After much anticipation, Stranger Things returned to Netflix in 2025 with its fifth and final season. A send-off broken into volumes, Volume 1 (Episodes 1-4) arrived on November 26, 2025, before Volume 2 (Episodes 5-7) came on Christmas Day, December 25, 2025. Becoming one of the most talked-about and watched series on television, with 3 years and 5 months having passed since Season 4, interest has not waned, as the return of Stranger Things in 2025 led to a surge in season viewing on Netflix.
Truly a testament to how popular Stranger Things has become, it all comes to a dramatic head with the series finale episode 8, entitled The Rightside Up. Creators and brothers Matt and Ross Duffer raise the emotional and existential stakes, with the series culminating on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET, simultaneously on Netflix and in select movie theaters across North America. So, with all of this in mind, let us recap Volume 1 and Volume 2 of Season 5.
Previously in Volume 1, Will (Noah Schnap) tapped into abilities linked to Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), possessing powers from when he was first taken into the Upside Down in 1983. Using these abilities, Will injures Vecna and halts Demogorgons midair, and ends with a bloody nose, similar to that of Eleven (Millie Bobbie Brown). With both emotional bonds and Vecna’s threats at their height, Volume 2 picks up with the Hawkins group still processing the surprising revelation that Will can now channel Vecna’s powers, giving them an advantage in their fight.
Nevertheless, the demogorgons have now captured 12 children of Hawkins, including Derek Turnbow (Jake Connelly), and Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher), the younger sister of Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard). The children awaken inside the dreamlike version of Henry Creel’s house, where they are met by Mr. Whatsit, aka Henry Creel/One/Vecna. He tells them they have an essential role to play in saving the world. But in truth, they are part of his darker plan to take over the Earth.
Meanwhile, in the dimension of Upside Down, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Steve (Joe Keery), Nancy, and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) ignore Hopper’s (David Harbour) orders to stay put and search for a way to rescue Holly. Their journey leads them to the Hawkins Lab, which is frozen in time. The dangerous visit nearly kills Nancy and Jonathan, who have a near-death break-up or “un-proposal” and realize their “trauma bond relationship ” is not sustainable.
While exploring the facility, Dustin uncovers Dr. Brenner’s (Matthew Modine) journals and provides a crucial explanation of the gates and dimensions in Stranger Things. The Upside Down isn’t a parallel dimension afterall. It is a wormhole, the kind that Mr. Scott Clarke (Randy Havens) taught Erica Sinclair (Priah Ferguson) in class earlier. The true nature of the Upside Down is revealed as an interdimensional bridge connecting Hawkins to a more profound, chaotic realm known as the Abyss. It’s from the Abyss that all these terrifying monsters, like demogorgons, demodogs, and bats that stalk Hawkins, originate. It is where Henry Creel/Vecna/One roamed alone for years, and it is where he now keeps the kidnapped Hawkins children.
All three episodes of Volume 1 (entitled Shock Jock, Escape From Camazotz, and The Bridge) clarify major elements while delivering powerful emotional moments for a group of friends who have grown into an extended family.
When Will, Max, and Holly appear to be in a coma, Robin (Maya Hawke) explains they are actually in a trance by Vecna in his Mindscape, which Holly names Camazotz after the book A Wrinkle in Time. Robin explains to Mike and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) that if they can break out, they will return to their physical bodies. She demonstrates this with three vinyl albums and covers. Holly with the Tiffany album, Will with the Clash’s London Calling, and Max with Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill, which serves as a constant song throughout the entire series.
Other major reveals occur throughout Volume 2. Vecna uses Will as a spy one last time to locate Max (Sadie Sink), putting her life at risk. Will reveals he is gay to his mom Joyce (Wynona Ryder) and his friends. Dustin breaks down, admitting his fear of losing Steve after Eddie’s death. Steve finally understands Dustin’s anger as grief and self-protection. Max (Sadie Sink) and Holly are trying to escape through Henry’s memories. They witness a pivotal moment in Henry’s childhood as a Boy Scout, when he encounters a terrified stranger guarding a silver briefcase in the cave. Henry is frightened of the cave memory where he kills the man. However, the contents of the suitcase remain unseen. What is interesting is that Henry does not appear to have telekinetic powers like Eleven or Kali at that time.
With that in mind, Eleven and Kali supposedly later inherited them from Henry’s bloodline. Revelations deepen as Kali/Eight reveals that her blood was once used in military experiments to pass on telekinetic powers to unborn children and that the same was done using Henry’s blood to create the Hawkins Lab kids. Eleven, as Henry’s closest match, represents the greatest threat of all. Kali warns that others will come for them, seeking to create more like Henry. This is apparently why Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton) and her soldiers are tracking them down. We now know that Dr. Kay is trying to re-create Dr. Brenner’s experiments with psychic children and that the government is providing the resources to make that happen. At the same time, Dr. Kay does not seem concerned about Vecna.
The Hawkins crew now must plan their ultimate fight and final attack to defeat Vecna. Circling the central theme of the finale, viewers begin to wonder if Eleven and Kali will sacrifice themselves to end the cycle forever, or, as Mike (Finn Wolfhard) insists, do they get to decide their own ending?
Bringing it to a total of 50 episodes over nine years, Stranger Things is gearing up for its grand finale. For now, we must wait until New Year’s Eve to find out the fate of the world and the Hawkins heroes who plan to stop Vecna. The Duffer Brothers have said they have known what the show’s final scene will be for a long time. With anticipation killing everyone, Cryptic Rock gives Stranger Things Season 5, Volumes 1 and 2, 5 out of 5 stars.
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