There’s only one episode left of Stranger Things season 5 volume 1, and we still have a lot of questions that need to be answered. Of course, there’s the question of where Max has been, and how she’s even living in the woods outside of Creel House. There’s also the question of who the military is holding in a vault. Could it actually be Vecna? Is that why Hopper hasn’t been able to locate him? We’ll find out soon…
The Volume 1 finale is a great episode full of action and surprising moments—especially that twist ending I didn’t see coming! We recapped and reviewed Stranger Things 5 episode 4, “Sorcerer,” live here.
Now that the group is keeping Derek safe, they have some explaining to do. He wakes up and, of course, demands answers. He says that Mr. Whatsit told him monsters were coming for the people of Hawkins, and he doesn’t trust any of them. But there’s not a lot of time for explaining because, as Will has a vision, a Demogorgon shows up in the barn they’re hiding out in.
Follow the Demogorgon
As Joyce fights off the Demogorgon, Steve, Dustin, Nancy, and Jonathan hit it with the car, and it opens up a portal to the Upside Down. They drive right through it, following the creature as Will sees through its eyes. Steve and the crew don’t make it far before crashing into the wall.
For the rest of the group, Will paints what he saw through the Demo’s eyes, which included three other kids along with Holly. He discovers that Vecna wants to kidnap 12 kids in total. He can feel that this plan is very important to Vecna and that he wasn’t supposed to see it. It’s as if he tapped into the Hive Mind so hard that he almost broke something.
Meanwhile, a girl named Debbie Miller gets taken from her home by the military, who are taking kids to try and keep them safe. But they have no idea what they’re dealing with. Mike and Lucas witness this and inform the rest of the group. As confirmed during a scene at the Upside Down Mac-Z, Dr. Kay is trying to lure Eleven by using the kids as bait.
The children begin to arrive at the Mac-Z, where they’re kept in barracks. As this is happening, Robin suggests coming up with a plan to save the rest of the kids using The Great Escape, and Mike thinks Derek can help retrieve them because he’s so unsuspecting.
What happened to Max, explained in full detail
Back to Max and Holly, finally, and we learn that it was Max who actually wrote the note for Holly, wanting the chance to speak with her. Max shows her where she’s been staying in a cave, and begins to explain where she’s been. Max explains that they’re in one of Vecna’s memories, and she knows because she’s been travelling through his memories since she ended up in a coma. Even though the view from the cave is gorgeous, she assures Holly that they’re in “Henry’s prison.”
Max then goes into what happened to her after Vecna “killed” her. She woke up in the Rainbow Room of Hawkins Lab, seeing the aftermath of Henry’s massacre. Next, she walked through a door, and suddenly she was at Hawkins High in 1959, 30 years ago, seeing a young Joyce walk through the halls. She holds a flyer for the school play, Oklahoma!, which mentions several of the main characters as teens—and a very clear mention of Henry Creel. If you’ve seen the stage play, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, you might know a little bit more about this time in Henry’s life.
Moving from memory to memory, Max finally heard “Running Up That Hill” playing, and figured if she followed the music, she’d be able to return home. But sadly, as she followed the music, she started to see terrible memories—including the night Vecna “killed” her—and just as she saw a portal to the real world, with Lucas playing the song for her at the hospital, the music stopped. In the real world, the tape ended, and Lucas didn’t restart it. Henry showed up after this, forcing Max to run until she stumbled upon the cave, which she realized, for some reason, he couldn’t enter. She assumes there’s something about this memory that scares him so much he won’t even come inside. So that’s where she’s been hiding ever since.
Holly tells Max that it sounds like the dark planet Camazotz from A Wrinkle in Time, and I’d bet that’s going to come up again sometime this season. Max says she has a plan to get them out of there, but in the meantime, Holly needs to go back to Creel House so Henry doesn’t know anything is up.
In the Upside Down, Dustin, Jonathan, Nancy, and Steve are able to contact Hopper and Eleven through a walkie-talkie and ask them to meet up. But Hopper and Eleven have other plans. Hop finally agrees to let El hop the fence to get to the Mac-Z so they can investigate who’s behind the vault. Later, Dustin determines that the wall is a circle, and Hawkins Lab is in the middle of it.
Another plan in action
The Hawkins crew is able to get Derek into the Mac-Z, with the plan that he’ll round up the rest of the kids who have mentioned Mr. Whatsit to sneak out of the barracks through the underground tunnels. But that’s easier said than done when the kids don’t want to listen to him.
