Merry Christmas, Winter is Coming readers! This year is an especially festive holiday for fans of Netflix’s Stranger Things, as three new episodes of the final season are now streaming.
Stranger Things 5 Volume 1 ended on an incredible high note, seeing Will Byers channel powers—powers no one knew he had—to take down some Demogorgons. Going into Volume 2, we had so many questions, namely around the extent of Will’s powers and what he’s going to do with them.
Stranger Things 5 continues with Volume 2, consisting of three episodes. We’re recapping and reviewing episode 5, titled “Shock Jock,” right here. Keep refreshing to follow along with us as you watch!
The aftermath of Will’s big reveal
In case you need a refresher from Stranger Things 5 Volume 1, the start of Volume 2 gives us just that. “Shock Jock” opens up with a brief recap of the final moments of episode 4, as well as the immediate fallout. Of course, Joyce and Mike are shocked at what they just saw. They embrace Will, and Mike calls him a “real-life sorcerer.” Will tells them that Vecna has the kids, feeling like he failed them. They head to the tunnels to meet up with the rest of the crew and form their next plan of action.
In the Upside Down, the Demogorgons have brought the kids to Vecna’s lair, and they become hooked up to the tentacles just as Will was. From Derek’s point of view, we then see what the kids’ consciousness looks like: they wake up in a field with Mr. Whatsit, who tells them a very fake—but very convincing, at least for children—story.
Painting himself as their hero, he says that he saved them from monsters, and now they need to stay at Creel House for their safety. Max watches from the woods, trying to pinpoint Henry’s next move.
Vecna’s plan
To get the children to trust him, Henry tells them that evil is spreading, referring to “The Black Thing” from A Wrinkle in Time. But, of course, very conveniently, he’s found a way to defeat this thing, he claims, assuring them that if they listen to him, he will save them and their families. He tells them that the plan will begin the next day, and it seems that all of the kids believe him—except for Holly, of course.
Back at the Mac-Z, Dr. Kay is on high alert after Hopper and Eleven not only escape, but escape with Kali.
Running out of time
In the tunnels, Lucas is left wounded from one of the Demogorgons, and Joyce, Mike, and Will attend to him while explaining what happened. While Lucas is excited to learn they’ve now got a “second El,” Will doesn’t think that’s the case. He says he doesn’t actually have powers; he needs to be near the Hive Mind to connect to it, and he doesn’t think he can do it alone.
But they’re running out of time and need to do something. Lucas shares a theory: November 6 was the day that Will was taken and everything started, and November 6 could be the day it all ends, too. And if that’s the case, they'd better move quickly.
Eleven and Hopper’s changed dynamic
Eleven and Hopper’s relationship is, as expected, a focal point in the final season, and they share another pivotal moment in episode 5. Eleven confronts Hopper about the bomb again, believing his plan all along was to kill Vecna and die in the process. Hopper tries to protest, but Eleven doesn’t believe him. She feels betrayed by one of the only people she thought she could trust.
After a season apart from each other, it’s interesting to see how these two play out. These aren’t the strongest scenes, but because I’m so attached to both characters, I’m invested in seeing what happens next. That kind of becomes a common theme for me this season, which is unfortunate. I’m enjoying the episodes, but the quality isn’t as strong as previous seasons, and I have a feeling I’m only so invested right now because I’ve been watching the show for so long.
El, Hopper, and Kali end up at the church in the Upside Down, looking for Dustin, Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan, but they’re nowhere to be found. That’s because, of course, they’re now at Hawkins Lab, looking for any information about the wall or the Upside Down as a whole. Dustin’s theory is that Vecna is using the wall as his energy shield, and if they find the generator, they can cut the power and destroy the wall. It’s funny how far-fetched some of the kids’ theories are, and even more so that they almost always end up being true.
The group runs with this theory, really, because they’ve got nothing else, and they split up to cover more ground.
Over at Creel House, Holly sneaks out to talk to Max and explains what Henry’s told the kids. She wants to act, but Max thinks interfering right now is just too dangerous. They then realize that Derek followed Holly there, and Holly believes Derek might be able to help them.
The group’s new plan(s)
Back in the real world, Joyce proposes a plan to lure Vecna out of the Upside Down so Will can kill him. Will, Mike, Erica, Lucas, Robin, and Murray, all listening, don’t think it’s a good plan. Joyce proposes they build another telemetry tracker, but there’s one problem: they don’t know how. This is when Erica proposes a smart idea, going to Mr. Clarke for help.
Lucas also comes up with an idea, pitching that they use heat to revive some of the dead Demogorons just like they did with Billy in the sauna in season 3, so that Will can tap into the Hive Mind again. The group decides to pursue both plans to see if either gets them anywhere.
