Stranger Things is Back from the Upside Down!

Written by: Satori Smith-Kemper

After three long years, the 80’s based tv show, Stranger Things, is back for the final season! The Duffer Brothers, the directors that created Stranger Things, are finally here to give us the ending that we all want and deserve! The trailers for the fifth season don’t disappoint! They show the thrilling action scenes and pauses that are familiar to us fans! They gave fans goosebumps simply from the intensity in the trailer! Are you all ready to hop back into the terrifying double realities of what we call Hawkins? 

This final season makes 2025 a very big year for Stranger things fans, not only because the finale to the show is releasing, but also because this year marks 9 years since the first season was released - almost a whole decade with our beloved characters! Well, mostly loveable. Vecna, one of the main antagonists in the series, is a character that we all will never forget or miss.

Vecna from Season Five of Stranger Things.

Along with it almost being a decade, we watched the actors grow up on screen, literally! We've seen them go from being just teeny tiny children when the show started to now being full-grown adults! Millie Bobby Brown, Eleven’s actor, recently got married in 2024 and even adopted a child in 2025! For younger generations who have been watching the show, it is almost like we grew up with the cast! “I was honestly shocked to see how much they’ve grown from season three to four, I wonder if they’ll look any older since they’re technically adults,” says an anonymous ninth grader from Franklin High School. They are right to think that because there was always a year or two of a gap while filming each season that always felt like ages waiting!

Luckily, the long wait came with wonderful results, as the cinematography was filmed so well with perfect lighting to fit the mood, great acting that set the scene, and action that always kept you at the edge of my seat. It’s almost heartbreaking now that fans have to say goodbye to what was such a big part of our lives, and even the behind the scenes footage always felt like we were a part of a big community, or even a family. 

Season Five was not a disappointment. Each of the four episodes that were released in Volume I had a huge impact on the story and was told perfectly. New characters entered the show, and gave us a good laugh. “The new kid, Derek, was a funny addition to the tense situations, and was tactical when needed. One of my favorite side characters so far.” Says an anonymous ninth grader from Franklin High School. Truthfully, even with these new characters, we still miss Barb from Season 1.

As said before, this is sadly the last time we’ll see these memorable faces fight many hard battles side by side. Even when this show ends within a couple weeks, Stranger Things will always be in our hearts, and we’ll all have a hell fire club shirt sitting deep in the corner of our rooms like Dustin does.