Stranger Things, season 5 – part 1: what is the beginning of the end worth? (critical)

In a word: promising! The Duffers restart the machine by replaying the disappearance of a child. While waiting for the fireworks, this last season opens like an echo to the origin of the myth.

And Netflix crashed!

As a symbol of the phenomenon, of the anticipation generated by this final season, Netflix experienced a brief outage last night around 2 a.m., in certain locations around the world, just as the highly anticipated fifth season of the science fiction series was put online. The service was inaccessible for about three minutes… And then fans were finally able to rush to the first four episodes of season 5. The beginning of the end of Stranger Things. The kind of epic that brings the whole family together in front of the station, like the great adventures of the 80s from which the series was so often inspired.

Total entertainment, which must assume a certain status. For the Duffers and the entire team, closing the portal is certainly the most distressing moment since the release of season 1. “We all saw how Game of Thrones was taken down at the end. We sincerely hope we don’t experience the same thing…” Finn Wolfhard said recently. Because the anxiety of missing the end of Stranger Things keeps Hawkins up at night. The two creators had enormous pressure: to put on the show while completing the numerous narrative arcs opened for nine years, all the intrigues that dragged on and the mysteries that thickened.

How does it end? Who will survive the end of Stranger Things?

We will only have the answer on the first day of 2026. In the meantime, the final battle is somewhat desired. This first block of season 5 (four episodes) begins with the reunion of the gang, stuck in quarantine in the small Indiana town. Mike and his friends face the army, which has taken place in the Upside Down. Uncle Sam – this time personified by Linda Hamilton – intends to explore the Upside Down to better exploit it. But the children know the threat that Vecna ​​represents. So they get into battle order to stop him…

There is sometimes an air of déjà vu in this part 1. The heroes return to the starting point and stutter their fundamentals a little. With 21 regular characters in the cast (!), the series pulls hard on the nostalgic chord while everyone seems to be preparing their farewells. We are not far from the breaking point. And this is where the Duffers come up with their best idea: putting the disappearance of a child back at the center of the story. Holly, the little sister who blended in with the Wheelers’ beige wallpaper, becomes the spark of this final chapter.

Kidnapped by Vecna ​​and thrown into the Creel Manor, the little girl embodies a pleasant return to her roots: a new generation facing the monstrosity of the adult world. Like a statement of intent of what Stranger Things has always been. By putting childhood at the heart of the story, the creative brothers calm things down. Their final chapter will not resemble a frantic race for total spectacle. They first take a last look into the retro, almost melancholy.

There is of course a lot of action to enjoy, Demogorgons that will freak you out and Eleven’s magic that will make you love it. But we feel that this last chapter keeps things under control. He calmly lays the foundations for the ultimate confrontation, which will wait until the end of December. Stranger Things picks up where it all began.

This fifth season of Stranger Things is divided into three parts: Volume 1 has been online since November 27, Volume 2 will be released on December 26, before a finale on January 1, 2026 (all this at 2 a.m. French).