It was perhaps not since the end of Game of Thrones that the tremendous fear of spoilers that accompanied the wait and then the release of the first part of Stranger Things 5 was felt in the air, the final season of the series whose first 4 episodes out of 8 (the first three are about an hour long, the fourth 80 minutes long) are on Netflix from 2 am Italian time on 27 November 2025 (on the occasion of Thanksgiving; three will then be released at Christmas and the last one on New Year’s Eve 2026, always at 2).

Many, to be on the safe side, have even avoided articles and videos containing hypotheses and fan theories on the conclusion of the Duffer brothers’ 80s saga. Who, however, were keen to point out that almost everything that circulates online is very far away, usually due to overthinking (“overthinking” as the Duffers said), from what actually happens in this last season which, even if we are only halfway through, is already quite shocking.

And so, out of respect for the vast public, but also because we have formally promised Netflix not to reveal numerous details, we assure you that what you are reading is a totally spoiler-free review of Stranger Things 5, but with some useful information for those who want to see it without having to repeatedly stop for Google searches and rewatches of particular episodes. If you don’t remember how last season ended, find the summary of the Stranger Things 4 finale here.

How Stranger Things 4 ended

What Stranger Things 5 ​​is about

We therefore left off in a different way compared to other seasons: without school dances and/or defeats, however temporary and peppered with painful farewells, of human and monstrous enemies, but with a Hawkins shaken by the opening of the Upside Down portals (officially by a very powerful earthquake) as the backdrop to the reunion of all our heroes, apart from poor Max (Sadie Sink), in a coma and with broken bones after Henry/Vecna/Uno-One (Jamie Campbell Bower) had effectively killed her, even if she had then been resurrected, as far as possible, by 11 (Eleven or Eleven if you prefer, in short Millie Bobby Brown).

Season 5 takes place on November 3, 1987, about a year and a half after that reunion, three days before the fourth anniversary of Will Byers’ kidnapping (even though the 12-year-olds from season one are now adults two feet taller: can you imagine the frustration of parents buying them clothes that become tight within a month?).

And even in this beginning of the season, which as we know begins with a short flashback of the first meeting in ’83 between Will (with the character of Noah Schnapp reinterpreted by Luke Kokotek) and Vecna, in which the latter says he is eager to do “big things” with poor little Byers, there is not even a hint of the carefree times of the Star Court, or of Mad Max’s record in video games, but not even of when 11 was pretending with Mike (Finn Wolfhard) to feel good in California, not to mention the time when the ultimate thrill was a game of Dungeons and Dragons in the Wheelers’ attic.

Our friends are already all pretty angry and always in battle gear, between training, reconnaissance, tunnels and war supplies, and for those who still go to school between one lesson and another. In the meantime, the Byers are staying with the Wheelers, Robin (Maya Hawke) and Steve (Joe Keery) are the voices of a radio station, Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) always goes to the hospital to visit Max who isn’t coming out of a coma, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) is still mourning Eddie’s death (and us with him), Murray (Brett Gelman) lends a hand in his own way, Hopper (David Harbour) as usual hides 11 from the bad guys (and at least on screen everything is fine between them) together with Joyce (Winona Ryder)… and all of Hawkins is in a strict quarantine militarily controlled by the agents of Lieutenant Colonel Sullivan (Sherman Augustus), who however has his superiors to report to. And you could already understand almost all of this from the trailer that we report at the end of the review.

In this far from pleasant context, and this too can be understood from various trailers and preview images, there is a new generation of kids who will have an important role in Stranger Things 5: and we are not referring so much to Erica Sinclair (Priah Ferguson), on whom we have all relied for a while now, but rather to Holly Wheeler and some of her friends: without giving anything away, we only underline a certainly non-random line uttered by Cara Bono’s Karen Wheeler to Joe Chrest’s Ted Wheeler: “I bet you don’t even know how old your daughter is.” In fact, in this latest season Holly is decidedly older, not only because the new actress, fourteen-year-old Nell Fisher, is a few months older than the twins Tinsley and Anniston Price who played her in previous seasons (and retired to take up professional cheerleading), but because, in theory, Holly should be 7 or 8 years old at most, if we consider the character’s age in the first season (the Stranger Things fan wikis give Holly a date of birth between November 1979 and March 1980): instead not only the actress, even the character herself and her peers seem noticeably older. Moreover, even Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Steve’s age was subjected to some retcons between one season and another, as was very common in the past.

The chessboard of the final clash between Good and Evil is therefore full of pitfalls for our heroes, who as usual will have to face their enemies in two battlefields, in two dimensions whose boundaries are now frighteningly blurred. All that remains is to hope that the group’s unity will provide the necessary strength to prevail.

What to say about Stranger Things 5 ​​Volume 1 without spoiling

Reassuring once again those who fear ruinous revelations around every corner, there are several things to say about this first volume of Stranger Things 5.

The first is that in these four episodes the direction is signed alternately by the Duffers and by Frank Darabont, known for having written and directed masterpieces such as The Green Mile and The Wings of Freedom, based on Stephen King’s novels, but previously also a screenwriter of horror films, such as the 80s cult The Blob (not the historic Rai 3 broadcast, the film that also inspired Enrico Ghezzi and Marco Giusti), honored several times during the series. By the way, the quotes from historical films and TV series are abundant as usual, including shots, jokes and obviously songs. But even in this case, we don’t anticipate anything.

Just as we don’t want to say anything specific, but if you know Madeleine L’Engle’s most famous book (or the films based on it) you might be at an advantage, otherwise you might be unaware of the reference to Camazotz in the (already official) title of one of the next episodes: in case you’re curious, you can find information here.

But apart from the literary, cinematographic and even personal data issues that we have mentioned, the most important thing to say about Stranger Things 5 ​​is that these first 4 episodes are already more than enough to fuel expectations and expectations, reactions and emotions, and in short all the heavy load (such as fear) that this great series has been carrying with it for almost ten years, in a journey whose finish line we are beginning to see.

There is no more time to play and joke, to make out and go to the cinema: the kids have grown up, they have grown up and are no longer afraid of bullies because they are now used to facing infinitely worse enemies.

The smiles, relaxation and simple personal issues are like flashes of lightning that light up Hawkins’ sky for brief moments: for the rest, disillusionment, determination, stubbornness and contempt for danger immediately prevail. In short, the final battle is just beginning, but the adrenaline is already pumping and we can’t wait for the rest to arrive.

Rating: 9