Stranger Things
Stranger Things is a 5 season TV show directed by the Duffer brothers. Starring Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), and many others.
Stranger Things currently has 5 seasons. Season 1, released on July 15, 2016, Season 2, released on October 27, 2017, Season 3, released on July 4, 2019, Season 4, released in 2 volumes in the middle of 2022, and Season 5 that has been released in late 2025 with 3 volumes. The show has been very successful and is one of the most popular in the world.
Summary
When a mysterious girl with psychokinetic abilities escapes a lab, the town of Hawkins experiences supernatural events such as unusual disappearances. The friends and family of a young boy who went missing find out that the vanishings of these people all seem to connect to a parallel dimension they call the Upside Down.
Before Season 4 premiered, the Duffer Brothers announced that there would be a Season 5 of Stranger Things. Fans became ecstatic learning that they would get another season of their favorite show. 3 years later, the wait was over.
Season 5 is separated into three volumes and took up the Holiday season completely.
Volume 1 Episodes: Releases + Run times
Volume 1 was released on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, 5 p.m. PT, which was the day before Thanksgiving. It had four episodes. Episode 1 titled, “The Crawl” is 1 hour and 11 minutes long. Episode 2 titled, “The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler” is 57 minutes long. Episode 3 titled, “The Turnbow Trap” is 1 hour and 9 minutes long. Lastly, episode 4 titled, “Sorcerer” is 1 hour and 26 minutes long. This means it would take more than 4 and a half hours to finish volume 1.
Volume 2 Episodes: Releases + Run times
Volume 2 was released on Thursday, December 25, 5 p.m. PT, Christmas day. It contained 3 episodes. Episode 5 titled, “Shock Jock” is 1 hour and 8 minutes long. Episode 6 titled, “Escape from Camazotz” is 1 hour and 15 minutes long. Lastly, episode 7 titled, “The Bridge” is 1 hour and 6 minutes long. This means it would take almost 3 and a half hours to finish volume 2.
Volume 3 Episode: Release + Run time
The last volume of season 5, volume 3, contains only 1 episode. This episode is titled, “The Rightside Up”, and is 2 hours and 8 minutes long. It was released on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, 5 p.m. PT, New Year’s Eve. It was also the first, last, and only episode in Stranger Things history to be released in theaters (where I was fortunately able to see it). It was shown at around 620+ theaters across North America. This episode was the finale of the whole series and closed up the show.
Ratings + Reviews
Stranger Things 5 didn’t have the best ratings compared to other seasons, according to IMDb. Episode 1 was rated 7.9/10, episode 2 was rated 8.4/10, episode 3 was rated 8.6/10, and episode 4 was rated 9.4/10. Overall, volume 1 was the highest rated volume this season and had excellent ratings. It even managed to score a huge 9.4/10 for episode 4, which got considered “TOP-RATED”. However, when we move on to volume 2, the ratings start to lower. Episode 5 was rated 7.9/10, episode 6 was rated 8/10, and episode 7 was, sadly, rated a 5.6/10. This means that it is now the lowest rated episode in the entire series. The reason why the first 2 episodes in volume 2 were rated pretty well and the last episode of volume 2 was rated super low was because critics say that the episode was, “too rushed” and felt, “empty”. Additionally, a document was going around saying that Netflix made the Duffer Brothers remove multiple scenes leading to a supposed more than 2 hours of deleted scenes. Upon hearing this news, fans started giving a 1 star rating to the episode 7 so they would “release the volume 2 files”. Lastly, moving on to volume 3, the finale, episode 8 was rated a 7.9/10. The rating was not too bad, but it didn’t stop fans from stating online that it still felt “empty” and that the final battle was, “over-hyped” and “way too short”.
My Opinion
As a fan who has been here since season 3 was released around Covid time, I loved the ending. I remember watching the show with my family and when season 4 and 5 came out, we still all watched it together. Honestly, the ending touched my heart and was extremely emotional and sentimental for me. I would not have wanted it any other way.
Conclusion/Recommendation
I recommend Stranger Things to people who can laugh, cry, and smile, all at the same time. The whole show is an adventurous, suspenseful, journey that makes people feel like they are really there with their favorite characters. So, if you haven’t already, watch the finale to see stranger and stranger things happen to the town of Hawkins.
