For nearly a decade, “Stranger Things” created a reputation as one of the most popular shows on Netflix. 

   The show increased in popularity over its extended run and after four well-received seasons, the creators of the show, the Duffer brothers, announced a fifth season that was available for streaming in Nov. 2025. 

   With previous seasons being so well-written fans had high expectations for the start of season five.

   Season five had a strong start with Volume 1 feeling very reminiscent of the writing in prior seasons, with a few lines of exception that felt more suited for a younger audience. Though the plot was a bit scattered, the volume was not a disappointment.  

   As the show advanced the writing began to feel lazier and less driven by previous pilot points. New issues would emerge while prior moments felt swept under the rug only to be revisited in a sloppy recap towards the end.

   Episodes in past seasons featured extremely touching moments that drew in many different types of people who felt that they could relate to the well-rounded character arcs. 

   In season one, Steve Harrigton is portrayed as an objectively hateful person, and by season four he is a vital part of the group as well as a fan favorite. He is shown adapting and understanding the consequences of his actions in a real and personable way.

   In season five many characters’ previous arcs seemed to lose their momentum. Robin Buckley is originally a confident and sarcastic character that seems to lose any sense of self-assurance. It can be argued that this is the character becoming more comfortable with the others however it feels too sudden for that to be logical.

   Some fans began to speculate the use of artificial intelligence due to the final episode lacking depth that was very present in prior volumes. 

 Also, some fans believed a documentary released on the making of the show was a secret final episode, citing the amount of inconsistencies and anticlimactic ending scenes. However these so called meticulous errors were production mis-haps, disappointing the audience, yet again.

   Season five takes place more than a year after the events of season four and now Holly Wheeler is appearing on screen more frequently, in fact, she is on screen more than the main characters from previous seasons. The plot was interesting but it was a strange pivot from the main cast to someone who had appeared on screen only a few times.

   Despite some less popular moments throughout the season, a few scenes were very emotionally vulnerable and compelling, focused more on character development than the main conflict.

   While the show was not entirely terrible, it should have been better to give “Stranger Things” the ending it deserved.