Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna looking intensely while coming out of a portal in Stranger Things season 5
By
Rianna de Bono-Smith
Published 11 minutes ago
Rianna is the Movie News Editor for ScreenRant. After earning her BA in Film Studies, she began her career as an entertainment writer, contributing to several publications before joining ScreenRant. Her dissertation on the impact of streaming on traditional cinema sharpened her focus on the ever-evolving world of film and media. With 6 years in the industry, Rianna continues to cover the stories she loves while also advocating for awareness and representation of rare disabilities, such as Moebius Syndrome, which she lives with.
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Warning: Spoilers ahead for Stranger Things season 5, volume 1Stranger Things season 5, volume 1, has been released, and fans have been left reeling after the events of episode four, titled "Sorcerer". Many have also hailed the episode as being one of the best of the sci-fi series so far.
During episode 4 of Volume 1, significant revelations occurred, including Will Byers (played by Noah Schnapp) developing powers similar to those of the series’ main antagonist, Vecna (played by Jamie Campbell Bower), it was also revealed that a character from season 2, Eight/Kali (played by Linnea Berthelsen), was being held captive by the military and reunited with her sister Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).
Fan reactions to the shocking revelations have been spreading across social media, in particular on X, and everyone is saying the same thing – this has to be one of the best episodes of the series.
Fans aren’t the only ones hailing this shocking episode as Stranger Things’ best. It has been rated 9.8/10 on IMDb, which marks it the highest-rated episode so far.
Season 5 is currently rated 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, as creators, the Duffer Brothers, promise not to make the same mistakes other finales have made, including Game of Thrones, which has been hailed as one of the worst finales.
Will with nosebleed in Stranger Things season 5Image via Netflix
In an interview with Deadline, the Duffer Brothers confirmed that Volume 2 will delve deeper into what the Upside Down is and why Will was taken in Season 1, and again now, with Holly Wheeler (played by Nell Fisher) being taken similarly. Schnapp also compared his character Will’s connection to Vecna to that of the fictional characters Harry Potter and Voldemort:
"It was originally supposed to work in the same way that Eleven’s powers do because, as you read the scripts in Volume 2, it comes in a different way than hers. So making sure that the physicality of that shows, that it works differently.
For Will, we start to learn the parallels between Will and Vecna, and it almost felt very Harry Potter to me that I had to go back and re-watch the movies, because the Harry Potter-Voldemort relationship felt very close to Will and Vecna. So just kind of exploring those parallels and what that means."
Despite the obvious praise for episode 4, it is one of the lowest-rated seasons so far on Rotten Tomatoes. It has had mixed feelings regarding the overall four episodes of Volume 1. Here’s hoping Volume 2 and the finale don’t let anyone down.
Volume 1 of Stranger Things season 5 is now available on Netflix. Volume 2 is set to release on December 25, with the series finale coming to Netflix on December 31.
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Stranger Things
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Drama Mystery Horror Science Fiction Release Date 2016 - 2025-00-00 Network Netflix Showrunner Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer Directors Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Andrew Stanton, Frank Darabont, Nimród Antal, Uta Briesewitz Writers Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock
7 Images
Eleven looking into an opening of the Upside Down with pink light in Stranger Things season 1
Jim Hopper (David Harbour) grabbing Jonathan's (Charlie Heaton) shoulders in Stranger Things season 1©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
Eleven with cables all over her head in Stranger Things season 4
Vecna looking towards Will in the trailer for Stranger Things season 5 (2025)
Max and Eleven in Stranger ThingsNetflix
Stranger Things season 2, episode 2 "Trick or Treat, Freak".MovieStillsDB
The Upside Down in Stranger Things season 5Courtesy of Netflix Close
Cast
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Millie Bobby Brown
Jane 'Eleven' Hopper
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Finn Wolfhard
Mike Wheeler
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