After nearly a decade, Stranger Things is at an end. Over the course of five seasons we got to know a beloved cast of characters, unravel more mysteries than you can shake a set of D&D dice at, and watch as the battle between the nefarious Vecna and our heroes played out. The series was the rare sci-fi horror show to ascend to pop culture phenomenon status, and it's hard to believe that now it's all over — even if spinoffs are already in the works.
As is so often the case for television shows, the final season of Stranger Things is its most divisive by far. But whether you got fed up with the show's handling of its climactic chapter or you watched in awe the whole time, I think we can all agree that there were some truly exceptional stand-out moments along the way. Say what you will of Stranger Things 5, the show has always had an eye for creating iconic scenes that will live on long after its run completed.
With the entire season behind us, it's time to look back on some of those highlights and celebrate the moments from season 5 that left us reeling, crying, gasping in shock, or just plain stunned.
1. The Demogorgon attack on the Wheeler house
Stranger Things eases viewers back into the season in its premiere episode, but things quickly escalate in Episode 2 with the first standout sequence of the season, when a Demogorgon attacks the Wheeler household and kidnaps Holly. This scene has spectacular CGI as the Demogorgon bursts out of the ceiling, great tension as Holly and her parents try to evade and ward it off, and a killer climax as Karen Wheeler attacks the monster with a broken wine bottle only to get torn nearly to shreds.
The Demogorgon wounding Karen and her husband Ted and abducting Holly is the first time that Stranger Things 5 feels like it's really launching the characters into the dangerous endgame.
2. The Home Alone Demogorgon trap
Another scene that gives viewers the Demogorgon love they so desire happens in Episode 3, "The Turnbow Trap," when the Hawkins gang sets up a Home Alone-style trap for the creature in the Turnbow house in order to track it back into the Upside Down. What ensues is just as fun as the conceit sounds, with various members of the party springing different traps that suit their personalities and particular monster slaying-sensibilities.
The result is a scene where the group finally turns things on a Demogorgon, the creatures which very first began terrorizing Hawkins in season 1. Now, it's the Demogorgon who's the prey instead of the predator. From its inventive use of the Turnbow house setting to the culmination of it all at the barn at the outskirts of town, this whole sequence is thrilling to watch.
3. The return of Kali a.k.a. Eight
There are a few massive twists in Stranger Things 5, but one which came out of complete left field and tied together a few important threads from early in the show was the return of Kali, a.k.a. number Eight. We last saw Kali in season 2 when Eleven went on a road trip to Chicago to meet up with her wayward sister. Kali has lingered off-screen ever since, until the end of Episode 4 when Eleven and Hopper penetrate deep into Dr. Kay's military laboratyr in the Upside Down, only to find Kali imprisoned there.
Kali's return stands as a key element of Stranger Things 5, but few parts of her story arc packed quite as big a punch as that initial moment where we saw that it was her, not Vecna, who was imprisoned by Dr. Kay.
4. The MAC-Z battle and Will's sorcerer breakthrough
While Stranger Things 5 had some impressive high notes, perhaps the best one of all happens right at the end of Episode 4, when the Demogorgons and Vecna assault the military base at the MAC-Z gate, laying utter waste to everything in their path and successfully abducting the children Vecna needs for his plan to join the Abyss with Hawkins. As the dust settles and the Demogorgons prepare to kill several remaining members of the party across the town, Will finally has a breakthrough and taps into his hive mind powers, using them to kill three Demogorgons at once.
The final shot of the episode, where Will wipes blood from his nose as the camera zooms up on him, is going to go down as one of the most iconic from this season. This sequence uped the ante in significant ways, and made it clear that the road ahead was going to come with some serious surprises.
5. Will's surprise attack on Vecna
After Will accesses his powers for the first time, we get an immediate payoff in the next episode when he launches a surprise attack on Vecna with the help of his friends. This attack comes right as Vecna is preparing to kill Max and re-capture Holly in Camazotz, his mind prison. Will isn't able to kill Vecna, but he wounds the monster badly enough that Holly and Max are able to escape back to the safety of the cave. The shots where Will is speaking through Vecna to Max had me whooping out loud at the TV screen. This scene also gets extra points for the fact that Vecna overpowers Will, giving one of our heroes a much-needed loss at a key point in the season so that the later victory sings better.
6. The un-proposal
After Nancy Wheeler takes a shoot-first-ask-questions-later approach to the exotic matter on top of the Upside Down version of Hawkins Lab, she and Jonathan find themselves trapped in a melting room of white goop. This forces these two characters to finally hash out the issues that have been boiling beneath the surface all season, revealing their biggest peeves with each other even as they acknowledge the unbreakable bond their trauma has created. Ultimately, Jonathan and Nancy take the mature approach of breaking up as they're facing their death, finding solace in the truth they've had so much difficulty in expressing.
Yes, it may be a little convenient that the goop stops flowing right as they reach the end of their profound moment and spares their lives, but it in no way detracts from the power of the scene and the performance of the actors as they play out this crucial, extended moment.
7. "You saved me, Holly Wheeler"
At the end of Episode 6, "Escape from Camazotz," Max Mayfield finally reaches a way out of Henry Creel's mind prison. But before she does, she shares a heartfelt moment with Holly Wheeler, where she helps the young girl find her own way out, unaware that Holly is going to wake up in the Abyss.
This conversation between Max and Holly is a tear-jerker that recalls Max's "Running up that Hill" scene from season 4, and I don't care if you think they talked long enough to start a podcast, the moment where Max says "You saved me, Holly Wheeler," is one for the books.
