Exposition. Explanation. Emotion. Stranger Things Season 5 Vol 2 rests on these three Es. The other ‘E’ that worms its way into the three episodes of this volume — before the grand finale drops less than a week later — is ‘Exotic Matter’ and with it the realisation (courtesy Dustin Henderson) that everything we have thought of the Upside Down over the last decade is not really it. In reality, the evil parallel dimension that has been at the heart of Stranger Things is, well, not a parallel dimension at all. It is, in fact, a wormhole to an even worse dimension that Vecna is trying to “collapse”, with an eye on taking over the world.
If you haven’t watched Stranger Things at all (which seems unlikely and yet not impossible), we suggest you don’t start now — and definitely not at the point where it is now. Volume 2 is dense, in more ways than one, with its creators, the Duffer Brothers, caking on more lore and layer — a lot of which requires many of the characters themselves to take a pause between the intense action and heavy emotion to play catch-up. You, the viewer, are anyway always taking notes.
Being thrust back into the spotlight more firmly in these episodes is another ‘E’. Eleven, aided by “sister” Kali — who was rescued from Dr Kay and her military men at the end of Vol 1 — is now an ally of the “save Hawkins” (and the world) gang, joining forces with El, but also powered with the unsettling knowledge that the end of Vecna may not mean the end of the evil they are in the grip of.
The three episodes of Vol 2 play out over more than an hour each, packed as they are with words, wants and wisdom. There is, of course, a lot of another ‘W’ — Will. The spectacular end to Vol 1 witnessed Will’s metamorphoses into the “sorcerer”, with the conflicted young man — whose taking on November 6, 1983 has spurred Stranger Things through five thrilling seasons — finally embracing his connection to Vecna’s hive mind and gaining telekinetic powers to control and defeat attacking Demogorgons, thus transforming him from victim to active player and revealing his own abilities.
The most emotional moment of Vol 2 also belongs to Will. It is one that we have been waiting for for a while, which sees him finally accept himself for who he is and embrace his sexuality in front of those who matter the most to him. It is a scene that will invariably make you smile and sniffle, involving talk about “playing D&D late into the night”, recalling the “old-person smell in Mike’s basement”, “settling on renting Holy Grail at Family Video for the millionth time” and “biking to Melvald’s for malted milkshakes”. It is a bittersweet moment for the viewer, stirring our memories of what really made us fall in love with the Hawkins boys — who are now more men than boys — in the first place.
In Vol 2, Vecna creates havoc and his Demodogs run amuck — the scene in the hospital, a nod perhaps in look and feel to the iconic kitchen scene featuring the raptors in Jurassic Park more than three decades ago is a #win, with Karen Wheeler coming through once again. But what forms the life force of Vol 2 are its straight-from-the heart, dramatic moments. There are one too many (remember, emotion, exposition, explanation?) Some may feel a tad overstretched and sometimes not even necessary. But there are quite a few — being as they are a long time coming — that hit the sweet spot.
One is Dustin, a huge improvement from his prickly presence in Vol 1, finally admitting to Steve that he doesn’t want to lose him. The other is Nancy and Jonathan (re)confessing their love for each other, a scene that may or may not involve a ring. And then, of course, is the return of Max — one accompanied with lots of tears, more than a few group hugs and, inevitably, Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill. Lucas admits he can’t hear that song anymore, but we kind of like it. Play on!
What we don’t — and are dreading on encountering when we roll into the finale — is what now seems the unavoidable death of a much-loved key character. The tremendous amount of foreshadowing (“You die, I die... I die, you die”) has us chewing through our fingernail beds already.
Vol 2, in the run up to the final episode of the final season, also dismantles, collates, unpacks and finally reiterates where Hawkins and its residents stand with Vecna — the 12 children, despite Holly and Derek’s best efforts, are still with Henry who plans to use them as his “vessels to reshape the world”, in much the same way as he used Will. Will and Eleven are joining forces stronger than ever before for the final fight to the finish. And the gang bands together to vroom their way in and take the fight right to the enemy. “Operation Beanstalk” is now in motion.
Stranger Things: The Finale — The Rightside Up (airing in India on the morning of January 1) will run over a mammoth two hours, eight minutes, with fans in the US and Canada getting to watch it in movie theatres. We are seated in the front row (at home). One last time.
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