SPOILER WARNING FOR EPISODES 1-4 OF STRANGER THINGS SEASON 5
Episode 1: The Crawl – 7.5/10
This episode sets up the season perfectly. With the military occupying Hawkins, an air of mystery and danger is implemented, while our characters and the rest of the citizens of Hawkins try to find a new “normal.” From the start, you can tell this season is unlike the rest; we are immediately plunged into a dangerous “crawl” into the Upside Down, where our characters venture down in search of Vecna, making the real world and Upside Down seem even closer. Some new character dynamics arise while others face tension, with Will coming into his own this season, with much better hair and a stronger connection to Vecna and the Upside Down. It’s been a while since our characters have seen Vecna, making their journey even more perilous and mysterious, and not giving any sense of security for anyone’s fate. Mike’s sister Holly is also seeing an odd imaginary friend named Mr. Whatsit, taking on a much larger role this season. Vecna’s true intentions are also starting to be questioned. With the ending almost mirroring Will’s disappearance in Season 1, Holly becomes thrust into the danger of Vecna and the Upside Down.
Episode 2: The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler – 8/10
This episode opens with one of the most violent and brutal scenes in the show. Holly almost manages to escape a Demogorgon attack at the end of the first episode, but still cannot win in the end. With Ted and Karen deeply injured and assumed dead at first, it is clear that no character is safe. El then enters the world of the Upside Down in order to find Holly, where she will meet Hopper and remain for the rest of Volume 1. With El in the Upside Down trying to evade military persecution, Mike, Nancy, and the gang are trying to decode who Holly’s “imaginary friend,” Mr. Whatsit, truly is, which leads to a shocking episode ending. New groups arise within the friend group, including the duo of Robin and Will, and the unexpected grouping of Steve, Dustin, and Jonathan. Some dynamics are undeniably strained from last season, with Dustin mourning the loss of Eddie and struggling to find the courage to be vulnerable. The end of the episode cements Will’s strengthening connection to Vecna, and gives further insight into Vecna’s plans with Holly, and a possible new victim in her class, Derek Turnbow.
Episode 3: The Turnbow Trap – 9/10
With Holly living it up in Henry/Vecna/001/Mr. Whatsit’s home, El and Hopper are struggling against the military’s new sound wave device that limits El’s abilities, along with their discovery of a giant, impenetrable wall in the Upside Down. What could be behind it? Back in the real world, Mike and the rest of the characters make a plan to save Holly, who, while alone in the house, receives a mysterious letter that she believes is from Henry, asking her to cross into the forest he has explicitly forbidden her to enter. We are then reintroduced to Erica, who helps the gang go through with their plan to capture Derek Turnbow and save him from Vecna. This leads to a planned kidnapping and drugging of the Turnbow family, with the gang then arming the Turnbow house for a Demogorgon attack. Narrowly escaping the Demogorgon, Will, Robin, Joyce, and Dereck’s family hide in a barn, where the Demogorgon follows them. Here, it is revealed that Vecna can see through and control the Demogorgons, and was able to follow them and find them in the barn. We then cut back to Holly in the woods, where she comes across an ominous desert stone wall, where she runs away after getting a strange feeling that someone is watching her. In a shocking twist, she is greeted not by Henry, but by…Max Mayfield.
Episode 4: Sorcerer – 10/10
Arguably the best episode of the whole show, the episode begins with a Demogorgon attack on the barn, and it is revealed that Will can see through the Demogorgons, just like Vecna. Will also reveals that he saw a vision of young kids in a Mind Flayer-shaped lair, connected to spires. We then cut back to Max, who takes Holly under her wing and reveals that they both are trapped in Vecna’s memories. El and Hopper are now planning to invade the military base in the Upside Down, because El senses a similar power to hers locked behind a door in the base…could it be Henry? Max then tells Holly the story of how she got to where she is amidst her coma, where she had to traverse through Henry’s memories before almost escaping to Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” but when the song ends, Max is trapped in Vecna’s mind.
We also learn that Henry is too afraid to enter Max’s lair, creating suspicion as to whether he is truly the evil one. Mike and the gang make a plan to rescue the kids trapped in the military base, who they think Vecna is targeting. On their way to the tunnels which lead to the base, Mike and Will have a beautiful moment together, their first of (hopefully) many…which reminds the viewers of how important their relationship is. Will and Robin then have a heart-to-heart, which further shows Will’s care for Mike and foreshadows the importance of finding self-love and confidence for Will. Dereck then turns delightful, helping the gang from inside the base funnel the kids into the tunnels and bring them to safety, but a pipe bursts in the bathroom that they are smuggling the kids into, which gives notice to their presence. Back in the Upside Down, Eleven and Hopper get caught by the military, where Hopper engages in combat and Eleven is severely weakened by the sound wave device that constricts her powers. They then fight back, and Hopper nearly sacrifices himself before the device breaks and El stops him, opening the door to reveal…008? That one emo girl from that forgettable episode from Season 2? The Upside Down is then shown infiltrating the real world, with Demogorgons attacking the military and taking the kids. Vecna then appears, with a new look and slim waist, and talks to Will, telling him how weak he is and that they cannot stop his plan. All hope seems to be lost as Vecna leaves and Demogorgons have trapped Lucas, Robin, and Mike. Will, in a turn of events, recalls Robin’s words and looks back to his first memories of meeting Mike and being a kid. It then cuts to Demogorgons levitating in the air, with Will’s eyes glazed over and arms extended, then breaking their bones. Falling to the ground, he and Mike lock eyes, and as blood drips from Will’s nose, he slowly wipes it away.
Our Favorite Theories:
-Vecna is not truly evil, but rather the Mind Flayer is the ultimate villain and controls Vecna.
-Holly will gain superpowers, per Mike calling her “Holly the Heroic,” a cleric in D&D.
-Will is going to lose his right eye due to something related to Vecna.
-Wormholes and time travel will be implemented, going back to Mr. Clark’s class.
-Mike and Eleven have already broken up (*wink wink*).
-Jonathan will sacrifice himself, and either Dustin or Steve will die.
-Robin will either die in Episode 5 (aptly titled “Shock Jock”) or will be the traitor that was hinted at during the press tour.
