After 10 years, there's just one episode of Stranger Things left. With less than a week to go before the last-ever season concludes, we've officially started preparing ourselves to say goodbye – and dreaming up ways in which the Duffer Brothers are going to make good on their promise of satisfyingly wrapping up every loose end.
Since it's been one of the best shows on Netflix for almost a decade, we sure hope it sticks the landing. We'd be lying, though, if we said that Stranger Things season 5 Vol. 2 hasn't got us worried for all the ground the two-hour finale has to cover. The first two batches of episodes have set the stage for both an epic stand-off against Vecna and a Death Star-level destruction of the Upside Down – and we can hardly wait to see it all play out.
Stranger Things season 5 release date
Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 hit Netflix on November 26, 2025, while volume 2 landed on Christmas Day. The finale, officially titled 'The Rightside Up' releases on New Year's Day.
The last-ever installment of the show was a long time coming, and the initial release period was delayed a fair few times due to Hollywood writers' strikes. Though Netflix seem to be keen to make up for the long wait, since the streamer has agreed to screen the final episode in theatres across the US. Hawkins on the big screen? Don't mind if we do.
Stranger Things season 5 reviews
As season 5 is releasing in three sections, each launch is getting its own batch of reviews, so we only know how critics have received Vol.1 and Vol. 2 for now. In our Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 review, we call the first four episodes an "insanely ambitious" start "with blockbuster set-pieces, riveting twists, heartbreaking performances, and a cliffhanger that will make you wish it was Christmas Day already."
The season currently stands at an 84% score on Rotten Tomatoes. That makes the final season the lowest-rated so far, but we still have that two-hour conclusion to go, so that may well change...
That said, our three-star Stranger Things season 5 volume 2 review was less enthusiastic, suggesting that the follow-up three episodes "tread water" and are too concerned with setting up the finale than they are being good in their own right.
Is Stranger Things season 5 the final season?
Yes, Stranger Things season 5 is the final season of the series. In terms of Eleven, her friends at Hawkins, and the Upside Down, Stranger Things season 5 will be the last chapter in this story. In an interview with SFX Magazine, Matt and Ross Duffer said the "book is closed" on the series as we know it. "This really is the end of the story of Eleven and Mike and Lucas and Dustin and Steve, and Hawkins specifically." But that doesn't mean it's the last Netflix series that will be set in the Stranger Things universe.
When announcing the looming end of the Netflix show, the Duffer Brothers hinted at a potential spin-off series: "There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things. New mysteries, new adventures, new unexpected heroes."
It was revealed earlier this year that the Duffer brothers would be jumping ship from Netflix to Paramount, but they won't be abandoning the long-mooted Stranger Things spin-off, with the brothers even offering a rare update, claiming that the spin-off won't expand the Stranger Things Universe's "insanely convoluted mythology” but instead “live in a bit of a different world,” with "connective tissue" to the original show.
But we do know that a Stranger Things animated series, produced by the Duffer brothers, is on the way, titled Stranger Things: Tales From '85. In celebration of Stranger Things Day 2025, Netflix released the first look at the series, showing animated, younger versions of Eleven, Will, Dustin, Mike, Lucas, and Max. However, the original cast will not be returning to voice the characters.
Stranger Things season 5 trailer
We've yet to get a focused glimpse at the Stranger Things series finale yet, given that Vol. 2 only landed a few hours ago. With that, the latest trailer we've seen for the show as it stands was for Vol. 2.
The clip, which you can see above, took us back to the Upside Down, which looked to be bursting at the seams, with a giant, demonic cloud hanging over it. Elsewhere, Max and Holly are shown still trapped in Henry Creel's mindscape, but it seems as though he has found out about Holly's meeting with Max as he morphs from Mr. Whatsit into his blood-stained One persona.
The trailer is also packed full of action, with Demogorgons running amok in Hawkins, Eleven asking Eight to team up with her, and Nancy pops out of the top of Murray's truck looking like Rambo. Vecna, on the other hand, looks to be closer than ever to creating his "new world." Christmas 2025 is going to be one to remember.
In terms of the official promo, Netflix dropped the full-length Stranger Things season 5 trailer on October 30. The video opens with Mike talking about how awful it is to be "stuck" in military quarantine, which is in place to stop the Upside Down from leaking beyond Hawkins. But it's not enough to stop Vecna. In a montage, we see glimpses of the epic battle from volume 1.
The full list of episode titles is:
- Stranger Things season 5 episode 1: 'The Crawl' – out now!
- Stranger Things season 5 episode 2: 'The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler' – out now!
- Stranger Things season 5 episode 3: 'The Turnbow Trap' – out now!
- Stranger Things season 5 episode 4: 'Sorcerer' – out now!
- Stranger Things season 5 episode 5: 'Shock Jock' – out now!
- Stranger Things season 5 episode 6: 'Escape From Camazotz' – out now!
- Stranger Things season 5 episode 7: 'The Bridge' – out now!
- Stranger Things season 5 episode 8: 'The Rightside Up'
Stranger Things season 5 plot
In the run-up to Season 5 hitting Netflix, the streamer and series creators, the Duffer brothers, kept very tight-lipped on plot details. Netflix released a synopsis, which read, "Scarred by the opening of the Rifts, our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished – his whereabouts and plans unknown. As the anniversary of Will's disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming – and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they've faced before. To end this nightmare, they'll need everyone – the full party – standing together, one last time."
Now that we've seen the first two Volumes, however, it's clear that the description above only really covers those, leaving the events of the series finale most of a mystery to even the most savant of viewers. With Vol. 3 still 5 days away, you may need a little refresher on the seven episodes that proceed it. Don't worry, that's where we come in...
