Since its debut, Stranger Things has used music as both communication and protection — a secret weapon connecting the human world with the supernatural. That looks set to continue as Will the Wise (Noah Schnapp) and the rest of the Party join the final fight to save Hawkins this November. Where Season 4 leaned on Kate Bush and Metallica, Season 5 will turn the volume up to Eleven, debuting a new radio station headquarters and sending transmitters into the Upside Down. Music looks poised to become the ultimate weapon in the battle to defeat Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) once and for all.
Music Has Always Been The Key To Survival In ‘Stranger Things’
Sadie Sink as Max floats midair with white eyes wearing headphones on Stranger Things in Dear Billy.Image via Netflix
Music and radio haven’t just served as a nostalgic nod to the ‘80s in Stranger Things; they’re also an unexpected tool against evil. After Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) introduces Will to The Clash in Season 1, he then repeatedly sings their song, “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” while hiding from the Demogorgon in Castle Byers. At the same time, best friend and President of the Hawkins Middle AV Club, Mike (Finn Wolfhard) uses Eleven’s (Millie Bobby Brown) powers to reach Will using the club’s technology. Joyce Byers’ (Winona Ryder) Season 2 boyfriend, Bob Newby (Sean Astin), founded the original AV Club with now-science teacher Scott Clarke (Randy Havens), rooting radio technology in Hawkins’ history.
Stranger Things has also used radio communication via walkie-talkies since the first episode — the boys communicate with secret codes, arranging meet-ups at the arcade or DnD campaigns. In Season 2, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) repeatedly tries to signal “Code Red” to Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) when he discovers that his pet D’Artagnan is actually a baby Demogorgon after it ate his cat, only for Erica (Priah Ferguson) to switch it off. Dustin also communicates with his girlfriend Suzie (Gabriella Pizzolo) from Camp Know Where in Season 3 via his own ham radio, Cerebro, which can communicate over long distances. This connection becomes pivotal when he asks Suzie for Planck’s Constant to help Joyce and Hopper (David Harbour) infiltrate the Russians at Starcourt Mall. The main Party members have a keen ear for radio and have the technological know-how to build complex communication devices. If they could communicate with the entire group, whether in the Rightside Up or the Upside Down, it could help launch a coordinated attack against Vecna in the final season.
The ‘Stranger Things 5’ Trailer Introduces the Radio Station WSQK
The fifth season of Stranger Things begins 18 months after the Season 4 finale, “Chapter Nine: The Piggyback,” in which Vecna was burned, shot at, and fell from an upstairs window — though not before rupturing Hawkins from beneath and creating fissures that spill the Upside Down into the real world. As a result, Hawkins has been placed under military quarantine, led by Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton), head of the “Wolfpack,” whose mission is to hunt Eleven. Eleven and Hopper remain in hiding, with Hopper presumed dead after the Starcourt Mall reactor incident in Season 3. Both characters need a new base, which appears to be the radio station introduced in the Season 5 trailer.
WSQK 94.5 FM, or “The Squawk,” is a fully operational radio station on the outskirts of Hawkins that now serves as the Party’s main hideout. This setting is a natural expansion of Stranger Things, which has always highlighted retro settings like Rink-o-mania and the Palace Arcade. WSQK also continues the tradition of iconic workplaces for Steve (Joe Keery) and Robin (Maya Hawke) from Family Video to Scoops Ahoy. Robin appears in the Season 5 trailer driving the radio desk, and merchandise, including her Season 5 Funko POP!, lists her as her on-air persona, “Rockin’ Robin.” Beyond a retro reference, WSQK looks to be tactically positioned to aid the fight against Vecna. The Stranger Things 5 trailer shows Jonathan moving floor-to-ceiling shelves to access hidden tunnels underneath the station — a network introduced in Season 2 that will allow the Party to move undetected. The Duffer Brothers recently shared with the release of The Complete Season 2 scripts that it is “the most important chapter in Stranger Things” and is one of the main inspirations for the final fight.
Having a radio station as this season’s central hub embodies the spirit of underground resistance overall. It is reminiscent of pirate radio stations that were popular in the 1960s operating outside government control. In the United Kingdom, stations like Radio Caroline, which was the inspiration for the Richard Curtis film, The Boat That Rocked, transmitted pop and rock music from offshore ships to circumvent BBC restrictions. A similar concept emerged in the U.S. when, during World War I, the Navy restricted radio listening and amateur stations were shut down. WSQK’s nickname, “The Squawk,” also reflects the Duffer Brothers’ fascination with conspiracy theories. It recalls Russian Cold War influences, in particular the real-life “Doomsday Radio,” UVB-76, or “The Buzzer,” which, as reported by WIRED, is a mysterious Russian station that has transmitted a continuous series of tones from the Cold War to present day. The station has sparked intense fascination among amateur radio enthusiasts who speculate about its purpose, ranging from mundane military operations to supernatural alien contact. Could Robin and Steve be using the station to inform the people of Hawkins about what’s really going on as the government quarantines the town?
How Radio Waves Could Save Hawkins in ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5
One of the key revelations from Stranger Things Season 4 is that music serves as a tether to reality for Vecna’s victims; if a victim is distracted, he cannot put them in a trance. Max (Sadie Sink), despite being in Vecna’s grasp, escapes his void once she plays Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” on her Walkman. With this in mind, the new radio station and its town-wide broadcasts could become a salvation for the residents of Hawkins by keeping Vecna incapacitated long enough to defeat him.
Directed by Frank Darabont, Episode 5 of the upcoming season is titled “Shock Jock” and with its radio connotations, it looks set to be the episode in which we see the WSQK plans implemented. In the Season 5 trailer, we see Steve Harrington’s car outfitted with a transmitter on the roof, barreling through Hawkins and into the Upside Down. This could be where the Party is using music and radio waves strategically to “shock” Vecna, acting as both a distraction and psychological defense, allowing others to attack his physical form at the same time. The Duffer Brothers confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the giant antenna “plays a very important role” this season, emphasizing that radio will be used as a central tool in the fight. Netflix’s own official merchandise store highlights WSQK as “the only one playing the hits that can drown out the static from the Upside Down.” If static coming from the Upside Down is being used to send the community into a trance for Vecna to attack, then WSQK’s programming will be a lifeline.
Leading up to the first episodes of Season 5, a slew of other Stranger Things merchandise has featured WSQK. One notable design showcases the station’s van with the slogan, “Call the Hawkins Hitmaker— the ride that can survive the Upside Down.” The van appears prominently in the trailer alongside Murray (Brett Gelman) and Robin. In one ominous shot, the pair stand near the station as bright red rifts erupt across the ground, while Robin gazes up at the radio transmitter tower, now engulfed in particles from the Mind Flayer, presumably as it attempts to destroy the team’s ultimate weapon. The van’s tagline, along with another cryptic message from WSQK merchandise, “Before you all start bumping a few words North, 10, two hours, and class dismissed,” hints that the team may be transmitting secret signals across Hawkins either to action destruction or to protect the community.
With the Party’s technological expertise and a radio station at their fingertips, they now have the perfect tools to fight both the government and the supernatural. Music can tether those trapped in the Upside Down to reality, making them impervious to Vecna, and radio waves could amplify that power across the entire town. By broadcasting from WSQK, the Party looks to turn music from personal protection into the ultimate communal weapon.
Release Date
2016 – 2025
Network
Netflix
Directors
Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Andrew Stanton, Frank Darabont, Nimród Antal, Uta Briesewitz
Writers
Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock
