Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Oh hello familiar faces, dollops of nostalgia, and retro 80s music! ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 opens with a flashback to the season 1 timeline, back when little Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) disappeared into the upside down. And a new scene, recreated with the help of special effects, shows Will encountering Vecna, the big bad villain of the show. Meanwhile, in the present day, the town of Hawkins is a ‘quarantine’ zone, heavily militarized, as the primary characters secretly hunt for Vecna (they’re sure he is alive). On the other hand, the military is desperately looking to capture Eleven AKA El (Millie Bobby Brown).
Just like always, the four episodes of ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 are split into parallel subplots, each following a different group of characters. However, everybody is united in their goal to locate and destroy Vecna, scourging ‘Upside Down’ for his hideout.
When the groups aren’t looking for the baddie, Robin (Maya Hawke) and Steve (Joe Keery) are busy entertaining Hawkins on the radio; Jim (David Harbour) and Joyce (Winona Ryder) work on overseeing Eleven’s grueling training to defend herself; Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) have their relationship drama; while Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), and Will try to keep Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) from catching the attention of school bullies.
To shake things up, the demogorgons are back to kidnapping kids from Hawkins, pushing all characters to escalate their search for Vecna and stop the monsters from abducting children. So these four episode of ‘Stranger Things’ is all about team-work and despite its darker themes, this season is DEFINITELY a lot more entertaining than season 4. Its got a lot of chaos, bickering, tension, fights, comedic moments, and great special effects. For instance, even though you can tell its CGI Will in the opening flashback, it’s convincing enough to not be distracting, weird, or funny.
All the elements that made ‘Stranger Things’ a fan favorite are on display this season. And I really didn’t think Maya Hawke’s Robin would grow on me, but her character was perhaps the most entertaining presence through these new chapters. From her conversational chatter on the radio, to her awkward interactions with the young kids and peers, she is likable through and through. Steve on the other hand comically competes with Jonathan for Nancy’s attention, while the latter is one step away from being done with men for good. And when Nancy’s sister Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) vanishes, everybody busies themselves in finding her.
A bunch of new kids get the spotlight this Stranger Things season, including a bratty little boy named Derek Turnbrow, hilariously portrayed by child actor Jake Connelly, who looks like he could play the live-action version of Russell from the animated movie ‘Up‘. In a fun little curveball, the crew decides to kidnap Derek once they learn he might be next on the demogorgons’ menu. And who heads this bizarre rescue plot? Feisty-nerd Erica (Priah Ferguson), the scene-stealer who sat out the first two episodes but returns with attitude.
As several fan theories predicted, Noah Schnapp’s Will Byers plays a pivotal role in these climactic chapters of ‘Stranger Things’. Will gets a major game-changing twist in the plot, which is foreshadowed generously and comes as a pretty satisfactory revelation.
These four episodes bounce effortlessly between laugh-out-loud moments and edge-of-your-seat tension. One minute it’s monster mayhem, the next it’s cute romantic awkwardness, a rollercoaster of moods in the best way.
I mean sure, it has unbelievable sequences where the demogorgons decimate half a dozen military men in a flash but conveniently do not even ruffle a hair on Hopper’s head… because everything works on Duffer Brothers’ logic. But this is a world where one psychotic villain abducts children to turn them into his mini versions and reshape everything in his image. And if we don’t question the plot holes, the four episodes of Stranger Things 5 are completely binge-worthy!
Watch ‘Stranger Things’ on Netflix.
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