December 31. It has been over three years since the fourth season was released, and fans all over the world are eager for the show’s finale.
Stranger Things is a sci-fi television series set in Hawkins, Indiana, in the 1980s, where the mysterious disappearance of a young boy, Will Byers, reveals a parallel dimension called the “Upside Down”. A young girl with psychokinetic abilities, Eleven, escapes from a lab and joins Will’s friends to fight numerous monsters from the Upside Down such as the Demogorgons, the Mind Flayer, and the most recent threat, Vecna.
The previous season of the show ended with a major cliffhanger, leaving fans with uncertainty and anticipation. In the final episode, one of the main characters, Max, has a fatal encounter with Vecna. However, after being saved by Eleven, she is alive but in a coma, her mind trapped in a dark state that even Eleven cannot access. Vecna’s attempt to merge the Upside Down with Hawkins was partially successful, as he was able to open four gates between the two worlds. The final scene reveals the dimensions merging using ominous red lighting that flashes across the sky as a sign.
The new season opens with a flashback of Vecna and young Will, connecting back to season one and proving that it was Vecna all along who first took Will into the Upside Down. Now, Vecna is choosing more children similar to Will as his victims to bring to the Upside Down to help bridge the gap between the two worlds. By assuming the kind and caring character, ‘Mr. Whatsit,’ and visiting the children’s minds, he lured them into following him. The main characters are working together to find Vecna in the Upside Down and kill him while simultaneously trying to take the children before he does. In the final episode of the first release, Will finally fights back against the demogorgons, turning into a version of Vecna himself in the process.
This childhood show coming to an end holds extremely sentimental value to many of the audience. Countless fans began watching Stranger Things at the same age as the characters were in the first season and grew up alongside them with each season. The show reaching its conclusion not only closes a chapter in the characters’ lives but also in the fans’ lives.