At long last, we’ve finally made it to Stranger Things 5. If it feels like it’s been forever since the most recent season released, that’s because it kind of has been. Fortunately, now that the first four episodes are out, we know that it was worth the wait! The premiere kicks things off on a high note that will definitely thrill fans.
The opening of Stranger Things 5 sheds light on a very important moment in the show’s history: when Will was trapped in the Upside Down. Fortunately for fans, Netflix released the first five minutes of the premiere a couple of weeks back, which you can watch below. We recapped and reviewed episode 1, “The Crawl,” live right here.
Will in the Upside Down
On November 12, 1983, Will, trapped in the Upside Down, meets Vecna for the first time. After being chased by a Demogorgon, he encounters the villain, who hangs him up by the tentacles we’ve seen before. Clearly, Vecna needs Will to help him with his plan to restore balance in the world. He tells Will that they’ll do “such beautiful things together” as the tentacles insert into Will’s mouth and some sort of liquid goes down it. Ew.
The opening is definitely enough to get fans excited, and I have to note that the CGI of de-aging Will looks better this time than it did with Eleven in Stranger Things 4.
November 1987
The episode then moves ahead to November 3, 1987. After the events of Stranger Things 4, the Byers are temporarily living with the Wheelers, while Robin and Steve have scored a new job. They work at a radio station called WSQK, and as Robin broadcasts, we get a ton of exposition of what we’ve missed. Typically, I don’t like this type of plot dumping, but it’s an effective way to quickly get through what we need to know. Basically, Hawkins is very different.
TLDR: The town considers what happened a natural phenomenon, and there’s now a military base, a.k.a. the “Mac-Z” or “Big Mac,” in Hawkins. There are mandatory medical check-ups, and they’re basically quarantined in Hawkins until the military is done there. What the townspeople don’t know is that the military is really there to find Eleven. They’re protecting a gate to the Upside Down and are still convinced that El is responsible for everything that’s happened.
Oh! And Robin and Vickie are now officially dating. Woohoo!
At Hawkins High, Dustin is going through it after losing Eddie, which breaks my heart. I’m still not over Eddie’s death, and I’m glad the show isn’t just moving on from him without a mention—even if everyone but Dustin has. Dustin gets bullied by the basketball team as he still wears his Hellfire gear.
There’s a missing poster for Eleven displayed, but of course, she’s not really missing. She’s spending all of her time training to enhance her powers and speed to eventually, hopefully, take down Vecna. She spends her time with Hopper and Joyce, who encourage her when she gets frustrated. Meanwhile, we also get to meet Dr. Kay, played by the wonderful Linda Hamilton. She’s the new villain this season—after Vecna, of course—brought in to oversee the mission of locating Eleven. We later learn she’s working at the military base in the Upside Down, trying to find El in either realm and learn more about the supernatural world.
The crawl, explained
Like me, you’ve probably been wondering what the meaning of the episode title is. Well, we do find out! As explained through various scenes, the military inact what is referred to as a “burn,” meaning burning through the gate to the Upside Down so they can transfer shipments to the military working there. This gives Eleven and the crew an opportunity to enter the Upside Down to kill Vecna, but, of course, they have to be very sneaky.
The group has put together a very well thought-out, detailed plan for Hopper to sneak into the Upside Down to look for Vecna, which is called their “crawl.” As we learn, they’ve actually enacted 37 crawls already, in which Hopper goes through each part of town to try and find him. So far, he’s been unsuccessful.
But this time might be different. The group feels like tonight might be their real chance at killing Vecna, but not everyone is convinced. There’s some doubt that they’ll ever be able to find him, or that he’s even in the Upside Down. Steve suggests maybe he’s already dead.
