Spoiler warning: This contains some details about what has happened in the show so far, but does not reveal anything about the final four episodes.
A Christmas feast may be around the corner, or perhaps another chocolate (no strawberry creams, thanks), but for fans of Stranger Things, another gift is waiting to be consumed.
The grand finale of Netflix’s hugely popular sci-fi fantasy horror series, which also showcases some questionable 80s fashion choices, is looming.
Fans last saw the inhabitants of Hawkins in a perilous place as season five opened, with Demogorgons running rampant, along with the monstrous Vecna. A final battle is about to commence.
When are the episodes on Netflix?
Three more episodes drop on Boxing Day in the UK at 01:00 GMT, while in the US they can be seen on Christmas Day, at 20:00 EST.
The last episode, with a running time of two hours five minutes, isn’t far away, and can be streamed in the UK on New Year’s Day from 01:00.
US fans can watch it at 20:00 EST on 31 December, and for a big-screen, communal experience, they can see it in 500 cinemas across the US and Canada.
What happened in the opening of season five?
Hawkins was under seige, with Rifts – or dimensional tears – opening up, letting in terrifying Demogorgons from the Upside Down, while the town was under military quarantine.
The hunt for Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown, intensified. She and Hopper (David Harbour), were battling evil forces in a military base in the Upside Down. They stumbled on a hideous flesh wall, and encountered fearsome government scientist Dr Kay, played by Terminator star Linda Hamilton.
The huge revelation was Will discovering he has supernatural powers… plus something unusual was afoot in a cave with Max, Holly and Vecna, in his earlier, creepy incarnation of Henry Creel.
There are still plenty of loose threads to tie up, and fans will be hoping the finale won’t disappoint them, after endings for series like Game of Thrones and Lost proved divisive and disappointing for some.
Stranger Things’ executive producer Shawn Levy said the show’s last, feature-length episode has been carefully crafted for its huge global fanbase.
“They have had their hearts broken by shows they loved, that failed fans in the end,” he recently told Variety, adding that series creators, the Duffer brothers, “did not want, and do not want, and refuse to be one of those shows”.
What is the significance of the cave?
We all want to know why Henry Kreel, played by Jamie Campbell Bower, looks scared outside the cave where Max Mayfield and Holly Wheeler take refuge.
They appear to be trapped inside one of Henry’s early memories, with Holly in his childhood home and Max in the cave.
Fans on Reddit and TikTok have a few ideas… but they’re related to the stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which we won’t spoil here.
We already know Henry killed his mother and sister, leaving his wounded father to take the blame. Henry, of course, ended up in the Hawkins Lab, where he met Eleven, who expelled him with her powers, transforming him into Vecna.
Meanwhile Holly (played by Nell Fisher), the sister of Mike and Nancy, was kidnapped by a Demogorgon from her home, where her mum tried to defend her in a bloody battle.
It remains to be seen why Holly now has a cassette tape copy of Tiffany’s 80s hit, I Think We’re Alone Now, given to her by Henry, who she called Mr Whatsit.
Netflix website Tudum explains this name “came from the name of Mrs Whatsit from A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle’s classic 1962 science fantasy novel”, which Holly was reading in season five.
Max, played by Sadie Sink, is still in a coma in Hawkins, having been nearly killed by Vecna.
The other kids and Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) are all doing their best to save their friends and the citizens of Hawkins.
Why does music appear to stop Vecna?
We don’t know… yet.
Joyce Montepiedra speculated in GameRant it’s because “music helps redirect the victim’s attention back to reality and away from Vecna’s mind games”.
When Max looked like her end was nigh, hearing Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush tethered her to reality, keeping her alive.
We also learned in series four that Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s 1950 song, Dream A Little Dream Of Me, helped Henry Creel’s father, Victor, escape his son’s murderous manipulations.
Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer) and Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke) realised, after visiting Victor in an asylum, that music can penetrate a person’s consciousness – and break them out of Vecna’s control.
Montepiedra also notes the significance of Hawkins’ radio station, which features a show hosted by Robin and Steve Harrington, played by Joe Keery.
“Introducing a radio station in season five is intentional and serves a purpose,” she writes.
“Radio stations are ideal for reaching the masses from a singular location.
“And if the main characters who gain control of the radio station are the ones who know the link between music and Vecna’s curse, then they can provide the citizens of Hawkins with constant protection in the guise of entertainment.”
What is the connection between Vecna and Will?
The show still needs to dig more into this storyline, and Noah Schnapp recently told Deadline this would be explored.
“For Will, we start to learn the parallels between Will and Vecna,” he said.
“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, just kind of exploring those parallels and what that means.”
He has also said he is pleased with how the show finishes.
“I feel very satisfied and excited for all our characters and how the show wraps up,” he said.
“I think it does a great job closing everyone’s individual story and doing a service to all of them.”
Will this really be the end?
Once the show is over, it would be tempting for the Duffer brothers to consider making a money-spinning sequel at some point.
Stranger Things has hit the Netflix Top 10 in all 93 countries that the company measures, according to Variety, while season four was the first English-language series to cross one billion hours streamed on the platform.
But despite its popularity, identical twins Matt and Ross Duffer have ruled out a sequel.
“This really is the end of the story of Eleven and Mike and Lucas and Dustin and Steve and all these characters, and Hawkins specifically,” GamesRadar quoted Ross Duffer saying.
Matt added: “There’s not really anything else worth exploring.
“The book is closed, and the ending wouldn’t be very impactful if we left it cracked open for some sort of sequel.”