Will and Mike have a sweet moment alone when Mike talks about Will’s connection to the Hive Mind. He makes Will feel good, something that Robin takes notice of. In the tunnels outside of the Mac-Z, Robin and Will then have a great conversation, with Robin presumably realizing that Will has a crush on Mike. Robin opens up about an experience she had, where a crush led to her discovering who she was and could be. She encourages Will to embrace his true self because he’s more powerful than he realizes.
Eventually, Derek is able to get Debbie and some of the other children out of the barracks, but not without causing a scene. The group accidentally causes a pipe to start leaking, alerting the guards to something going on.
In the Upside Down, Eleven and Hopper are able to break into the Mac-Z, but when El tries to use her powers to open up the vault, the kryptonite is activated, and she’s overcome by pain. Dr. Kay goes to see what set off the alarm and is pleased to find Eleven, on the floor, writhing in pain. Meanwhile, Hopper kills soldiers coming after him, and suddenly, the tentacle of a creature being held at the base comes out and grabs him, strangling him. Dr. Kay demands to know why they came there, realizing they must know something that she doesn’t. Eleven tries to use her powers, but they don’t work, and more action ensues. Hopper breaks out and puts a gun to Dr. Kay’s head, knocking her out and taking her badge.
Hopper tells Eleven to go out to the woods to find Nancy and the group in the Upside Down so he can go defeat Vecna. She sees dynamite strapped to his chest, which he calls a “failsafe” to ensure he actually kills him. Eleven is, of course, heartbroken that Hopper might die. But it doesn’t last long. I don’t love this part because it doesn’t amount to anything and just feels like making drama where there doesn’t need to be.
Out in the real world, Joyce, Mike, and Will are taken by the military after they’re caught sneaking the kids out. Will has a vision at the Mac-Z and the lights begin flickering, signalling that a Demogorgon is on its way. But it’s not just one; the ground begins to split as more gates open and more and more creatures come out.
What happens next at the Mac-Z is easily the best part of Stranger Things 5 so far. A really awesome action sequence unfolds—complete with a long oner—seeing the soldiers try to kill the Demogorgons and Mike, Derek, Joyce, Will, and two other kids try to escape. But suddenly, something happens and the Demogorgons all stop in their tracks. Will drops to the ground, screaming in pain, seemingly connected to the Hive Mind and using some sort of power to stop the monsters.
Eight is back and Will has powers too!
But before we find out what’s going on with Will, we get another major moment down in the Upside Down. Hopper comes back to find Eleven—see, dramatics for no reason!—and he has something to show her. No, it’s not Vecna being kept in the vault after all, but it is a very powerful person. Did you guess it? Yep, it’s Kali, a.k.a. Eight, a.k.a. Eleven’s “sister,” who she met in season 2 and never saw again.
Now, back to the Mac-Z in the real world. Vecna comes out through the open gate and begins attacking. He looks different now, like he’s in a new form. The Demogorgons are in motion again, and they take the children with them into the Upside Down. Vecna knocks out or kills everyone else, then targets Will, using his power to elevate him up in the air. Vecna explains that, just like he did with Will, he’s taking these kids because they’re weak and vulnerable. Because it worked with Will, Vecna now knows what is possible. Without killing him, he leaves Will and goes back into the Upside Down.
Will has another vision now, stopping Demogorgons from going after Lucas, Robin, and Mike, and then, realizing how powerful he is on his own, he sees a montage of memories growing up with Mike. Thinking back to his conversation with Robin, he embraces his true self—abilities and all—and, just like that, uses powers to stop the Demogorgons at the Mac-Z. Powers just like Eleven and Vecna have! And because he’s tapped into the Hive Mind, I have a feeling he’s even more powerful than El.
The Duffer brothers have long been confirming that Will would have a major storyline in season 5, and now we can see why. No matter what happens next, between Eleven, Kali, and Will, the psychokinetic power is going to be at an all-time high in Hawkins.
This is a very busy episode, but it never feels overstuffed. Instead, it delivers on satisfying explanations and surprising reveals, all while setting up the back half of the season. If this is only episode 4, we’re going to need to really strap in for the remainder of the story. I’m sad it’s coming to a close soon, but my excitement to see what happens next is stronger.
Episode Grade: A
Watch the first four episodes of Stranger Things 5 now on Netflix. The next three episodes will be released on Christmas Day, while the series finale comes out on New Year’s Eve. Keep up with us at Winter is Coming for more coverage of the final season!