It’s easy to poke fun at Stranger Things because of how long it’s taken to reach the end. When season 5 concludes later this year, the Netflix series will have produced 42 episodes of television in just under 10 years. For comparison, The X-Files released roughly 200 episodes in under nine years. The pandemic and strikes are legitimate reasons for the delays, but the long hiatuses for Stranger Things have been frustrating for fans, to the point where some are questioning if they’ll even care about the final season.
After watching the season 5 teaser trailer, all the feelings of resentment have been replaced with excitement. The teaser looks awesome, and I can’t wait for the show’s final run this fall.
Season 5 picks up in the fall of 1987, more than a year after the events of season 4. The Upside Down made its way to Hawkins, but that’s not all. The military runs the town, and they’re looking for Eleven. Frankly, the government is going after the wrong person, or in this case, creature. Vecna is the ultimate threat, and the trailer shows that the murderous being will return, especially with the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaching. If the military won’t help defeat Vecna, it’s up to the gang to save the world for the umpteenth time.
“Where this blood leads, I need you to fight one last time,” Hopper says to Eleven in the trailer. “Let’s end this, kid.”
Much of the cast that many have grown to love returns for the fifth and final season. The ensemble features Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, David Harbour as Jim Hopper, Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair, Noah Schnapp as Will Byers, Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield, Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers, Joe Keery as Steve Harrington, Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley, Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair, Brett Gelman as Murray, Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna, Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler, and Amybeth McNulty as Vickie.
New additions include Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler, Jake Connelly as Derek Turnbow, Alex Breaux as Lt. Akers, and Linda Hamilton as Dr. Kay.
Season 5 will consist of eight episodes with the following titles: The Crawl, The Vanishing of …, The Turnbow Trap, Sorcerer, Shock Jock, Escape from Camazotz, The Bridge, and The Rightside Up.
Stranger Things is created by Matt and Ross Duffer. The landmark sci-fi series is arguably Netflix’s most popular and valuable TV show.
Stranger Things season 5 will be released in three batches on Netflix: Volume 1 (episodes 1-4) on November 26, Volume 2 (episodes 5-7) on December 25, and the finale (episode 8) on December 31.
