Stranger Things 5 has been a roller coaster ride for the first seven episodes. We've seen some of the best episodes of the entire series in that stretch, but there's one episode from Stranger Things 5 Vol. 2, which was just released on Christmas Day, that stands out.
Stranger Things 5 episode 6, "Escape From Camazots" is probably my favorite episode of the season. Every episode has had amazing moments, but it felt like episode 6 was full of them.
Was it the most surprising episode? Probably not, but it checked all the emotional boxes. And, it was the perfect—dare I say it?—bridge between everything that's happened so far and Stranger Things and the final mission to stop Vecna.
Three storylines hanging over season 5 came to some sort of resolution in episode 6: Max and Holly, Dustin and Steve, and Nancy and Jonathan.
Holly and Max finally escape Vecna's mindscape
We've known since the episode titles were released in 2024 that this episode was going to be a good one, and it absolutely did not disappoint. A huge part of the episode revolves around Max (Sadie Sink) and Holly's (Nell Fisher) escape from Vecna. And, it's a good one.
Each character makes huge strides. Max realizes that she had it within herself the whole time to finally escape, and she reminds Holly that she, too, can escape Vecna, but she has to get back to her real body and make it happen.
Back home, though, Vecna targets Max's real body at the hospital, which leads to one of the best scenes of the season with Vickie, Robin, and Lucas hiding in the hospital while the demogorgons try to find them. It's very Jurassic Park.
And, just when we thought we'd seen the last of Karen Wheeler (Cara Buono), Nancy, Holly, and Mike's mom shows up at the perfect time to put an oxygen tank in the dryer, which distracts the demogorgons and blows them up, saving Max and everyone in the process. It's perfect!
Dustin and Steve finally get their moment
All season long, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Steve (Joe Keery) have been going at it. Steve just can't believe how reckless Dustin is being, but when their lives are literally in danger, Steve tries to cross the melting staircase with a ladder to save Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) at Hawkins National Lab. Dustin begs him not to do it, but Steve doesn't want to listen.
Finally, Dustin hugs Steve and breaks down. He tells Steve that he can't lose him, like Eddie. It's honestly one of the most touching scenes in Stranger Things history.
Everyone grieves differently, but Stranger Things has never shied away from characters expressing grief differently. In the first few seasons, we watched Nancy grapple with the guilt of losing Barb while Joyce (Winona Ryder) embraced the sadness of losing Bob (Sean Astin). More recently, Max also struggled with the guilt of losing Billy (Dacre Montgomery), but she pushed everyone away. Dustin, on the other hand, tried to keep Eddie's spirit alive to anyone and everyone who would or wouldn't listen. Dustin made a show out of everything in the way that Eddie (Joseph Quinn) might to keep his spirit alive.
To see Dustin finally tell Steve what he means to him, it was a lot, but it was beautiful, too. Like, he literally grabs him to make sure that he doesn't die because he can't face the thought of living without him. It doesn't get better than that in Stranger Things.
Nancy and Jonathan finally have the talk they were avoiding
To me, the most impactful part of the episode features Nancy and Jonathan, facing certain death. There's literally nothing they can do as the goop surrounds them. It sure looks like they're going to drown or be stuck in that room in the Upside Down forever.
And, it creates the space to have the conversation they're avoiding. We've all known for a long time that Jonathan has not been planning to go to college with Nancy. He confesses as much to Argyle in season 4. In the tie-in book to season 5, Stranger Things: One Way or Another, which is about Nancy, she knows Jonathan is keeping a big secret.
While I love how the conversation ends, I don't love Jonathan's confessions to Nancy. He took some shots at her that were quite unfair. But, this is an iconic breakup scene. Unproposing in the Upside Down surrounded by certain death? It doesn't get bigger and better than that.
I know there have been some complaints about how convenient this scene was, and how confusing the melting walls were, but I loved it.
Even though "Escape From Camazots" is amazing, it's not quite the best episode of the season
There's no doubt that "Escape From Camazots" is an amazing episode, but Stranger Things 5 episode 4, "Sorcerer," is the best episode of the final season.
According to IMDB, "Escape From Camazots" boasts an 8.9/10 rating, which is up there with some of the best episodes of the series. It's not quite Top 10, but it's about as close as you can get to being a Top 10 episode without actually being in the Top 10.
There's only one episode of Stranger Things 5 that is in the Top 10-rated episodes of the series so far, and that's "Sorcerer." And, I have to say that I agree with that ranking. It's not my favorite episode of the season, but it's clear that episode is just better than the rest.
From a production and story standpoint, "Sorcerer" is just on another level. We get so many epic moments in that episode, including the Kali/Eight (Linnea Berthelsen) reveal and, most importantly, Will (Noah Schnapp) having powers.
It's going to be hard for any episode this season to top the awesomeness of that episode, but if there's any episode that could do it, it's the season finale.
Of the four season finales so far, every single one is Top 10 episode of the series, according to IMDB. Each one is rated 9.1/10 or higher. So, I'm betting the Duffer brothers have something in store to make this episode awesome.
Watch the Stranger Things 5 (and series) finale on Dec. 31!