As we enter the latter half of 2025, the hype for the fifth and final season of Netflix's Stranger Things is really starting to ramp up. The final season is, perhaps, the single most anticipated season of television in Netflix's history. It all begins on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, with the release of the first four episodes.
The plot of the eight-episode season is largely under wraps at the moment, but we do have an official teaser teasing the final battle against all-powerful Upside Down denizen Vecna. We also know almost all of the episode titles, which are: "The Crawl," The Vanishing of [REDCATED]," "The Turnbow Trap," "Sorcerer," "Shock Jock," "Escape From Camazotz," "The Bridge," and "The Rightside Up."
Most recently, series co-creator Ross Duffer took to Instagram to share title cards of episode 1 and the majority of episode 2. He appears to be inside a studio, finalizing the opening episodes. Take a look:
"Chapters One and Two: locked, mixed, scored, colored, DONE," he wrote, adding that “'The Crawl' is our favorite, most eventful first episode since Season 1."
As for episode 2, he claims that the installment "has by far the craziest cold open we’ve ever done. One of the sequences we’re most proud of this season."
"I would tell you runtimes, but I was told not to. At a later date, I guess," he added. Given that the cast has previously compared the final episodes to being as big as movies, we can expect the runtimes to be on the longer side. The season 4 finale clocked in at a wild 2 hours and 22 minutes long.
Who could be the missing name in "The Vanishing of..."?
Of course, one of the biggest mysteries of the show so far is the full title of episode 2. Currently, it's only known as "The Vanishing of..." This has become one of the biggest questions in the fandom.
People on Reddit have theorized all sorts, with one of the most popular names being Holly Wheeler. Holly is the youngest daughter of Karen and Ted Wheeler. Her involvement was minimal in early seasons, but the part was recast for season 5, seeing the character now being portrayed by Nell Fisher.
Will Holly be the titular character of episode 2? Let's wait and see.
Stranger Things finally comes back for season 5, volume 1 on November 26, consisting of four episodes. It returns for a further three episodes with Volume 2 on Christmas Day, December 25, with the season finale airing on New Year's Eve, December 31.
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