Stranger Things 5, Volume 1: An Episodic Review

November 6th, 1983. A twelve year old boy vanishes, and his friends decide to look for him amidst government cover-ups and supernatural happenings. In the process, they meet a young girl with superpowers and uncover more secrets about their town than they had ever hoped to find in the first place.

This, as you probably know by now, describes the global phenomenon known as Stranger Things, created by the Duffer Brothers. With season one premiering on July 15th, 2016, it would take nine years, four months, and eleven days before the epic final season would release to an eager audience. 

Since season five is set to release in three parts (Volume 1 on November 26th, Volume 2 on Christmas, and the finale on New Year’s Eve) it was essential that the first volume deliver as an opening to the epic final season—from its plot, to its character interactions, to its cinematography and mise-en-scene.

Having watched through the four episodes twice since their release, I can confirm that, for the most part, volume one does what it needs to as an epic beginning of the end. 

5×01 – The Crawl

The season began with a cold open on Will’s (Noah Schnapp) time in the Upside Down. The Duffer Brothers cast a younger actor to portray him in the five minute sequence. In order to make him look more like Will did in season one, they used CGI de-aging techniques that required the young actor to do the body acting with motion capture markers on his face. The same technique was used back in season four in order to de-age Millie Bobby Brown.

At its best, this CGI looked very realistic, especially in darker lighting—such as when Will sang Should I Stay Or Should I Go by The Clash to himself in Castle Byers. At its worst, Will Byers’s face looked more Polar Express-esque, usually when a flash of Upside Down lightning emphasized all of his features. 

However, this issue did not really diminish the impact of the scene. It was to the point, and portrayed Will in a very different light than how the general audience of Stranger Things was used to. The reveal at the end of the cold open that it was Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) who put the vine down Will’s throat that he was found with in season one was shocking and graphic.  Will’s brutal connection to Vecna proved that he is an important piece of the growing puzzle that is Stranger Things, and reminded the audience that without his going missing in season one, there would be no Stranger Things at all.

But the action did not end with the season’s chilling cold open. Season five landed in the midst of a military-quarantined Hawkins with a twenty month time-skip to boot. There were brief moments of the characters getting to live normal lives, such as the chaotic scene of the Byers and Wheelers having breakfast together—but for the most part, the episode did not cover very much of this.

In previous seasons, the exposition was about our characters discovering new intel on the supernatural presence within their town. Post time-skip, they are battle-hardened and have developed new ways to navigate the Upside Down with “crawls” — missions that they conduct in order to hunt for Vecna, who has been missing since season four. 

Characters like Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), who was more of a leader back in seasons one and two but regressed to a girlfriend-obsessed, self-centered version of himself in seasons three and four, thrived in this environment. In season five, Mike Wheeler returned to his young self in many ways—from defending Dustin in front of bullies, to comforting his little sister who felt out of place in school with a DND figurine that he made for her. These moments were very sweet to see after feeling so distanced from his character before.

The Crawl as a whole, however, was rather boring in comparison to the action-packed episodes that followed. The whole concept of “crawls” was not very interesting to me, simply because the audience was left without much information on how the characters did them. We also didn’t get to see much of how the characters have been living their lives post time-skip, and without that, action sequences in relation to these Upside Down “crawls” became much shallower. 

It was not until the end of the episode that I felt engaged, when it was revealed that there was a Demogorgon heading for the Wheeler family home—intent on attacking Mike and Nancy’s (Natalia Dyer) family while they were not there.

5×02 – The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler

Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) was a minor character in previous seasons, but she became essential to the plot in season five—with the Duffers going as far as to recast her character completely. Prior to the Demogorgon’s Wheeler house massacre, Holly had been seeing an imaginary friend nicknamed “Mr. Whatsit” — which was an overt reference to the hit book A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. 

Throughout the past four seasons, the Wheelers, and the Wheeler house as a whole, were portrayed as the ideal 80s “nuclear family”: A father who made six figures and didn’t talk to his children, a mother unsatisfied with her life choices and constantly unaware of her children’s whereabouts, a smart, beautiful older sister, a nerdy middle child who didn’t fit in, and the youngest child who was doted on by her parents. 

