Ross Duffer, the co-creator of Stranger Things, dropped a major update on Stranger Things 5 Vol. 2 on Instagram just two weeks ahead of its release on Christmas day (Thursday, Dec. 25). And, if he's telling the truth, things are about to get very emotional.
In the post, Duffer shared the titles of all three episodes, which we've known for over a year now, and also confirmed the three episodes from Vol. 2 are officially done and ready to go, but that wasn't the best part of his post.
Duffer also teased each episode, including the "most emotional chapter" of the season, which happens to be Stranger Things 5 episode 7, "The Bridge."
Here's what Duffer said about the episode on Instagram:
"“The Bridge”… we co-directed this one with Shawn. Don’t want to say too much, but aside from the finale, it’s probably the most emotional chapter of the season. It’s gonna be a long six day wait for the finale…"
Of course, "The Bridge" is the penultimate episode of the season, and that's going to set everything up, hopefully, for the finale. The questions we still have about the series, Will (Noah Schnapp), Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bowe), Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Max (Sadie Sink), and others will hopefully be answered by that point, but I'm starting to get worried, honestly.
While I don't think the Duffers are going to be killing off these main characters left and right in the final four episodes, I'm worried there could be a big death heading into the finale. I don't know who it will be or in what context, but that's what I'm assuming Duffer is referring to. What else could it mean?
We've already seen some epic and emotional deaths in Stranger Things—looking at you, Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) and Bob Newby (Sean Astin). I just can't think of another emotional thing happening that isn't someone sacrificing themselves like Billy (Dacre Montgomery) in season 3 for the greater good of the mission, but hey, we'll find out in a couple of weeks.
"The Bridge" is also an interesting name for a penultimate episode because we know just how big the finale is going to be. It's officially two hours long and playing in theaters. It's going to be epic, so maybe the events of this episode are taking us there, like, to the finale. I don't know if there are any actual bridges in Hawkins or the Upside Down that this could be referring to. There's always a chance that the bridge is actually in Henry's mind, as well.
I'm also super excited for "Shock Jock," which is episode 5, and "Escape from Camazots," which is episode 6. I'm a little nervous for "Shock Jock," because I don't want anything to happen to our fearless DJs, Robin (Maya Hawke) and Steve (Joe Keery), but I'm actually very excited for "Escape from Camazots." We have to see Max and Holly (Nell Fisher) find a way out of Henry's mind in season 5. There have been so many references to A Wrinkle in Time this season, and this is another one.
Stay tuned for more news about the final episodes of Stranger Things 5! We only have four more to go.