Stranger Things 5 arrives for final showdown
The moment has come to return to Hawkins.
For the last time. Stranger Things, a true cultural phenomenon that has kept millions glued to their screens since 2016 — when it reinvented sci-fi mystery with an ’80s twist — is about to end, CE Report quotes ANSA.
The first episode of the final season, the fifth, arrived on Netflix. Composed of eight episodes, it includes many chapters over 90 minutes. It was released in three parts, coming out for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve.
“I’m sorry we’re ruining your holidays, especially because the December 31 episode lasts three and a half hours!” joked David Harbour (Jim Hopper on screen) at a press conference in Los Angeles.
In the first minutes of the season, the story returns to the beginning, when Will (Noah Schnapp) first disappears into the Upside Down. Aside from flashbacks, the plot is set in the fall of 1987 (about a year and a half after season 4).
The government has put the town of Hawkins under strict military quarantine. In a frantic run to school, we find the usual group of good kids (and parents). Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) is still wanted, forced to live in hiding while undergoing harsh training.
Soon everyone realizes it’s time to join forces to find and kill Vecna, the evil creature living beneath their feet.
“We truly love each other; in ten years we’ve become a family. You can see it on screen—in the written dialogue, but also in what we improvise on set,” reflects Schnapp. “We’re all outsiders,” adds Brown. “We’re weird, each in our own way. That’s the DNA of the show: audiences can see themselves in Robin, El (Eleven), Hopper, or Joyce. On set, no one has to be perfect. We’re allowed to be vulnerable.”
The frail, shaved, lost little girl from the early seasons has become a fighter—strong and determined—and here she reaches her definitive consecration.
“To face these last episodes, I tapped into my inner alpha bear,” says the British actress, born in 2004, discovered by creators Matt and Ross Duffer and now an international star. “Many of you met me when I was ten,” she told critics at Netflix’s Hollywood headquarters. “So you know: I’ve always been quite direct and brave. As an actor, I’ve always worked on instinct. Last year I wanted to play a lot on Eleven’s humanity; this year I thought, ‘Okay, now I’m playing a superhero. It’s my last chance.’ I dove in. I left humility at the door. It was like going to a playground and daring myself.”
The relationships between characters are certainly one of the strengths of the series, which explores friendship, misunderstandings between parents and children, teenage and more mature love stories. Among these, the bond between the girl and her adoptive father Jim Hopper takes center stage before the final farewell.
“There are many emotional centers in the show. It’s a rainbow, like a pack of Skittles,” says Harbour. “The bond between Hopper and Eleven is a deep violet: two lost people forced to push beyond themselves, with huge, deep hearts, not used to expressing their feelings. In previous seasons we didn’t have many scenes together, but the Duffers wanted to give closure to their relationship, and I’d say the mission is accomplished: here, we do something extraordinary!” “I agree,” says Brown, looking at him with affection, dispelling rumors of alleged mistreatment on set. “When I met David, I never would’ve imagined he’d become my father. We’re such an unusual pair! In season 5 we go back to the early dynamics, with typical father-daughter conflicts. It’s a rich, imperfect, deep relationship: growing up is hard.”
In this regard, the spotlight has accelerated the young actress’s growth, and the public eye has not spared her harsh criticism about her appearance and body: “I’ve changed a lot. I started at ten; Stranger Things was my school. It taught me professionalism, how to take notes, how to talk to adults. I learned to be a friend, a teammate. You’re in the spotlight and know many people, many young people, are watching. That makes you more responsible. Now I’m a wife and a mother (together with her husband Jake Bongiovi, the actress adopted a little girl in August 2025). This series was my anchor, but it also made me understand that it’s right to have other anchors in your private life.”
