Volume 1 of Stranger Things drops on Netflix at8:00 p.m EST/ 5:00 p.m Pacific. Season 5 is set in the fall of 1987. 18 months after Hawkins was ripped apart by the rifts that tore open the barrier between the town and the Upside Down.
Here’s a little refresher on the most important things you need to know before it drops.
Hawkins is under military lockdown
The town has been declared a federal disaster area.
By the end of season 4, the gates Vecna opened have cracked through the town. Spores, blight, and debris from the Upside Down has spread into the streets. Locals think it was an earthquake. The government knows it wasn’t.
Officials have been watching Hawkins for years. They are finally stepping in, and that presence is going to be a problem. They might help the group in certain moments, but they’re just as likely to get in the way.
Eleven is stronger than ever, but she is also a target
Season 4 ended with Eleven regaining her powers after everything she endured in the Nina Project. She’s stronger than she has ever been. The problem is that the government blames her for the destruction of Hawkins.
She is a weapon they cannot control, and they know it. The final season will force her to confront two things at once. The threat tearing through Hawkins and the people who see her as the threat instead.
Will Byers is finally back at the center of the story
It’s easy to forget that Stranger Things is Will Byers’ story. Of how he went missing in the Upside Down and how that event upended his life.
Will’s psychic link to the Upside Down never went away. Whether that connection becomes a tool or a trap is something the final season needs to answer.
Season 5 will (hopefully) put the focus back on Will as he comes to grips with his ties to Vecna, as well as whatever the psychopath has in store for him. It only makes sense that Stranger Things ends with the boy who never really escaped the Upside Down.
The fight against Vecna is the core mission now
Vecna was hurt last season, but he survived. His plan worked.
Most of the core group is finally back in the same place after spending most of season 4 scattered across Hawkins, California, and Russia. Their focus is clear: Kill Vecna once and for all. Close the gates. Stop the invasion before Hawkins is destroyed.
What season 5 needs to address is the nature of the Upside Down itself. How Vecna controls it. Where does the Mind Flayer fits into the larger picture? This is the part of the story the show has been saving for the end.
Max Mayfield is the biggest mystery of the season
Max is still alive, but barely.She is comatose, blind, and severely injured after surviving Vecna’s attack. Max is supposed to play an important role in Stranger Things 5. It’ll be interesting to see what the writers are going to do with her
One popular fan theory is that her soul or consciousness is trapped inside of Vecna. Her storyline for this season could revolve around her escaping. Maybe she could give the party some insight on how to defeat Vecna once and for all. It would give Max a purpose without undoing the consequences of her injuries.
Everything comes down to this: the Upside Down is bleeding into the real world. Vecna, the Mind Flayer, the demogorgons are on the loose. Every major arc is leading towards one hell of a confrontation.