Warning, the following section contains major spoilers for Stranger Things season 5 volume 1.
Stranger Things season 5 takes place 18 months after the events of season 4, where we saw every group in Nevada, Indiana, and Russia, respectively, teaming up to take down Vecna. However, as Will states towards the end of episode 9, Vecna is far from defeated, and the gate to the Upside Down is still very much open.
Set in the fall of 1987, Hawkins is under military lockdown, where soldiers are stationed at Hawkins Lab, where they are investigating the Upside Down under the orders of one Dr. Kay. But our Hawkins heroes have a way to bypass this and take on operations of their own. Using their new radio show, Steve and Robin are able to communicate with Hopper, Eleven, and the rest of the gang to let them know when the military is opening their mock-up gate to the Upside Down. In one of their drills, Hopper enters the Upside Down, but ends up getting stuck down there, leaving Eleven no choice but to rescue him.
Meanwhile, Mike and Nancy's little sister, Holly, has been talking to an imaginary friend called Mr. Whatsit, who turns out to be Vecna. Holly is taken to the Upside Down by a Demogorgon, and Karen and Ted Wheeler are harmed in the process. However, despite Vecna keeping Holly's body hooked up in the Upside Down (just like he did with Will in 1983), Holly's subconscious is held inside Henry Creel's mindscape, which is stuck in the '50s. The twist is that's where Max is, too, and has been ever since she was put in a coma at the end of season 4. Max tells Holly who Henry really is, and explains that the only place she is safe i his mind is inside a mysterious cave.
Down below, Hopper and Eleven are still stuck in the Upside Down, where they find a tall, fleshy wall. With help from Dustin, who drove into the Upside Down with Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan, we learn that the wall actually surrounds the Hawkins Lab, where the military is testing on creatures and keeping number Eight (Kali) hostage, connected to lots of tubes, presumably using her power to open and close the gate. In an interview with SFX magazine, Matt Duffer said going forward, "Kali shifts things a lot for Eleven, and I think it'll be surprising for people to see how she ultimately fits into the story."
During this time, Will Byers is investigating Holly's disappearance, and finds out that she was taken by the same 'imaginary friend' who has been trying to manipulate a whole bunch of kids from Holly's class in the same way. The military catches wind of this and rounds up the kids. However, Will, Mike, and Lucas infiltrate the barracks and try and save the kids before the Demogorgons come for them.
Volume 1 comes to a fiery end when Vecna makes his dramatic entrance from the Upside Down into Hawkins. He tells Will of his evil plan to take twelve "weak" and easily controlled" children from Hawkins to use as "perfect vessels" in order to take over the world. He says Will showed him this was possible ll of those years earlier. Whilst this conversation is happening, the Demogorgons kidnap the children and take them to the Upside Down. However, before the creatures can kill Joyce, Lucas, Mike, and more, Will is able to harness Vecna's powers and destroy them. Check out our Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 ending explained for more on that.
Now that Will has powers, there is a chance he may be the one to destroy Vecna. While on Hot Ones, star Noah Schnapp let slip that the Mind Flayer actually gave Henry Creel his powers, which pushed him to become Vecna. Does this mean Will could become just as evil as One?
In Volume 2, Dustin stumbles on Dr. Brenner's research notebook in the Upside Down and learns that the dark dimension isn't another version of reality but actually a wormhole; a bridge if you will, between Hawkins and a mysterious new realm Dustin dubs the Abyss. (If you've seen Stranger Things: The First Shadow on stage, then you'll know that this is also sometimes referred to as Dimension X).
Armed with the research, the group then propose that the demogorgons and the Mind Flayer likely hailed from the Abyss, and that it's also where Eleven banished Henry to all those years ago. The evil entities, they reckon, have been using the Upside Down as an entryway of sorts ever since, which leads to them plotting to destroy the Upside Down by climbing the Squawk's radio tower, jumping through to the Abyss, finding and killing Vecna, and saving the world. No biggie.
Surprisingly, Vol. 2 made no reference to the fact that Joyce and Hopper knew Henry Creel in school, a major plot point from Stranger Things: The First Shadow, that fleshes out the big bad's backstory. In episode 4, Max was pulled into a memory of Vecna's from 1959, where Joyce is handing out flyers for a production starring Henry, Hop, and more; establishing one of the real-life play's central storylines as canon.
Also in Vecna's mindscape, Max comes across a cave, which Vecna is terrified of. In First Shadow, we learn that when Henry was a young boy, he went missing for a short while and was found wounded by the entrance to some vast tunnels. Could this be the monster's kryptonite? We will have to wait and see.
"I'd spent so much time thinking about his childhood during filming... We were in lockdown before we started shooting season 4, so I had six months to stew on this. I would ask myself questions about the parental relationship, about this relationship with the primary caregivers," Vecna star Jamie Campbell Bower previously explained to SFX magazine. It sounds as though Creel's childhood will play into the long-awaited conclusion.
Stranger Things season 5 cast
Stranger Things season 5 welcomes back Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair, Noah Schnapp as Will Byers, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, Maya Hawke asRobin Buckley, Joe Keery as Steve Harrington, Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers,, Brett Gelman as Murray Bauma, Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair, Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler, Amybeth McNulty as Vickie, David Harbour as Jim Hopper, Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, and Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna/Henry Creel/One.
The final season adds some new faces too, such as Linda Hamilton as Dr. Kay, Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler, Jake Connelly as Derek Turnbow, and Alex Breaux as Lieutenant Robert Akers.
For more on what to watch, check out our guides to the best Netflix movies and the best sci-fi movies on Netflix.
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