Written by Staff Writer, Ariel Connell
What do fans think of the newest release of season five volume one, and what do fans expect could happen later on?
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Stranger Things season 5 volume was released on November 26th, just the day before Thanksgiving, and it has been the highest fan rated season yet. The Duffer Brothers decided to release 3 separate volumes of the final series at a time. Volume one with four episodes, released a day before Thanksgiving, volume 2 will be release on Christmas, and volume three (the season finale) will be released on New Years Eve. Episode 1 follows Holly Wheeler, Mike’s little sister, and her new friend Mr. Whatsit. This episode was introduced as The Crawl, rated as an 8.1/10. People on social media have noticed that the lead antagonist, Venca, now goes by 4 names, that being: Vecna, 001, Henry, and Mr. Whatsit. Holly nicknames Henry Mr. Whatsit because of her favorite book, A Wrinkle in Time and the famous “Ms. Whatsit”.
A Wrinkle in Time becomes a prominent book in the series, as there are many allusions to the book, especially in those first and second episodes. The first episode also follows “The Crawl” , a nickname given to entering the Upside Down through the government monitored gate. Hopper gets stuck in the Upside Down, after an incident with a demogorgon.
Music in Stranger Things has always been an extremely popular part of the show, where last season’s favorites were: Running Up The Hill by Kate Bush, and Pass The Dutchie by Music Youth. This season has already shown to be prominent in music. Episode one introduced Upside Down by Diana Ross and I Think We’re Alone Now by Tiffany in episode three, as well as Fernando by ABBA in episode two. All of these songs have been hits, with them gaining popularity on social media platforms. Leo Kretz (12) emphasizes that “[He] love[s] the music so much this season, it’s such a good season so far”.
Episode two, titled The Kidnapping of Holly Wheeler, follows Holly yet again. It is rated an 8.6/10. This episode was long awaited, with fans hyping up Ted Wheeler before the show came out. Karen Wheeler, Mike’s mother, earns the family nickname (originally given to Nancy) and she becomes the fan favorite Karen “Walk em Down” Wheeler. Fans were however disappointed in Ted’s performance, as he was just thrown by a demegorgon, yet he did protect his family. As far as fans know, both parents are okay after their interaction with a demogorgon. Karen, drunk and upset, fights off a demagorgon coming after Holly, with a broken wine bottle, putting on one of the best performances in Stranger Things history.
The next episode is titled The Turnbow Trap, following the kidnapping of Derek Turnbow. This episode introduces an iconic scene of Erica Sinclar, a prominent character in season 3 and 4- also known as Lucas’s little sister. She goes over to her friend Tina’s house and tries to feed her pie. When Tina refuses, she says the memorable line, “And I told you, eat your damn pie”. Emma Franco, a senior, says that she “love[s] Erica” and “can’t get enough of her character- Definitely my favorite in the show.”
The fourth and final volume episode is called Sorcerer, and is the highest rated episode in all of Stranger Things with a fan rating of 9.8/10. It is action packed with twist after twist. The most popular reveal is that of Will Byers getting powers. Fans all over the world were surprised when Will was able to stop three dragorgons from attacking his friends. Yet another iconic moment was born. Not only that, memes have also surfaced from a famous part of the fourth episode when children were being smuggled out of the government’s holding. Mike and Will were fixing a pipe when a younger girl went into the bathroom. The boys say simultaneously, “Mr Whatsit?” then the camera pans to a young boy, dipping down into the hole he was being smuggled out of. Haley Holmes, grade 10, states that the Whatsit scene “was definitely [her] favorite part, as [she] “loves the comedy in the show, a great contrast of the bad and good!”
Overall, fans are happy with the outcome of the long awaited season release, and cannot wait until the long anticipated rest of the season.