The plan in motion
Stranger Things is known to have an awesome soundtrack each season, and this one is no different. The song “Upside Down” by Diana Ross, appropriately, signals to each group that it’s ready to set the plan in motion for their next crawl. As Lucas, Mike, and Dustin begin getting excited while out in the woods, Will starts to feel something concerning. The guys are sure Vecna must be close. Meanwhile, Eleven tries to convince Hopper to let her go with him into the Upside Down, but he doesn’t want to risk it and tells her no.
Enter Holly
Oh yeah, remember Mike and Nancy’s little sister, Holly? She’s going to be very important this season. That’s evidenced by the fact that they recast the actress, now played by Nell Fisher, and because of a leaked scene that circulated on social media, showing her targeted by a Demogorgon. (More on that later).
When we first meet Holly in Stranger Things 5, she’s sneaking off at school to talk with a mysterious man. The weirdest thing about this is that no one else sees him but her, so her teachers and family believe she has an imaginary friend. Hmmm, any guesses as to who that could be? (There’d already been speculation online.)
Later that day, Mike talks to her about her “imaginary” friend, who is named Mr. Whatsit—a reference to Mrs. Whatsit from A Wrinkle in Time, a book Holly is reading. Holly says that Mr. Whatsit tells her about monsters that are in Hawkins, but Mike assures her she doesn’t need to worry. We haven’t seen that many impactful scenes with Holly thus far in the show, and I really love these moments with her in the season 5 premiere.
Where’s Max?
I know everyone’s been desperate to find out what’s going on with Max after Vecna sent her into a coma in Stranger Things 4. Well, unfortunately, she’s still in a coma in the premiere of season 5. Her friends haven’t given up on her, though, and we see Will and Lucas visiting her in the hospital. Lucas still plays “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush for her, holding out hope it might save her.
Robin is also at the hospital, but she’s visiting Vickie, who works as a candy striper. They have a sweet, private moment in one of the rooms, and Will ends up catching a glimpse of them kissing. Robin thinks she sees him, but he quickly leaves before he’s confronted.
Remember, Noah Schnapp has confirmed that Will’s sexuality will be a “major plot point” in season 5, so it’s not surprising that the premiere is dropping more hints of him exploring that. Seeing Robin kiss someone of the same sex is likely very interesting to him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Robin ends up being someone he confides in this season.
As the various groups meet up at the radio station, Dustin visits Eddie’s grave. But he’s not alone. Some of the basketball team guys show up and beat Dustin up, leaving him in pretty bad shape. His friends are worried that he’s an hour late, but the plan must go on without him.
But before they make moves, Eleven and Mike share a sweet moment alone, talking on the roof of the radio station about Dustin and Hopper not being themselves. Is the trauma they’ve all faced finally catching up to them? Mike tells El that when this is all over, they can move away from Hawkins and be happy together. As a Mileven shipper, I’m so glad we got this scene in the premiere. It’s a very “calm before the storm” moment, because season 5 part 1 does not slow down at all after this.
So what happens next? Well, their plan goes awry, of course. Hopper is able to successfully hitch a ride into the Upside Down by sneaking onto one of their trucks, but Demogorgons appear and begin attacking the military soldiers. At the radio station, Will starts having another one of his feelings, but more intense this time. He’s able to see what one of the Demogorgons is seeing, as if he were one. He watches as the Demo starts heading towards the Wheeler house in the Upside Down, and Will realizes Karen, Holly, and Ted are in trouble. When he comes out of the vision, he warns the group.
The season 5 premiere ends on a thrilling note, as we see what’s happening over at the Wheelers. Holly, alone in her room, is concerned when the lights begin flickering, and—you guessed it—a Demogorgon appears.
Why might a Demogorgon want to attack the Wheeler house? That’s a question we’ll definitely get the answer to as the season goes on.
Yes, it’s been over three years, but Stranger Things has still got it. I loved the season 5 premiere—from its heartfelt moments and action-packed scenes—and am officially more excited than ever to see how this thing is going to conclude.
Episode grade: A
The first four episodes of Stranger Things 5 are now streaming on Netflix. Catch the next three on December 25, followed by the series finale on December 31.