Welcome back to our spoiler-filled thoughts on Stranger Things 5, now covering the second batch of episodes, released December 25, 2025.
Written by Curtis Gwinn
Directed by Frank Darabont
Derek provides a distraction while Max and Holly make their escape from Vecna’s mindscape. Everyone in Hawkins concocts a plan to reconnect Will to the Upside Down’s hive mind. Dustin, Steve, Jonathan, and Nancy head into the dimension’s version of Hawkins Lab to find a way to bring down the wall. Kali shares a terrible discovery with Eleven.
Food always helps
The scene where Lucas and Erica come up with their respective plans to play “Fronkensteen” with the Mind Flayer particles in a Demogorgon, and bring in Mr. Clarke to track down Vecna, is pretty amusing. Some might balk at the emphasis on the snacks they have, since it’s technically product placement, but it’s pretty relatable: everyone is injured and exhausted, despite their excitement over Will’s newfound powers, and even with the world at stake, they still need to take a break and recharge.
It’s a surprisingly good reminder of the importance of slowing down and not rushing into everything, especially in our busy 24/7 world, where some people already had to go back to work the day after Christmas. People complain about how long major shows like Stranger Things take now, but would you really rather have the visual effects artists go through crunch to complete them, and still deliver inferior work as a result? The answer is no, absolutely not.
A trip down memory lane, in more ways than one
Director Frank Darabont pays tribute to his own history when Holly begins exploring Vecna’s memories of her, with her watching the film he co-wrote, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, complete with a glimpse of Patricia Arquette as protagonist Kristen Parker. Frankly, it was much more distracting seeing the door suspended in mid-air in the field, because it seemed like one of the interdimensional gates from Peacemaker season two: talk about an image that’s become very familiar (something that was already the case thanks to Monsters, Inc.)
Can it ever truly end?
Kali reveals to Eleven that when she was captured, Kay frequently took blood from her, and that when she made an escape attempt, she discovered it was being transfused to pregnant women in the hope of giving their children powers. She forces Eleven to share a terrible realization: Brenner must’ve similarly used Henry’s blood on MKUltra’s volunteers, including her mom Terry Ives, to create subsequent psychic subjects, meaning they are (as Freddy Krueger would say) all essentially Vecna’s children.
Kay’s experimentation raises the bigger question though: if the government’s goal will be to always create more psychic agents, then defeating Vecna, or her, won’t be the end of this. It doesn’t matter if decent people like Sam Owens object to the idea, because they can always be replaced like he has been now. Can Eleven ever truly be safe, or go home to live happily ever after with Mike, if someone is always waiting in the wings, ready to use her as a blood bank for more experiments on (and torture of) women and children?
Heartbreak
Events continue to get bleak with Eleven getting angry at Hopper about his supposed death wish, and Nancy losing her temper at Jonathan over how insecure he’s become. (Oh Nancy, if only you knew he just wanted to propose.) However, those pale in comparison to Dustin and Steve actually coming to blows, after the latter makes some admittedly shitty comments about Eddie Munson’s death: the two’s relationship was one of the most endearing on the show (remember all those online jokes about Steve being his adoptive mom?), and it’s simply heartbreaking.
Steve is definitely resentful of Eddie, not only because of how much Dustin idolized him, but as he was always true to himself, as obnoxious as that could be. On the other hand, it took supernatural monsters, a fight, and breaking up with Nancy, for Steve to grow as a person! It’s good Robin tells Will that Steve was the first person she came out to, otherwise you might be left wishing he’d die as a result. (Also, it’s not great he knew Dustin had been in a fight the whole time.)
A taste of his own medicine
Vecna unfortunately learns from Derek that Max is helping Holly escape. It’s a frightening scene, even without the visions of Derek’s dead family: Vecna can barely maintain his facade before confirming his suspicions, and Jamie Campbell Bower‘s face turns so purple that it looks like his head is going to explode into another writhing mass of tentacles. It’s very good that he needs Derek for his scheme, otherwise… well, let’s not think about it.
The fiend catches the girls as they’re about to exit the memory of Holly’s kidnapping, and nearly kills Max before Will enters the backdoor into his mind, and breaks his bones for a change. It’s always great to see Vecna at someone else’s mercy, but especially gratifying that Will possesses him after all he’s put him through, even if he soon overpowers the boy, leaving him unconscious at the end of the episode. Still, better luck next time, Henry!
Nancy’s too cool for her own good
The episode has quite the cliffhanger, with Will losing consciousness, and Nancy and Jonathan discovering what appears to be a black hole suspended above the Upside Down’s version of Hawkins Laboratory. Despite a brief moment of caution from Jonathan, and Dustin’s desperate attempts to warn them over radio before he can reach them, Nancy takes a shot at the “shield generator,” as that’s what they supposedly have to do.
Nancy is a wonderfully formidable character, but she’s definitely gazed into the abyss for too long if she’s developed a “shoot first, ask questions later” policy: she’s a school reporter and former newspaper intern, so her mentality should be the other way round, but Vecna is absolutely getting under her skin, between what’s happened to her family, and her ongoing guilt over Barb’s murder.
OK, that’s it for the midseason premiere. Apologies for the lack of images and clips, although those will be updated in due time. We’ll see you next week for the remaining episodes before the eighth and final chapter, and in the meantime, please applaud Frank Darabont, who bows out with this episode: hopefully taking this opportunity means he’ll direct a film again soon.