But in the cold open of episode two, the Demogorgon literally and metaphorically ripped this nuclear family model to shreds. Karen (Cara Buono) was left with a damaged larynx, rendering her unable to talk to her children (one must wonder if this was a comment on the Wheelers’ problems with communication in prior seasons). Ted (Joe Chrest) was put into a medically induced coma. Holly was kidnapped just like Will was in season one.  The scene as a whole was a fascinating comment on how conformity to societal norms at the time—in this case, ignoring the glaring issues in one’s town and children—can be one’s downfall in an ever-changing world. 

Highlights from The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler went beyond just the Wheeler house massacre, however. The episode also established a long-awaited friendship between Will Byers and Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke) which would later become important to Will’s character arc. Despite both being queer characters, their friendship was more focused on Robin encouraging Will to do what he thought was right, such as delving more into his newfound powers of seeing through the Demogorgon’s eyes. Robin acted as a great support system to Will, which was a beautiful thing to see on such a mainstream show.

The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler’s cliffhanger was by far the most eerie of the season. It was revealed at the end that the person who took her, “Mr. Whatsit” was not Mr. Whatsit at all. Rather, he was Henry Creel, a.k.a. Vecna, presenting himself in a different form. Holly was taken to a refurbished and revived version of the Creel house from season four. The lighting in this scene was a stark contrast to the rest of the season—it was bright, peppy, sunny, and something one might associate with a show for children. However, the dramatic irony of the audience knowing who Henry really was whilst Holly did not was palpable, and evoked fear as to what his plans for Holly could be.

5×03 – The Turnbow Trap

The Turnbow Trap returned to many of the full-cast shenanigans that occurred in previous seasons. The episode title refers to a trap set in the Turnbow family home meant to lure in a Demogorgon, which the gang was going to stick a tracker on so that they could find Holly in the Upside Down.

The scene in which our characters set up the trap was very Home Alone-like, with tripwires, falling boards, and pits of barbed wire meant to harm the Demogorgon. While the whole sequence was rather goofy, it also reminded the audience of what Stranger Things is really about: Nerds finding silly, yet ingenious ways to fight monsters. It was a great callback to shenanigans we had seen more so in season one rather than later seasons.

However, highlights from the episode came more from the character interactions we got to see because of it. There was, for example, a very poignant scene of Joyce (Winona Ryder) apologizing to Will for not being there when he was first kidnapped that is sure to bring tears to the audience’s eyes.

Similarly, El (Millie Bobby Brown) and Hopper (David Harbour) have several exchanges about El’s determination to find Vecna despite the exhaustion it was causing her. Their exchanges were heartfelt, sweet, and reminded me a lot of their father/daughter dynamic from season two—something that we had been missing these past two seasons, especially when Hopper was in Russia for all of season four.

The best scene of the episode by far was the one near the end, however. Fans of the show were awaiting the reveal of Max Mayfield’s (Sadie Sink) fate in season five—was she truly alive after El had brought her back in season four? Had she been dead this whole time, and the Duffers were just dragging the inevitable out until season five? For the past three years of waiting, her character had remained in a limbo state.

The Turnbow Trap changed this. When Holly, still stuck at the Creel house, was instructed to run through the woods by a note in the mail, she stumbled upon none other than Max Mayfield herself. The coloring in this reveal scene was by far some of the best in the entire series. Max was lit brightly, like a symbol of hope for Holly, while the world around her appeared saturated, idyllic, and less real than any other sets we have seen on the show. It left me relieved that Max was somewhat-alive, but also eager to press the “next episode” button on my television to know of her true fate in what appears to be some sort of dreamworld reminiscent of a classic fantasy movie. 

5×04 – Sorcerer

Sorcerer was by far the best episode of Volume 1. It was a testament to the magic of television, but also to the ability of the show’s writers. During press tours, Sorcerer was hyped by the Duffer brothers and the cast as being a sort of “second finale” in season five, so it had massive expectations to meet.

