Eleven looking into an opening of the Upside Down with pink light in Stranger Things season 1
Stranger Things is preparing for the release of its fifth and final season, so it’s time for a recap of what has happened in Hawkins so far. Netflix is home to some of the best sci-fi TV shows of all time, and among them is Stranger Things.
Created by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things debuted on Netflix in 2016. Stranger Things was a big hit from the beginning, thanks to its combination of horror, fantasy, sci-fi, 1980s nostalgia, and relatable characters. After four years of adventures in Hawkins and the Upside Down, Stranger Things is ending with its fifth season, and there are a couple of key things to know before season 5 arrives. Where To Watch All Seasons Of Stranger Things A big part of the appeal of streaming platforms is their original content, which becomes exclusive content as it can only be found on these platforms. Netflix has excelled in its original movies and TV shows, though it has also had some failures, and Stranger Things is one of its biggest hits. As an original Netflix production, all seasons of Stranger Things can be found only on Netflix, along with the season 2 aftershow Beyond Stranger Things, which is intended to be watched after streaming the entire second season. How Many Stranger Things Episodes There Are Stranger Things hasn’t stuck to one specific number of episodes for every season, and as such, some seasons have been slightly shorter than others. Stranger Things’ first season is eight episodes long, followed by nine episodes in season 2 and eight in season 3. Season 4 of Stranger Things was the first to be split into two parts, with part 1 having seven episodes and the second part only two. Season 5 is also being split, though this time into three parts: volume 1 will have four episodes, volume 2 will have three, and the series finale will air a couple of days later. To catch up on Stranger Things before season 5, you would have to watch a total of 34 episodes. Once the entire fifth season is out, Stranger Things will have a total of 42 episodes. When Stranger Things Season 5 Comes Out On Netflix - Episode Release Schedule & Runtimes As mentioned above, Stranger Things is doing things differently with its fifth and final season. Following the example of season 4 , season 5 won’t be released all at once. The first volume consists of four episodes, and they will be released on November 26, 2025. Volume 2 of Stranger Things season 5 consists of three episodes, which will be released almost a month later, on December 25, 2025, as an extra special Christmas treat. Last but definitely not least, the series finale of Stranger Things will arrive on December 31, 2025. All volumes and the final episode of Stranger Things will be released on Netflix at 5 pm PST/8 pm EST. As for the length of season 5’s episodes, they range between 50 minutes and an hour and a half, with the finale being pretty much a movie, as it will be longer than any other episode in the entire show. Stranger Things Recap: What Happened In Seasons 1-4 Stranger Things Season 1 The events of Stranger Things begin with the disappearance of Will Byers on November 6, 1983, in Hawkins, Indiana. Will disappeared on the same night that researchers at Hawkins National Laboratory opened a gate to another dimension, through which they accidentally let a monstrous creature into the human world. It was this creature, whom the kids would go on to refer to as “Demogorgon”, who took Will when the young boy got back home from playing Dungeons & Dragons with his friends. The police began to look for Will, while his mother, Joyce, investigated on her own. Although detached from the case at first, Hawkins police chief Jim Hopper ended up heavily involved in the investigation. Meanwhile, a young girl escaped from Hawkins Lab and was taken in by Mike after he and his friends came across her while looking for Will. The girl, Eleven, was being hunted down by scientists and agents from Hawkins Lab as she has psychokinetic powers, so Mike hid her at his home. With her help, the kids learned that Will was taken to another dimension they began to call “the Upside Down.” Joyce and Hopper also learned about the Upside Down, Eleven, and the Demogorgon, and they went into this dimension to rescue Will. Although the season ended on a high note, it teased that Will wasn’t the same person he was before his abduction. Stranger Things Season 2 One year later, in the fall of 1984, Will continued to re-adapt to normal life after his traumatic experience the year before. While Hopper investigated a mysterious plague in town, Will struggled with strange episodes where he suddenly found himself in the Upside Down, and he could feel himself being manipulated by something from the other dimension. While Will was attended by Dr. Owens, his friends, along with Steve and the new girl in town, Max, came across the Demodogs, while Nancy and Jonathan met Murray Bauman. Meanwhile, Eleven was hiding at Hopper’s cabin, and in the series’ most divisive episode, she met a fellow Hawkins Lab subject named Kali. As it turns out, the Mind Flayer had been possessing Will, and while the Lab was under attack by demodogs, Joyce, Jonathan, and Mike managed to break Will free from the Mind Flayer’s control. After that, Hopper legally adopted Eleven, and she no longer had to hide. Stranger Things Season 3 Stranger Things season 3 introduced a new threat: the Russians. Stranger Things season 3 was set in the summer of 1985, and saw the opening of Starcourt Mall. This was also the season that saw the Hawkins crew divided into different groups to cover more ground, as they were not only dealing with the Russians, but also with Max’s step-brother, Billy, being possessed by the Mind Flayer. Through Billy, the Mind Flayer took many Hawkins residents, growing into a huge monster that the Hawkins kids and teens faced at the new Starcourt Mall. Meanwhile, right underneath Starcourt Mall, at the Russian base, scientists attempted to open another portal to the Upside Down. While Eleven, with the help of her friends, defeated the Mind Flayer creature and lost her powers in the process, Hopper and Joyce tried to close the gate at the Russian base, resulting in Hopper’s disappearance. Stranger Things season 3 ended with Joyce, Jonathan, Will, and Eleven moving to California and mourning Hopper’s apparent death. Stranger Things Season 4 Stranger Things season 4 was set in the spring of 1986, with the characters split into three different groups. On one side was the Hawkins crew, who were helping Eddie Munson, the leader of their school’s Hellfire Club, who was accused of the brutal murder of Chrissy, who was killed by an unseen force right in front of Eddie. Meanwhile, Max was struggling with the aftermath of Billy’s death, and was having hallucinations of a mysterious presence coming after her. This, Chrissy’s death, and other brutal murders in Hawkins turned out to be related, and the one behind them was Vecna , with Max being his next target. Vecna was once Hawkins Lab’s 001 subject, Henry Creel, as he had psychokinetic powers that he used to kill his family, and which Dr. Brenner used as the basis for his experiments on other kids, including Eleven. It was thanks to Eleven that Henry was banished to the Upside Down, which, when he arrived, was a deserted place with demobats, demogorgons, and the Mind Flayer. With time, Henry lost his humanity and human form and became a monster, the ruler of the Upside Down, and the mastermind behind all the chaotic events related to the other dimension that have haunted Hawkins since season 1. Meanwhile, the California group went after Eleven, who was taken by Dr. Owens and Dr. Brenner to a secret facility where she got her powers back, but she was also being targeted by the military. On the other side of the world, Joyce and Murray traveled to Russia to rescue Hopper, who was taken prisoner after the events of season 3. After an intense battle against Vecna in the Upside Down to save Max, the monster managed to escape, and Max was left blind, severely injured, and in a coma. At the end of Stranger Things season 4, the whole crew was back in Hawkins, but they didn’t have time to relax, as a massive earthquake opened gates to the Upside Down across town. The final scene of Stranger Things season 4 saw the Upside Down slowly bleeding into the human world, and so season 5 will cover this, Max’s fate, and the crew’s big plan to finally defeat Vecna, though this might bring more tragedy to their lives. 504 9.1/10 8/10 Stranger Things 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Drama Mystery Horror Science Fiction Release Date 2016 - 2025 Network Netflix Showrunner Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer Directors Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Andrew Stanton, Frank Darabont, Nimród Antal, Uta Briesewitz Writers Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock Cast See All
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