In the Upside Down, Steve and Dustin continue to argue, while Jonathan and Nancy have a confrontation. Clearly, things have been weird between them since last season, and they’ve yet to talk about it. Jonathan tries to ask Nancy if he did something wrong, but she doesn’t want to get into it. Her sister is missing, so she’s distracted and doesn’t want to focus on their relationship. She tells Jonathan that they’re still a team, but he doesn’t believe it.
Kali begins to tell her story
Meanwhile, Eleven and Kali sit in the church alone together and talk about Vecna. This is a really awesome scene because we start to learn a bit more about what happened to Kali and Dr. Kay’s grand plan. Kali is not optimistic like Eleven is about them having a happy ending, and there’s a reason. After the government killed her friends and kidnapped her, Dr. Kay started taking her blood for a special project.
Before we learn more, we cut back to Creel House as Derek attempts to distract the kids. Holly and Max figure that if they can find the memory of the night Vecna took Holly, they should be able to get home that way.
Character-led subplots
Will and Robin have a heartfelt conversation, their first alone since Will found out he could channel powers. Robin tells him about coming out to Steve, and though he might not have been the ideal person to tell at the time, she explains that just saying it to anyone feels good.
Dustin and Steve continue to bicker, but this time, it turns into a full-on argument, revealing what’s really behind their tension. Steve brings up Eddie, calling him dumb for trying to be a hero when, in reality, he didn’t actually save anyone. Dustin has a strong reaction, of course, and begins physically fighting Steve, though Steve won’t fight back.
Jonathan and Nancy continue to walk around the lab, speculating what might’ve happened there as they see corpses melted to the walls. Jonathan points out that there are no spores in the air.
The truth behind Eleven and Kali’s powers
Kali’s story then continues, revealing how they really gained their powers. In flashbacks, we see Kali escape from her imprisonment and run through the Hawkins Lab hallways, only to find pregnant women being held and infused with her blood. But it doesn’t seem to be having the intended effect, because the women and their unborn children are dying from it.
As Kali explains, it wasn’t drugs that gave them and their siblings powers—it was Henry’s blood. Dr. Kay is trying to restart the program with Kali’s blood, but it’s not working.
Eleven is in disbelief, but Kali explains that this is why Dr. Kay is so determined to find her. Kali’s blood isn’t working, so they want to use Eleven’s. This is, understandably, all very hard for Eleven to hear, and she doesn’t want to accept it.
After travelling through Holly’s memories, Holly and Max are finally close to finding the night Vecna took her. Also in the Upside Down, Henry finds Derek and threatens to hurt his family if he rebels against him.
Bringing the dead back to life
Lucas, Mike, Robin, Will, and Joyce start up their plan of bringing back the dead Demogorgons, and it actually works. It doesn’t take long for Will to tap into the Mind Hive and begin seeing through one of the creature’s points of view.
As this is happening, Holly and Max finally reach the memory of the night Vecna took Holly, and they see an exit to Vecna’s realm, which, of course, will lead them to the real world. But when they try to walk through the opening, Henry appears and closes all of the exits. Henry then turns into Vecna, who grabs Max and starts to strangle her. We then cut to Max’s body in the hospital, and she’s dying.
But suddenly, something shifts. Will is able to take over Vecna’s consciousness and begins hurting him enough for Max and Holly to get away. He tells them to run, just in time for Vecna to turn back into Henry and kick Will out of his head. Will falls to the ground unconscious.
As this is happening, Holly and Max finally reach the memory of the night Vecna took Holly, and they see an exit to Vecna’s realm, which, of course, will lead them to the real world. But when they try to walk through the opening, Henry appears and closes all of the exits. Henry then turns into Vecna, who grabs Max and starts to strangle her. We then cut to Max’s body in the hospital, and she’s dying.
But suddenly, something shifts. Will is able to take over Vecna’s consciousness and begins hurting him enough for Max and Holly to get away. He tells them to run, just in time for Vecna to turn back into Henry and kick Will out of his head. Will falls to the ground unconscious.
The episode ends back in the Upside Down as Dustin makes a major realization. Jonathan and Nancy reach the roof of the lab and see a huge ball of energy bolts up in the sky. Believing they’ve found the generator, they get ready to shoot at it to destroy it. But as this is happening, Dustin reads something in a journal he finds and tries to call Nancy and Jonathan through their walkie-talkies to warn them that it’s not a generator, and if they destroy it, everyone will die.
Their connection, however, fails, and Jonathan and Nancy can’t hear what Dustin is saying. Nancy shoots at the ball of energy as the episode cuts to black.
There’s no denying this episode ends on a high note, but it takes a really long time to get exciting. Like previous episodes this season, the pacing in “Shock Jock” is a bit uneven, and it starts to feel repetitive. The ending definitely saves it, but everything leading up to it is a little disappointing.
Episode Grade: B
Stranger Things 5 recaps and reviews:
- Episode 1: “The Crawl”
- Episode 2: “The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler”
- Episode 3: “The Turnbow Trap”
- Episode 4: “Sorcerer”
- Episode 6: “Escape From Camazotz”