8. Karen Wheeler's revenge
The Demo-dog attack on the hospital is a thrilling sequence with plenty of high notes, but the culmination of it all takes the cake. After being nearly killed by a Demogorgon early in the season and failing to save her daughter, Karen Wheeler stumbles from her hospital bed just in time to put a flammable air tank in a dryer, luring the Demo-dogs to an explosive death. She may not have been able to save Holly, but in that moment Karen saves Max, Lucas, Robin, and Vicky — which ultimately gives the team the edge they need to navigate Vecna's mind in the final showdown.
Look, Karen Wheeler may not be the first person you think of when you think about the heroes of Stranger Things, but without her I don't know that anyone makes it out of season 5 alive.
9. Max and Lucas' reunion
Few romances on Stranger Things are as sweet as the one between Max and Lucas, and after spending nearly an entire season apart after Max's near-death encounter with Vecna in season 4, they're finally reunited in the penultimate episode of the show. Max coming out of her coma is a beautiful moment, which is made even better by the fact that actors Sadie Sink and Caleb McLaughlin brought their absolute A games. There are a lot of great performances in Stranger Things season 5, but this quiet moment where Lucas coaxes Max back to consciousness for their tearful reunion is among the best.
10. Will's coming out scene
Speaking of incredible performances, another which deserves its flowers is that of Noah Schnapp near the end of the penultimate episode during Will Byers' coming out scene. As the party prepares for one last attack on Vecna, Will realizes that he won't be able to effectively help unless he banishes his fear that his friends would turn on him if they knew his deepest secret: that he's gay.
This moment has been foreshadowed right since the very first episode of the series, and the way the show paid it off is wonderful, in large part due ot Schnapp's performance. Instead of turning on him, his friends embrace him just like they always do. It's pure Stranger Things.
11. Hopper's appeal to Eleven
The Stranger Things series finale has a ton of powerful moments; really, we could just say the entire finale deserves to be on this list as a whole, and it would be true. But if we're going to narrow it down to a few standout moments, then one that really elevated the episode is Hopper's big monologue to Eleven, when he tries to convince her not to stay behind and die in the Upside Down. Vecna's mind games with hop were a fantastic set up to this scene, which sees Kali pull a gun on Hopper as he gives a heartfelt plea to his foster daughter.
Hopper's speech is so moving that Kali lowers her weapon, and Eleven seems to be swayed to try and reach for the more peaceful life he believes so desperately that she deserves. If only the military hadn't sprung that one last trap as the gang left the Upside Down.
12. Henry confronts his worst memory (and Will learns the truth)
Ever since Holly Wheeler met up with Max Mayfield in Camazotz, there were hints that Henry Creel had some sort of deeply traumatic memory tied to the cave where Max had made her hideout. We get glimpses of this memory several times, but it isn't until near the end of the finale that we finally see the end of it play out in full, while Henry watches on, helpless in the face of his own worst nightmare.
The reveal that Henry had been infected by the Mind Flayer in that cavern and called to find it in the Abyss changes the dynamic. Before this, Henry led everyone to believe it was he who was in control of the Mind Flayer; now we find out its much more of a symbiotic relationship that has tainted Henry since childhood. On top of it all, Will Byers witnesses this revelation from inside Henry's mind, talking with him about what he's suffered in a way that humanizes the villain. But Henry is too far gone, and he willingly went to the shadow; Will's attempts to help fall on deaf ears.
Jamie Campbell Bower has delivered many incredible scenes as Henry a.k.a. Vecna a.k.a. One in Stranger Things, but his breakdown at this memory is exceptional even by his own high standards.
13. Eleven versus the Mind Flayer
The final battle in the Abyss is chock full of exciting turns, from the emergence of the Mind Flayer, to Eleven's last-minute arrival, to the gang attacking the big beastie, El fighting Vecna inside it, and Will saving the day by holding Vecna with his new powers long enough for Eleven to finish him off. It's all thrilling, and the whole sequence stands as a towering achievement for Stranger Things.
But I have to single out one shot, which feels like the sort of thing the Duffer Brothers have been envisioning for years: the moment when Eleven stands alone before the Mind Flayer as it begins racing across the rocky landscape toward her. This shot made me shout at my TV; it's epic in the truest sense of the word, and the sort of thing that will live on in viewers' minds long after the credits have rolled.
14. The Squawk rooftop goodbye
Like the final battle, the epilogue has lots of great moments. Depending on your preference and which hit your heartstrings right, you could easily choose any of them for a list like this. But there are two which especially stood out to me, and the first of those is the rooftop goodbye at the Squawk, where our group of older kids makes a pact to try to meet up once a month to keep their friendships alive past high school.
There's something so real and moving about this scene, where we learn how life is working out for Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, and Robin. When they say goodbye, we are also saying goodbye to the characters, and I challenge any viewer with a soul to watch this scene and not need a tissue.
15. The final game of Dungeons & Dragons
Not every show's final scene is one of its best, but in my opinion, Stranger Things is the rare gem that pulls it off. Over the course of five seasons we watched Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, Dustin Henderson, and Will Byers go from playing D&D in the Wheeler basement, to fighting paranormal threats, to facing impossible odds and thwarting an interdimensional threat, to ending up right back in the basement for one last game of D&D. It's a pefectly full circle moment that gives both the characters and viewers a final chance to reflect on the incredible journey they've all gone on before the door to the basement closes for good.
From the fun vibes of the game itself — which has a whole new layer with Max an official part of the D&D group — to Mike's narrated scenarios showing the gang's future, to the speculative fate of Eleven and the passing of the torch to Holly Wheeler as the next head of a D&D group in that basement, every single part of this scene is wonderful. Stranger Things stuck the landing and then some in its final moment, and when we end, it's with a true sense of closure.
All five seasons of Stranger Things are streaming now on Netflix.