Whereas Stranger Things Season 5 Vol. 1 consisted of four crackerjack episodes that combined the biggest action sequences the show has ever done with a strong emotional throughline, the second volume of the show’s final season struggles badly to hit those same levels of effectiveness. Releasing today on Netflix, Vol. 2 consists of three episodes, all clocking in at a bit over an hour, that pick up after Episode 4’s explosive ending and take us up to the series finale, which releases on New Year’s Eve.
Once again, there’s a lot in the way of plot details that Netflix won’t let reviewers talk about, but there’s an unfortunate amount of wheel-spinning and back-sliding in these three episodes, which can’t match Vol. 1 in either epic reveals or dramatic stakes. Watching Will (Noah Schnapp) get superpowers four weeks ago was electrifying. Seeing him immediately nerfed and reset back to “Will’s gotta suffer” mode once again is deflating. Episodes don’t end in big revelations so much as they cut off right before the expected happens. And while the show could have benefited by taking a breath and refocusing on smaller character moments after the fierce intensity of Vol. 1, the installments releasing today are instead stuffed with endless exposition and world expansion (even this late in the game!) as the show careens toward its finale like a runaway train.
Between the goodwill the show has earned through this point and a handful of scenes that are able to tap into what made Stranger Things a pop-culture juggernaut, Vol. 2 is ultimately able to skate by. But, after one stronger batch of episodes and one weaker batch, it’s fair to say that the legacy of this final season will hinge greatly on the quality of its very last episode.
‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Vol. 2 Is an Exhausting Watch
The second grouping of Season 5 episodes picks up immediately after Vol. 1 ended. Everyone’s thrilled that Will’s a literal sorcerer now, although his powers come with a catch — he can only access them when he’s connected to the hivemind. That immediately triggers a series of plans to go after Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), and the show barely gives its characters a moment to regroup before it’s ratcheting the stakes back up to endgame status. Across the three episodes, the show will track Steve (Joe Keery), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Nancy (Natalia Dyer), and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) as they venture through the Upside Down version of Hawkins Lab; Max (Sadie Sink) and Holly (Nell Fisher) as they continue their quest to escape the dreamscape of Vecna’s mind; and Mike (Finn Wolfhard), El (Millie Bobby Brown), Will, and the rest as they try to solve the ultimate mystery of the Upside Down and formulate a plan to save Hawkins and the rest of the world for good.
By the end of Episode 7, viewers will know exactly what the Upside Down is, what the government’s plans for Eleven and the back-in-play Kali (Linnea Berthelsen) are, and, essentially, how everything in the Stranger Things universe fits together. For those who have been paying really close attention, perusing Reddit theories about the show, and/or have watched the Stranger Things: The First Shadow stage play (or at least read the Wikipedia page about it), the answers to those riddles will likely be met with a shrug. And even if you haven’t been doing those things, there’s nothing here that recontextualizes the previous seasons in such a stark way that the series gets any kind of charge from it.
Major ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Volume 2 Details Confirmed by Creators
Volume 2 begins with “Shock Jock” at 8 PM ET on December 25.
Speaking of the stage play, it’s safe to credit its existence as a demerit, at this point. While the little flashback to it in Vol. 1 could be waved away as a fun Easter egg for those who have been able to catch a performance in London or New York (no doubt a small fraction of the overall Stranger Things fandom), there’s a similar scene in Vol. 2 that’s going to be frustratingly obtuse for anyone who’s not familiar with the play’s story. Count me as a firm believer that spin-offs in an entirely different medium (and a not-very-accessible one at that) should not feel like required viewing to fully appreciate the TV show in front of you.
More than anything else, watching these three episodes ends up feeling like an exhausting but incomplete experience. They will maybe work better when you’re binging all eight episodes together a year from now in a rewatch. But, as the “middle child” in a three-volume release plan, Vol. 2 is overly dependent on what came before and what comes next, and fails to offer up a satisfying narrative on its own terms within these three-plus hours.
‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Volume 2 Is Saved by Several Performances
You may note I’m still giving this batch of episodes a (barely) passing grade, and there are a couple of good reasons for that. For one, Matarazzo continues to do his series-best work as Dustin, and the emotional beats he’s able to hit as he continues to grapple with losing Eddie (Joseph Quinn), while facing the potential loss of even more of his friends, land fully and completely. There’s a scene with him and Keery that is played so perfectly I had to rewind it so I could rewatch it through dry eyes.
Also doing strong work in these three episodes are Maya Hawke, who continues her campaign to make Robin the Season 5 MVP; Schnapp, who elevates Will even as the scripts are doing him a bit dirty (that is, until a long-time-coming scene near the end of Episode 7 that will prove to be character-defining); and Dyer, who effectively imbues Nancy with a fierce yet vulnerable independence as she makes a decision that will change the course of her life. I also think it’s fair to say that Cara Buono, who real ones have long considered one of the show’s most underappreciated assets as Karen Wheeler, has completely shredded that “underrated” tag this season. Mrs. Wheeler rules. (Good on the Duffer Brothers and their writers, who knew it all along and continue giving her material to match this year.)
And, of course,the show still looks big and epic and phantasmagorical as Netflix dumps however many millions of dollars into these final episodes, during which you’ll bounce around various realities, find out what happens when someone fires a shotgun at exotic matter, and see Hawkins Lab turn to goo. It’d be tough to say the Duffers aren’t throwing everything they have left at the screen, and some individual action sequences still manage to thrill.
The Duffer Brothers May Have Gone Too Big in ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Vol. 2
But the show’s ballooning scope is also part of the problem. You’ll notice that I haven’t mentioned Hopper (David Harbour), who’s kind of just around, or talked much about Mike, who fared better in Vol. 1 during a rewatch than I originally gave him credit for, but who really isn’t given much to do in these episodes. Even Eleven doesn’t feel as central as she should at this point. It’s highly possible that the scope of this show has gotten too wide for its own good. Instead of really honing in on the core group of characters we fell in love with, Season 5 Vol. 2 makes time to work Mr. Clarke (Randy Havens), the kids’ A/V Club teacher, back into the mix in a big way, gives Brett Gelman‘s Murray too many laugh lines, and continues to service new and expanded characters like Holly, Derek (Jake Connelly), and Robin’s girlfriend Vicki (Amybeth McNulty).
Combine that with the fact that the Duffers are still finding ways to cram in new influences and reference points (one subplot quickly whips up a strong Body Snatchers vibe), and it all just becomes too much. I yearn for the simplicity of a good Snow Ball dance! Maybe the finale will spend some time getting us back to that amidst all telekinetic throw-downs and world-saving battles — I pray that’s true because Vol. 2 spends much time being loud and dizzying while failing to provide a cathartic ending , like what capped Vol. 1 did — all while we wait for an episode that won’t arrive for another week. Let’s hope it makes this chaotic middle worthwhile.
