Summary
Fans will be left waiting until 2025 for the fifth season of Netflix’sStranger Things, but thankfully, there’s one major component at play for Season 5 that will leave fans with plenty to look forward to. Season 5 will be the final entry in theStranger Thingssaga, rounding out an almost decade-long story of pre-teens combating supernatural forces, and one of the most compelling factors ofStranger Things 5is that the entire cast are reuniting for the big send-off.
Season 4 ofStranger Thingsmarked the arrival of Vecna, a humanoid extension of the Upside Down and creator of the Mind Flayer. When their schoolmates are savagely murdered, The Hellfire Club sets out to solve the mystery. Meanwhile, Joyce and Murray decipher some code found inside a tchotchke doll to track Hopper down to a remote Russian prison. After a run-in with her school bully, Eleven flees and is found by Dr. Owens and Papa, who inform her that Hawkins is in great danger, and they believe she could be the key to their salvation. Of course, this is an elaborate ruse to bring Eleven back into the fold and brainwash her all over again to become Papa’s experiment once more.
There was a lot happening in Season 4,but the characters were predominantly divided for the majority of it. Perhaps that’s why Season 4 felt so disconnected from the rest of the series, besides the obvious horror influences coming into play. Joyce, Hopper, Murray, and Enzo are all the way in Russia, El starts out in California and slowly makes her way back to Hawkins, Nancy and Jonathan are doing their own thing, and the Hellfire Club doesn’t truly come together until closer to the finale. If the final moments of Season 4 are anything to go by, it looks as ifSeason 5 will be reverting that trend going forwardand bringing the Hawkins gang back together for good.
Stranger Things Season 4 Finale Recap
Besides Hopper and Joyce finally kissing, which really made up for Hawkins being slowly consumed by the Upside Down,the biggest event is Vecna’s reckoning. When Vecna claims his fourth victim, which is technically Max in cardiac arrest until the group manages to revive her, the fourth gate between Hawkins and the Upside Down opens. For the entirety of Season 4, Vecna has been praying on emotionally vulnerable teenagers; the conflicted Chrissy, the outcast Fred, the enraged Patrick, and the grieving Max. When Max’s heart stops, the fourth gate rips open the old Creel house.
Meanwhile, the Hellfire Club – assisted by Nancy, Steve, and Robin – travels to the Upside Down, where they confront Vecna. When the going gets tough, the tough don’t get going.Eddie Munson stays behind in the Upside Downto fight off a hoard of Demo-Bats, sadly losing his life. After brawling with a full-sized Demogorgon, Hopper is transported back to Hawkins via Yuri’s helicopter with Joyce, Enzo, and Murray in tow. Murray even held his own against a few Demogorgons and torched them with a flamethrower. Season 4 ends with Eleven defeating Vecna in the Upside Down and Max escaping the jaws of death by a hair. However, the damage has already been done and the Hawkins gang reunite to witness the downfall of their beloved town, ripped apart by Vecna’s rifts.
The characters overlook a giant field, watching as flowers wilt and dark storm clouds form overhead. Small, ominous particles float in the air and flashes of red lightning engulf Hawkins. The hospitals are overrun with dead or dying patients,Max’s encounter with Vecnaleaves her in a life-threatening coma, and Eddie Munson’s uncle is told the heartbreaking news of his nephew’s demise. At least Robin and her crush, Vicky, hit it off while working the PB&J stand at the homeless shelter.
Season 5 Promises To Bring the Hawkins Gang Back Together
The final season ofStranger Thingssets up a family reunionfor the all-star cast. Aside from a few missing pieces, like Eddie and Max, the original Hawkins gang are back together. Going forward, that means fans can expecta classicStranger Thingsadventure with the original cast, like the good old days. WhenStranger Thingsfirst released in 2016, it was a rarity to see Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, and Eleven separated. The only exception was Will’s kidnapping, but despite being trapped in the Upside Down for most of Season 1, Will’s presence was always felt.
Season 4 was a complete shift in tone, even byStranger Thingsstandards. It had more deaths, more action, andpaid homage to the Gothic era of horrorfrom the late 1800s with the use of a dark setting, heightened emotions, a damsel in distress, and a mystery plot. Buthaving the Hawkins gang apart for most of Season 4 left a sizable holethat even an epic showdown with Vecna couldn’t rectify. Even back in 2016, the biggest draw forStranger Thingswas its diverse cast. Millie Bobby Brown was a stand-out, as she has been ever since, but it was the platonic and romantic relationships forged along the way that kept everyone invested all this time.By having the cast apart, these relationships were unable to reach their full potential.
But from the looks of things, Season 5 ofStranger Thingswill rectify that issue. Hopper and Joyce are back together after sharing a kiss on-screen for the first time, Mike and Eleven are reunited and stronger than ever, and Nancy and Jonathan even have their fling going. As for Max and Lucas' future, that remains to be seen, but it looks likeSeason 5 could be wrapping up loose endsand, with a little bit of luck, maybe every member of the Hawkins gang will make it to the end.
