Stranger Things Season 5
Stranger Things is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers for Netflix. The fifth and final season of the series, marketed as Stranger Things 5, was released in two volumes and a finale, with the first four episodes premiering on 26 November 2025.
Following the events of Stranger Things Season 4, Eleven and her friends decide that it’s time find and end Vecna once and for all. Still, it’s a complicated mission, with Hawkins under military quarantine, the army has its own agenda, and the line between protector and threat grows increasingly blurred as a final showdown looms.
The Good
In a world where TV shows are constantly getting cancelled, it’s a pleasant surprise to find a series that manages to run for almost a decade and exit the stage while its still a fan favourite. The first season aired on 15 July 2016 and final episode on 31 December 2025 with the cast literally growing up right before our eyes.
Its been quite the journey watching the characters evolve over the years, Eleven starting off timid and feral, becoming a powerful and independent woman, Dustin, Will, Mike and Lucas maturing into cooler and confident versions of themselves, no longer awkward nerdy teens. The way the series leans into friendship, vulnerability and growth of the characters is what gives the show its beating heart.
At its core, Stranger Things is a metaphor for growing up and the fears, grief and change we face along the way in a world where the real monsters aren’t monsters at all, but people corrupted by power and greed.
Each season pushed the characters further away from childhood:
•Monsters become bigger
•Consequences become permanent
•Choices stop being reversible
Season 5 completes this arc. There is no “going back to normal” because adulthood never allows it.
Stranger Things 5 doesn’t just wrap up the story; it expands on the world-building as we gain a new understanding of the Upside Down, juxtaposing it with unresolved trauma leaking into daily life.
Stranger Things is famous for its 80s pop culture, and the needle drops in Season 5 took me back to the era of Diana Ross, Abba and of course Kate Bush…
The Bad
Getting to the finale felt a lot like saying goodbye to old friends, and it was hard reconciling that there won’t be anymore adventures to look forward to…
The split into various volumes made the pacing erratic, and then ending on a 2 hour feature film length finale, which gets emotionally overwhelming, not to mention the recklessness the characters conducted themselves with, which left you wondering who would make it alive to the end.
The Duffer Brothers admitted they entered production without a finished script for the finale, which somewhat accounts for the uneven storytelling.
The series spends too much time on setup, taking priority from the action and payoff and there was a curious lack of monsters when previous seasons had given us many cool monsters.
The Ugly
Over the years, Stranger Things has set and raised the bar on audience expectations, with the final season commanding an almost unrealistic expectation which would never be met simply because there would be no more seasons… unless they start a spinoff version with a new generation of cast.
Stranger Things is essentially a mental health tale which warns that: What you don’t confront will eventually hunt you a reminder that trauma doesn’t disappear with time, it either gets processed or it festers… While the series powerfully depicts pain, it often leaves healing implied rather than explored.
Final Thoughts
Stranger Things Season 5 is a fitting farewell for a series that has captivated fans for a decade, which delivers emotional closure even though at times it stumbles under the weight of its own ambition.
Have you watched Stranger Things?
PS Would be cool to have a sort of crossover between Welcome To Derry and Stanger Things, can picture characters in Hawkins moving to Derry Maine.
Becoming The Muse 
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