The Max and Holly plot-line in this episode was by far one of my favorites in the entire series. Use of built sets to create Max’s abode in Henry’s dreamworld was an incredible choice—it offered more of a fairy-tale look and showed the audience that none of what we were seeing was real. Max recounting her time lost in Henry’s memories was incredibly emotional, as we finally got to see where she has been and how her being lost for so long affected her. Sadie Sink’s acting in these scenes was also superb on all fronts.

Sorcerer began to shine with Robin’s iconic speech to Will in the Upside Down tunnels. Throughout the past four seasons, the audience bore witness to Will’s turmoil—whether this was conflicts with his friends in season three or struggles with his sexuality and feelings for his best friend, Mike Wheeler, in season four. Throughout this, we never got to see him be happy or embrace himself for who he was. Robin’s speech changed this. 

As a queer person who was older than Will and in a happy queer relationship, she was able to assure him that once he accepted himself for who he was instead of trying to find answers in other people, he would feel “free”. This was something that we never got for Will up until now: A moment where he could find solace in another queer person and realize that he was never alone.

It was a beautiful and tear-jerking scene, and one that was very much needed for Will’s character. The Chekhov’s Gun came, however, when Will used Robin’s words to fuel one of the greatest reveals in Stranger Things history—which, surprisingly, was only one of the big twists that came this episode.

El, still in the Upside Down with Hopper, managed to open the mysterious door kept locked in Dr. Kay’s (Linda Hamilton) laboratory. Behind it, the viewer was made to expect the locked subject to be Vecna—except that it wasn’t. Instead, it was revealed that the Duffers loaded, cocked, and shot a Chekhov’s Gun three seasons prior with the lowest rated episode of the entire series. Behind the door was none other than Kali/008 (Linnea Berthelsen), whom El encountered in season two in one of the most divisive arcs of the entire show. 

However, as someone who has always loved The Lost Sister and Kali’s character, I found this reveal to be pleasantly surprising. It begged the questions—What happened to Kali to get her to this point? Why was she here? What was she being used for? It got me excited for volume two and all of the potential fights that could go down with Kali’s powers in the mix.

What really sold the episode, however (and placed it as the highest rated of the entire series on IMDB) was the complex sequence near the end that involved the military fighting an onslaught of Demogorgons. The Duffer brothers themselves said that it was the hardest in the entire series to film. Their efforts paid off, however. Not only were the killings of the military personnel shocking, they were also incredibly well done visual effects wise. 

Then came the massive reveal at the very end of the episode. As the Demogorgons encroached on our protagonists, Will stopped them with his newly-acquired telekinetic powers that he’d harnessed from remembering Robin’s speech in the tunnels. This allowed him to see through the Demogorgon’s eyes as well as use the same powers that Vecna does in the series. It was a powerful symbol of him taking his autonomy back after it was snatched away as a child.

Emotions were running high for viewers during this scene. Not only did we finally get to see Will participate in a high-stakes battle, we also got a tug on our heartstrings from the film reel shown of Will’s childhood, which called back to scenes referenced in previous seasons (Mike and Will’s first meeting, Will and Jonathan building Castle Byers, etc.) It was a moment of self-acceptance that led Will to powers that we as an audience can now realize he has always had within himself. 

The moment was monumental not just for television as a whole, but queer television as well—to see a canonically gay character’s self-acceptance used as power to defeat the evil before him was not something one would expect to see in such a mainstream show. Not only this, but the scene was beautifully shot, acted, and a perfect end to an already incredible episode.

I couldn’t have asked for a better volume finale, and I am eager to see where Will’s arc goes in the coming episodes.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I would say that volume one delivered action, new character interactions, and powerful scenes that the last few seasons struggled with. While it was not perfect, it absolutely did what it needed to, and Sorcerer’s impact on my opinion of the volume as a whole was immense. With powerful scenes of queer acceptance, comments on conformity in a 1980s setting, incredible visual effects, and superb acting, Stranger Things is definitely back and doing what it does best—and I cannot wait to see more in volume two.

This article is the first in a three part series that will be reviewing each volume of Stranger Things 5.