'Stranger Things' Season 5 Review: The Beginning Of The End (Episodes 1-4)
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The Duffer Brothers’ unraveling horror epic reaches a turning point. But like the red tendril-y gates connecting the real world and the Upside-Down, there is a barrier that keeps the entire season out of reach. Unlike seasons 1 through 3, which demonstrate the novel Netflix strategy of having an entire season available at the get-go, season 5 will be split into three chunks: the first four episodes on the eve of Thanksgiving, three more on Christmas Day, and the finale on December 31st, right before the clock strikes New Year.
It would seem like no time is left for the characters to meet their destiny, especially when considering the cliffhanger that season 4 left fans. With Vecna the mastermind still at large, everyone regrouping back home, and the Upside-Down’s rift now a telltale threat against the entire world, one would presume that the first episode would launch right into the long-expected Demogorgon invasion. Matt Duffer, in a Collider interview, suggests just that: “Season 5 is going to start pedal to the metal. We’re not going to do the ramp-up. There’s no time. There’s no normalcy, obviously, once you’ve reached the end of four.” However, there is very much a ramp-up to be had. Not necessarily exposition, but a necessary calm before the storm.
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One thing becomes immediately clear: if someone does not recall everything that has gone down, they will be lost. No longer is Stranger Things a monster-of-the-week adventure. It is all coming together now. It is highly recommended to rewatch the show from the very start, because details buried all the way back in season 1 make a return.
The pacing of these episodes is a ton more concise than season 4, when so many intercutting teams were split far and wide that it became downright overwhelming. With everyone back home at Hawkins, good guys and bad, that longing to keep the team together is finally rectified. Only, nothing is ever so simple. The fate of the world is at stake. Our Everyman heroes are well aware of this, but that has begun to make them turn against one another. A biting remark is always in the cards, scene after scene, regardless of all the growth that has made these young vigilantes an absolute unit. This is a real shame because it suggests not enough lessons were learned, leaving a sense of uncertainty over what’s to come. Although this ramps up the tension, making it uncertain whether they will work together once the going gets tough, the constant abrasiveness can feel out of character at times.
On top of everything, love triangles that feel like they have run their course make an unwelcome return, and even more characters are introduced that just don’t hold up to the show’s high standards. Even halfway through their respective seasons, people come to love Max, Robin, and Eddie that is not quite there yet with Derek Turnbow or Lt. Kay.
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That is not to say the season is off to a poor start. The cinematography remains beautiful and provocative, the writing just the right amount of tense, and like all final chapters, the stakes have never been higher. There is still a buzz of energy as these actors bounce off each other, mixed into a complex horror that would make Stephen King jealous, proving once more why this 80s nostalgic masterwork continuously excels.
Whatever uncertainty that shadows the first three episodes, all of it fades away with “Sorcerer”—an episode that just might go down as the best in the series. Answers are made. Loose ends are given a promising way out. This is where the direction for the rest of the season becomes apparent, a lot like “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab” was to season 4. It proves why the dicey ramp-up is a necessary component for the journey and should leave fans salivating for Christmas to come early.
Rating: 8/10
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