Vecna with a hand out toward the camera with fire behind in 'Stranger Things 5.'Image via Netflix
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Brad LaCour
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Brad LaCour is a Senior List Writer for Collider. Based out of Los Angeles, California, Brad lives close enough to the stars but is too busy to find out where exactly they live. Brad is fairly certain he's seen Paul Stanley twice in a grocery store, but was too afraid to ask.
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Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:
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Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for 'Stranger Things' Season 5, Vol. 1.Stranger Things fans were finally able to revisit Hawkins, Indiana, when the first four episodes of the fifth and final season premiered on Netflix. The town looks drastically different thanks to a strict military quarantine, and our heroes are a little older and wiser, but the combination of science fiction, mystery and horror that made Stranger Things a hit remains the same.
With so few episodes left to wrap up a story that has stretched for nearly a decade, every chapter was guaranteed to hit the audience with plot twists, near deaths, and scenes that left jaws hanging. So, while we wait for the next chunk of exciting episodes, we'll break down the biggest WTF moments that have happened so far from the fifth season of Stranger Things.
7 Kali Is Behind Door Number One
Linnea Berthelsen as Kali/Eight looking scared in 'Stranger Things' Chapter 5.Image via Netflix
While the majority of the Stranger Things crew were ducking the claws of the Demogorgons, Jim Hopper (David Harbour) and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) were fighting humans in the Upside Down. A secret government base had been established in the dark realm, and they had discovered a way to render Eleven immobile with a "kryptonite," or a sonic blast that only she could feel the effects of. Hopper and Eleven fight their way inside a base for once and find the source of the crippling sonic frequency, Eleven's "sister" and fellow test subject Kali (Linnea Berthelsen).
It's doubtful anyone had "8 is held captive by the government" on their Stranger Things bingo card. The reappearance of Kali indicates that all puzzle pieces that have ever existed in the series are connected, and the ways they are will be made clearer, leading to the show's conclusion. Bringing back Kali is also a bold piece of storytelling, as the character's only appearance in the Season 2 episode "The Lost Sister" is considered by fans to be one of the worst episodes of Stranger Things.
6 Mr Whatsit Was My Father's Name – Call Me Vecna
Jamie Campbell Bower as Mr. Whatsit in Chapter 5 of 'Stranger Things.'Image via Netflix
The first episode of the season gave viewers a mini mystery in the form of Mr Whatsit's identity, a figure only Holly (Nell Fisher) could see, warning her of dangerous monsters. Was this someone from the past trying to help the children of Hawkins defeat the horrors of the Upside Down, or was Holly a late bloomer at inventing imaginary friends? As Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) learn, Mr Whatsit was very real, and actually Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) posing as his human form, Henry, to lure Holly away.
Vecna's reveal as Mr Whatsit worked as a callback to how persuasive and manipulative Henry can be when dealing with impressionable children, such as he was when first bonding with Eleven. Finding out that Holly had been speaking to Vecna in the form of Henry wasn't the most shocking plot twist, because it was too late in the series to introduce a new major character, but Bower is excellently creepy in his interactions with her.
5 Max Is Living Rent-Free in Vecna's Head
Max Mayfield standing in front of Holly Wheeler in the cave in Stranger Things Season 5.Image via Netflix
Anyone worried that Max (Sadie Sink) was going to spend the fifth season lying in bed couldn't have predicted the role she would play in the first volume. After Holly is lured out of Vecna's childhood home with a map, the audience learns that Max has been stranded inside the evil character's memories ever since the events of Season 4. Although Max is unable to find a way to regain consciousness, she has found a safe place to hide from Vecna's grasp.
Despite the guilt that Max carries regarding Billy (Dacre Montgomery), she has consistently been one of the strongest and best characters on the show, displaying bravery in the face of terrifying obstacles. Considering the amount of time Max has existed in this limbo of Henry's memories, it's admirable that she’s maintained her sanity and resolve for such a long period of isolation. This also serves as a nice split focus for Stranger Things, having the gang fight Vecna in the real world while Max tries to save the kids trapped inside the mental prison.
