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Cast your mind back a few years, and you might recall this little show called Stranger Things. I'm kidding, of course. Obviously, we all remember Stranger Things, and obviously, we've all been waiting very patiently for the final showdown in Hawkins for the past three years. The Duffer Brothers (Matt and Ross, who created the show) have promised that season 5 will be epic. And they've certainly built up the anticipation by making us wait so long.
The first four episodes of season 5 have dropped on Netflix – and, rather predictably, we've already binged our way straight through them. (That heartbreaking scene with Karen, though!) Yes, it's just as epic as we'd hoped. And yes, we are back to anxiously-awaiting-more-Stranger-Things-mode.
Luckily, we don't have to wait much longer. The next batch of episodes drop next week, and a trailer teasing what's to come is has just blown our minds. We see Sadie Sink's Max and Holly Wheeler continue to navigate the maze that is Vecna's mind, while the gang back in Hawkins continue to fight the war against the psychic serial killer.
Stranger Things serves up a strong dose of '80s nostalgia, plenty of gripping fantasy action, the best needle drops and absolute buckets of character and charm. The show, which first debuted on Netflix in 2015, follows a group of nerdy, D&D-loving tweens in the fictional Hawkins, Indiana, who meet a mysterious girl with supernatural powers and find themselves pulled into a battle with creatures from a creepy parallel world known as the Upside Down.
The fifth and final season sees the gang facing their most dangerous battle yet, following a huge rift between the two worlds that cuts straight through their quaint little town.
But with the first set of episodes having now dropped on Netflix, we can't help but wonder, when will the rest of the Stranger Things season 5 episodes arrive on the streamer? Here, we have the full release dates and times to bear in mind for the new season.
Stranger Things season 5 release schedule
Netflix rarely does things simply, and the release schedule of Stranger Things season 5 is no different. Curbing our binging habits and making us wait just a little longer, the series is due to drop in three sections — and it's a festive affair.
- Season 5 part 1, which consists of four episodes, lands on Netflix on Wednesday, 26 November.
- Season 5 part 2, another three episodes, comes to Netflix on Christmas Day, Thursday, 25 December.
- Season 5 part 3, which is just one epic final episode, lands on New Year's Eve, Wednesday, 31 December.
What time does Stranger Things season 5 part 2 come out?
With part 1 already out (and binged), we are turning our attention to the second part of season 5. Because, let's face it, that left us with so many questions and we are so ready for more.
Each part lands at 5pm PT or 8pm ET in the US. The means that here in the UK, each part will actually be available from 1am. The exact date and time to mark in your calendars for part 2 is Friday, 26 December, 1 am. What a way to end Christmas Day, am I right?
What do you need to know going into Stranger Things season 5?
In case you haven't already done a big old rewatch of the first four seasons of Stranger Things, here's a quick recap of important points you'll need to know going into season 5.
Season 1 introduced us to friends Mike Wheeler, Will Byers, Lucas Sinclair and Dustin Henderson. After Will disappears, taken by a “demogorgon,” his mother, Joyce, and later, his brother, Jonathan, become convinced he's communicating with him through the lights. Meanwhile, Mike and his friends meet Eleven, a mysterious girl with supernatural powers, who can seemingly communicate with Will. Mike's sister, Nancy, and her boyfriend, Steve Harrington, soon get roped into it all when her friend Barb also goes missing. They all team up with Jim Hopper, the local chief of police, and together, they help find Will in the Upside Down and bring him back.
In season 2, we learn more about Eleven's backstory – she was taken from her mother at birth and trained in a secret government facility by Dr. Brenner, whom she calls Papa, along with a group of other supernaturally gifted kids. She's now secretly living with Hopper in his cabin. Meanwhile, Will is still connected to the Upside Down and a giant spider-like monster that they dub the Mind Flayer eventually enters his body and begins “spying” on his friends and family, looking for a way to get into the Right Side Up. We also meet Max, a new member of the group, and Murray, a conspiracy theorist who helps Nancy and Jonathan spread the word about the lab (and realise their feelings for each other). After a big battle in Hawkins lab, the group manage to defeat the demogorgons and demodogs and get the Mind Flayer out of Will.
In Season 3, a creature from the Upside Down is taking over the bodies of various Hawkins residents with Billy, Max's step-brother, as patient zero. Steve is now working at an ice cream parlour in the local mall with a girl named Robin. They team up with Dustin as they work to uncover a secret Russian radio transmission. After they end up in a secret Russian lab below the mall where the Russians are trying to open a new gate to the Upside Down, things come to a head with a huge battle with the monster (and Billy) in the mall. Hopper ends up caught in a blast as Joyce destroys the gate and he is presumed dead. The season ends with Joyce, Will, Jonathan and Eleven leaving town.
Season 4 saw the group in Hawkins dealing with mysterious teen murders. A new monster from the Upside Down, Vecna, is possessing children and, after some scary visions, killing them brutally from inside their minds. Mike, meanwhile, has gone to visit Eleven, Will and Jonathan in California. Joyce and Murray head off to Russia after learning that Hopper is alive and in a Russian prison. Max becomes possessed by Vecna and manages to escape by listening to her favourite song. Eleven, who lost her powers at the end of season 3, reunites with Dr. Brenner and revisits past memories to relearn her powers. In her visions, she remembers One from the lab, the first child who Brenner trained. She sees a memory of One killing all of the other children in the lab before recalling that she sent him to the Upside Down. He, it turns out, is Vecna. In a final battle, the teens in Hawkins head to the Upside Down to kills Vecna, while Max offers herself up as bait. They manage to wound Vecna who scurries off. Max is almost killed but winds up in a coma. Meanwhile, a huge gate opens up that spans across all of Hawkins. Hopper returns with Joyce and Murray.
So where are we now? Vecna is still out there in the Upside Down. Max is in a coma. There's a giant portal to the Upside Down in Hawkins. Hopper and Joyce are, like, together now. There's a lot going on in Hawkins. And season 5 will see it all wrapped up once and for all.
