In terms of plot they become increasingly preposterous, resorting to all kinds of geeky contortions to sustain the drama. You buy it \u2014 of course you do \u2014 but at times it feels a bit back-of-a-fag-packet: suddenly blood is important, and altitude. Sorry to be vague: Netflix has issued a long list of spoilers for reviewers to avoid and it would be un-festive to defy them.<\/p>\n
In terms of emotion, though, the saga has hit a golden seam, with a massive revelation or blockbusting heart-to-heart seemingly arriving every 20 minutes.<\/p>\n
The big reason why Stranger Things has become such a colossus \u2014 the first four episodes of this final season were viewed 59.6 million times around the world in five days \u2014 is not the monsters or the magic or the Eighties references, as compelling they are. It\u2019s the bonds: Hopper and El, Joyce and Will, Nancy and Jonathan, Dustin and Steve.<\/p>\n
The care with which the Duffer Brothers, the creators of the show<\/a>, have developed these relationships is really paying off now. It\u2019s the same care that the great Rob Reiner<\/a> invested in Stand By Me, the Stephen King adaptation that so informed Stranger Things. Caleb McLaughlin\u2019s Lucas has not always been given the most compelling storylines but his loyal support for Max during her Vecna-coma was finally rewarded with a teary jackpot of a scene. Like Reiner, the Duffers understand how warmth and trust fluctuate, how friendships you think will never change can suddenly become something else. As ever, this can happen through the medium of popular culture, such as the priceless moment when one character told another, \u201cI hate the Clash\u201d.<\/p>\n Joe Keery as Steve, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin and Charlie Heaton as Jonathan<\/p>\n NETFLIX<\/p>\n There\u2019s a Pied Piper vibe to the way Vecna is using the kids of Hawkins as \u201cvessels for reshaping the world\u201d, while Noah Schnapp\u2019s Will, after that air-punch twist in episode four, is now a \u201creal-life sorcerer\u201d \u2014 not a wizard, his buddies noted nerdishly, because his skills are innate. With great power comes portentous dialogue, apparently. \u201cThe truth? The truth is I never stood a chance,\u201d Will intoned at one point. Well, I guess we are approaching the time for grand speeches. And, this being the Duffers, his supernatural renaissance is coupled with a personal one.<\/p>\n \u2022 Read more TV reviews, guides about what to watch and interviews<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s also impressive how new cast members have been added late on and immediately become essential, especially Nell Fisher as Holly, the resourceful third Wheeler sibling, and Jake Connelly as Derek, her brilliantly sneery classmate. Linnea Berthelsen\u2019s Eight feels like bad news and Linda Hamilton\u2019s Dr Kay has been underused but that will surely change come the finale.<\/p>\n Noses will bleed, bones will crack, heads will roll \u2014 to underline the value of all these emotional bonds we are surely going to have to lose at least one or two of our favourites. Come January 1, it\u2019s safe to say that many of us will be in bits. Love TV? Discover the best shows on Netflix<\/a>, the best Prime Video TV shows<\/a>, the best Disney+ shows<\/a> , the best Apple TV+ shows<\/a>, the best shows on BBC iPlayer<\/a>, the best shows on Sky and Now<\/a>, the best shows on ITVX<\/a>, the best shows on Channel 4<\/a> streaming, the best shows on Paramount+<\/a> and our favourite hidden gem TV shows<\/a>. Don\u2019t forget to check our critics\u2019 choices to watch<\/a> and browse our comprehensive TV guide<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spoilers ahead for season five, episodes 5-7 It\u2019s been the Christmas of Stranger Things, Netflix bombarding us with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":336478,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[96,391,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-336477","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-tv","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Joe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/\/e3eec31f-be77-4446-9506-ca9a597a4018.jpg\")
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