The Duffer Brothers’ record-breaking hit Stranger Things landed at Netflix on November 26 for its fifth and final season. In classic Netflix fashion, the streamer is doing its best to extend and monetize the show’s popularity. The first four episodes of season 5 ( “Volume One” ) dropped on Nov. 26, the next three episodes (“Volume Two”) will be available on Christmas Day, and the finale will air on New Year’s Eve, both on Netflix and in select theaters. This SPOILER-FREE first take pertains only to Volume One.
The first four episodes mostly provide what diehard fans are hoping for from Stranger Things: 80’s fanfare (from the products the characters use, to the stellar costumes and makeup, to, of course, the music), childhood suburban nostalgia before we were all attached to screens, and a few noteworthy scenes that further develop some of my favorite characters.
The show elevated Holly (Nell Fisher), the younger sister of Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), to a main character, in addition to casting youngster Jake Connelly to play the annoying, albeit hysterical, elementary school bully Derek “Dipshit” Turnbow. With the original group of kids entering adulthood, this was a strong move by the storytellers; they’re able to keep the nostalgia of growing up and the innocence of childhood at the forefront of the show. It’s also hilarious to hear two eight year-olds call each other “barf bag.”
However, the show often misses the mark in what used to make it so strong – meaningful and sincere moments between unlikely people (who could forget Steve Harrington giving Dustin Henderson his hair routine in season 2?). While the show makes an earnest attempt to elevate Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) and further explore his relationship to the Upside Down as he navigates new components of his identity, deep conversations between Will and Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) and Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke) feel wooden and cheesy. Even the father-daughter relationship between Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Jim Hopper (David Harbour), often the emotional heartbeat of the show, feel forced and inauthentic due to clunky dialogue.
The pacing is strong and most of the storytelling elements exist to make this a banger of a final season. I’m hopeful that the show will hit its emotional stride in Volume Two, and that we’ll witness developed, earnest conversations as the show progresses, ideally mirroring the actors’ and writers’ own affection for a show they’ve worked on for more than a decade.
