Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 2 will officially be available to stream on Netflix on Christmas Day. Until then, cocreator Ross Duffer has shared some details about the upcoming three episodes that constitute the final season’s second chapter.
Duffer, who cocreated the hit Netflix series with his brother Matt, revealed via Instagram last week that the three episodes of Season 5, Volume 2 are ready to go.
“Chapters Five, Six and Seven: locked, mixed, scored, colored… Volume Two is DONE,” Duffer wrote alongside a carousel of three videos that showcase each of the episodes’ title cards. Duffer then shared some behind-the-scenes details of each episode, but rest assured: His comments are spoiler-free. The Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 2 trailer also dropped on Dec. 15 and gives fans an even more detailed look at what’s in store for the Hawkins teens.
Warning: Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 1 spoilers lie ahead.
Chapter Five: ‘Shock Jock’
Volume 2 kicks off with Chapter Five: “Shock Jock,” which, per Duffer, picks up immediately after the revelatory events of Chapter Four: “Sorcerer.” Fans, of course, are well aware of what went down in the final episode of Volume 1: Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) has the ability to channel Vecna’s (Jamie Campbell Bower) powers — and finally does so when he telekinetically eviscerates several Demogorgons at once. Yahoo explores the nitty-gritty details of Will’s newfound powers — and how they factor into finally putting a stop to Vecna’s new world order — here.
Noah Schnapp as Will Byers in Stranger Things Season 5. (Netflix)
Academy Award-nominated director Frank Darabont directed “Shock Jock,” his second of two episodes for Stranger Things Season 5. Darabont, who wrote the script for The Shawshank Redemption and cowrote the horror films A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, The Blob and The Fly II, also directed Chapter Three: “The Turnbow Trap.” With Chapter Five, Duffer wrote on Instagram, Darabont “flexes very different muscles.”
“I was a big fan of theirs, having seen all four seasons multiple times,” Darabont told Syfy of the Duffer Brothers in November. “A couple of weeks later, I got another call and they said, ‘Would you like to come direct one [episode]?’ I said, ‘I’ve been retired for a while, but, yeah. I think I would.’ Wound up doing two.”
Chapter Six: ‘Escape From Camazotz’
Chapter Six: “Escape From Camazotz” marks longtime Duffer Brothers collaborator Shawn Levy’s return to the director’s chair. Duffer didn’t reveal much about the episode’s premise, though it seems pretty self-explanatory based on the title: We can expect to see Max (Sadie Sink) and Holly (Nell Fisher) attempt to break free from Vecna’s manipulative mindscape. Holly refers to Vecna’s mind prison as “Camazotz,” the dark, conformity-driven planet in Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 novel, A Wrinkle in Time.
Sink and Fisher in a scene from Season 5 of Stranger Things. (Netflix)
“It’s the biggest episode of the three — and the performances make us cry every time we watch it,” Duffer wrote on Instagram of Chapter Six.
Max and Holly, as fans recall in Volume 1, take refuge in one of Vecna’s repressed memories: the cave in Nevada that’s “connected to the Upside Down,” per Variety. The significance of the cave isn’t explored in detail in Volume 2, though it does make sense for fans who’ve seen The First Shadow, the Stranger Things prequel play that’s on Broadway.
Chapter Seven: ‘The Bridge’
Rounding out Season 5, Volume 2 of Stranger Things is Chapter Seven: “The Bridge.” Duffer, in his Instagram post, was the least forthcoming about this episode, which is also the penultimate episode of the series.
Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson in Stranger Things Season 5. (Netflix)
Duffer did, however, warn that it’s perhaps the second-most emotional chapter of the fifth season. Fans continue to speculate about the significance of “The Bridge,” its relation to A Wrinkle in Time and what will ultimately happen to our heroes in Hawkins.
“We co-directed this one with Shawn [Levy],” Duffer said of himself and Matt. “Don’t want to say too much, but aside from the finale, it’s probably the most emotional chapter of the season.”