4 The Wheeler Parents (Mostly Karen) Fight a Demogorgon
Karen Wheeler and Holly Wheeler hold their breath underwater in Stranger Things Season 5.Image via Netflix
Stranger Things has never been afraid to load the show with tragic deaths of beloved characters, and fans thought they were seeing the next victims when Karen (Cara Buono) and Ted (Joe Chrest) Wheeler took on a Demogorgon. In an attempt to retrieve Holly for Vecna, a Demogorgon rips through the Wheeler house, leaving Karen and Ted to defend their youngest. Ted's golf club is no match for the creature, but Karen gives it her all when she smashes a wine bottle and stabs the Demogorgon in the face. The Wheeler parents are left bloody and broken, barely holding onto life.
The way Karen smashed the bottle and brandished it at the Demogorgon tells us she's been in a bar fight or two, and has some upper-body strength, because those bottles are harder to smash than they look. It was a losing battle, but Karen embraced it with the hope of giving her daughter a few extra moments to find safety. Giving side characters moments to shine is something that Stranger Things has typically done well, and Karen got hers. Outside of being a rousing moment, the bloody aftermath raises the stakes and gives Nancy and Mike an extra reason to put their lives on the line.
3 The Demogorgons Destroy an Army
A demogorgon with its five-petal toothy face displayed and snarling in Stranger Things.Image via Netflix
The fourth episode of Season 5, "Sorcerer," pulled out all the stops when it came to tension, action and impressive setpieces. Near the climax of the episode, the soldiers have discovered an attempt by Mike and the gang to free the children who have been gathered in a bunker. The soldiers confidently declare they understand the children of Hawkins are in danger, and they're the best equipped to keep them safe. Always ready for a spirited debate, the Demogorgons arrive and prove otherwise by slaughtering the armed men in a one-sided battle.
The prolonged scene where the Demogorgons lay waste to an army was evidence that all our subscription dollars were not put to waste. As visually impressive as the attack is, the assault also firmly establishes that there are no man-made weapons that can hold back Vecna and his forces. Going into the final act of the series, each bullet the Demogorgons shrug off, and every soldier they kill with ease reminds us that these are dangerous, nearly unkillable creatures, and our heroes have their work cut out for them.
2 Vecna and Will Are Old Friends
Stranger Things Season 5 Will Byers Screaming Close Up While Being Attacked By Monster.Image via Netflix
To kick off the fifth season, Stranger Things goes back to 1983, when Will (Noah Schnapp) was first trapped in the Upside Down. Shivering alone and singing to himself, a young Will is attacked by a Demogorgon that sends him sprinting out of his clubhouse. After a harrowing pursuit, Will is eventually captured and dragged to none other than Vecna, who begins pumping the unconscious boy with some type of mysterious substance.
For the amount of time Will spent in the Upside Down during Season 1, it would have been hard to believe he and Vecna didn't cross paths at some point. The revelation that Vecna captured Will was a strong way to start the season and a vital first step in setting up the developments to take place in later episodes. The fifth season looks to be slowly tying together all the events from the previous four seasons, incorporating everything into one epic finale, and we get a taste of that before the opening credits roll.
1 "You're a Wizard, William!"
Will has had a rough run of luck during Stranger Things, and it was about time he received the opportunity to even the score. The events leading up to the mid-season finale revealed Will had a deep connection to Vecna via a connection to the hive mind, allowing him to see and feel what the other creatures under his control experienced. Mike suggests to Will that he may be able to access Vecna's powers for himself, but the notion is dismissed until an extremely crucial moment. When it seems like the Demogorgons are close to killing his friends, Will taps into the Vecna matrix and kills multiple attacking creatures in a display of power previously not thought possible.
All signs were pointing to Will flexing his emerging powers to take on Vecna, but seeing him go full Jedi Master on a few blood-hungry Demogorgons was still unexpected. If there were a spot to end the season on to build up expectations (and drive subscription rates), Will unlocking his cheat mode superpowers would be the game-changing scene to do it. It also raises interesting questions as to how the finale plays out, because throughout the series, the overall struggle seemed to rest on Eleven's shoulders. Now that Will is in tune with his powers, the details of the final battle leave questions that will soon be answered.
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Stranger Things
TV-14
Drama
Mystery
Horror
Science Fiction
Release Date
2016 - 2025-00-00
Network
Netflix
Showrunner
Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
Directors
Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Andrew Stanton, Frank Darabont, Nimród Antal, Uta Briesewitz
Cast
See All-
Millie Bobby Brown
Jane 'Eleven' Hopper
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Finn Wolfhard
Mike Wheeler
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