{"id":233917,"date":"2026-01-12T07:58:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T07:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/233917\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T07:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T07:58:09","slug":"this-4-minute-scene-was-the-exact-moment-stranger-things-peaked-it-makes-season-5-look-even-worse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/233917\/","title":{"rendered":"This 4-Minute Scene Was the Exact Moment Stranger Things Peaked (& It Makes Season 5 Look Even Worse)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stranger Things<\/a> peaked in just one four-minute scene, which made Season 5 look even worse by comparison. Stranger Things became a cultural sensation upon Season 1\u2019s 2016 debut, and it easily could have stopped there. The first chapter of the Netflix series told a complete story, but it was so popular, it was no surprise that it returned for more. And the show kept finding ways to reinvent itself season after season. However, its attempt to bring everything together in Stranger Things<\/a> Season 5 proved somewhat divisive<\/a>. Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Stranger Things Season 5, Volumes 1-3.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s never easy to end a widely loved story, but there were plenty of valid criticisms plaguing the final outing \u2014 from the lack of stakes to Stranger Things\u2018 plot holes and retcons<\/a>. Such details made Season 5 one of the weakest outings of Stranger Things<\/a> overall, which wasn\u2019t a great note for the series to go out on. It didn\u2019t help that the show had peaked just one chapter earlier. Season 4 was a high point, and a single scene from it was the best of the entire series. Unfortunately, what should have been an epic conclusion failed to top it. Season 5 also didn\u2019t pay off this moment nearly as well as it should have. <\/p>\n

Stranger Things Peaked With Season 4\u2019s \u201cRunning Up That Hill\u201d Scene<\/p>\n

\"Sadie<\/p>\n

The entirety of Stranger Things Season 4 set a high bar for the final chapter, with the outing delivering some of the best installments of the Netflix series<\/a>. However, the show peaked with Max\u2019s \u201cRunning Up That Hill\u201d scene in \u201cDear Billy.\u201d Weighing the strongest episode of Season 4, \u201cDear Billy\u201d and \u201cThe Piggyback\u201d were both strong contenders. But the final scene of the former pushed it above anything the series had ever done before. Watching as Max nearly succumbed to Vecna \u2014 and just barely made it back to her friends, thanks to her favorite song \u2014 the stakes felt higher than ever. The possibility of Max dying seemed all too real, and that made her triumph and reunion with her friends much more satisfying.<\/p>\n

The four-minute scene masterfully juggled nail-biting tension with emotional pay-off when Max escaped, making it an experience that stuck with viewers. Unfortunately, this was a balancing act that Season 5 didn\u2019t quite pull off. And this scene handling it so well made the final episodes look worse by comparison. Max\u2019s story also fell off after her Season 4 arc, and this moment highlights the wasted potential. <\/p>\n

Stranger Things Season 5 Wasted Max After Her Compelling Season 4 Story<\/p>\n

\"Sadie<\/p>\n

Topping Max\u2019s \u201cRunning Up That Hill\u201d scene was always going to be a challenge for Stranger Things Season 5, but it was impossible to predict just how poorly it would reflect on what came after. This moment showcased the heights Stranger Things could reach, and it finally gave one of the series\u2019 best characters her due: Max. Season 4 gave Max a great deal of depth as it grappled with her complicated feelings over Billy\u2019s death. Her confrontation with Vecna in \u201cDear Billy\u201d paid that storyline off while giving her a pivotal role in bringing down the villain. Without Max\u2019s big moment, the group wouldn\u2019t know how to resist him. And while Max didn\u2019t escape Vecna for good, this scene built to her Season 4 ending nicely, making it even more gutting. <\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Max\u2019s Season 5 narrative was underwhelming by comparison. It felt as though the series wasted her character after giving her such a strong story arc in the prior chapter. Yes, Max still got plenty of screentime in the last batch of episodes. However, she didn\u2019t contribute much to bringing down Vecna, which was a shame after everything that happened in Season 4. Max\u2019s time with Holly felt somewhat pointless after the youngest Wheeler sibling failed to escape the Abyss on her own or sway her peers to her side. And while Max provided crucial information to the Hawkins gang upon her return, she barely got to be involved in the final fight, even from Eleven or Henry\u2019s minds. With Max getting such an epic moment in Season 4, it was a shame she didn\u2019t get another one in Season 5.<\/p>\n

Nothing In Stranger Things Season 5 Reached the Heights of This \u201cDear Billy\u201d Scene<\/p>\n

\"Max<\/p>\n

Stranger Things\u2018 best scene made Max\u2019s Season 5 story more disappointing, but it also made the ending feel like a step down on the whole. Season 4 was incredibly successful at raising the stakes for the Hawkins gang, and this moment revealed why. By the time Vecna targeted anyone in the main group, it was completely believable that one of them could die. As such, Max\u2019s flight was intense and anxiety-inducing \u2014 exactly as it should have been. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to think of a comparable moment in Season 5, as it never felt like any of the series\u2019 leads were genuinely in danger. This made their happy endings less satisfying, too. They brought far less relief than Max\u2019s group hug with Dustin, Lucas, and Steve after outrunning Vecna. Even in terms of imagery and sound, there was nothing quite as iconic as Max running to her favorite Kate Bush tune. Season 5 fell short of this moment on every level.<\/p>\n

Do you think any moments from Stranger Things\u2019 final season came close to Max\u2019s \u201cRunning Up That Hill\u201d scene? Leave a comment below and\u00a0join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stranger Things peaked in just one four-minute scene, which made Season 5 look even worse by comparison. Stranger…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":233918,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[146,85,46,53235,52092,411],"class_list":{"0":"post-233917","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-regular-feature","12":"tag-stranger-things","13":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}