“Stranger Things” Season 5 – Every Episode Ranked

It’s New Year’s Day. I’ve just finished watching the “Stranger Things” finale, having watched all of the Volumes pretty much the moment they dropped. I’m not a superfan of this show … but this is the kind of bombastic, global entertainment that only comes around once in a blue moon so I’ve made an effort to catch them before the flood of online spoilers.

This was a mixed bag of a season, full of ups and downs … but how would I rank all eight episodes? Oh, and beware of SPOILERS. Even the episode titles give some things away. You have been warned.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

“Stranger Things” – Season 4 Episodes Ranked

12 Of My Favourite TV Twists

1989: The Year In Music

EVERY Friends Episode Ranked

Okay

8 – Chapter Seven: The Bridge

As it stands at the time of writing, “Chapter Seven: The Bridge” is the lowest rated “Stranger Things” episode on IMDb with a pitiful score of 5.5. While I think that’s harsh, I can see where the criticisms are coming from.

This episode is pure filler – it’s literally a “bridge” to the finale. It’s a series of expositions in a row, some cringey dialogue here and there, and Will’s coming out scene is handled poorly. The scene has emotional weight, sure … but why is he coming out to the entire town of Hawkins?

I think, above all else, it was the reveal that the Upside Down was a bridge dimension to “The Abyss” that bothered me the most. It’s not a very satisfying revelation, and the development that the Abyss will merge with earth didn’t get my pulse racing.

Good

7 – Chapter Two: The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler

“Chapter Two: The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler” is all about that abduction scene. It’s really intense, it’s terrifying, it’s brutal … and the Wheeler parents probably should’ve died, to be honest. Nobody in this show seems to stay dead anymore.

The two big reveals in this episode are that Holly’s imaginary friend is Henry (quite an obvious twist), and that the Upside Down is surrounded by an enormous wall. It’s a cool revelation … but how on earth did nobody bump into this wall before?

6 – Chapter Five: Shock Jock

For many, “Chapter Five: Shock Jock” was when the cracks in the season started to show. There are quite a few boring scenes here, like with Kali and El, but I think the episode is saved by a couple of things.

Steve and Dustin were the MVPs of Volume 2. I loved their bickering dynamic, and their fight here had a lot of weight. The other stand-out moment was the ending – Will controlling Vecna and telling Max to “Run!” was one of the coolest moments of Season 5 for sure.

Great

5 – Chapter One: The Crawl

After far too long a wait, “Stranger Things” returned to our screens with the season opener “Chapter One: The Crawl”. It sets things up nicely.

I love the concept of the titular crawls, and Holly having an imaginary friend is a neat hook. The episode ends, of course, with one of these crawls finally going wrong … and a Demogorgon bounding towards the Wheeler household.

4 – Chapter Three: The Turnbow Trap

“Chapter Three: The Turnbow Trap” felt more filler-y than most episodes, and yet it was handled in an entertaining way.

Holly’s now living with Henry, and Derek is revealed to be the next target so therefore the gang has to prepare a trap. Let me tell you, I didn’t know how much I was missing this show’s “gang setting boobytraps” scenes until they came and wrecked Derek’s house.

The episode ends with one of the better twists in the season – Max finds Holly in Vecna’s world, and the audience is left wondering how that’s even possible.

3 – Chapter Six: Escape from Camazotz

Volume 2 was a bit underwhelming on the whole, but I had a good time with “Chapter Six: Escape from Camazotz”.

Outer space being beyond the Upside Down wall got my mind whirring, Will gets captured again, Max and Holly relive some of Henry’s traumatic memories, and Jonathan and Nancy have one of the weirdest break-up scenes I’ve ever seen.

The best part was easily the hospital sequence. It’s very intense from the get-go, and Karen Wheeler saving the day was cheesy but rousing nonetheless.

2 – Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up

When I was first compiling this list mere moments after watching the finale, I put “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up” at the top spot. It certainly made me feel the most emotions … but was it a flawless masterpiece? Absolutely not.

There’s lots of great scenes in the first hour – Hopper’s visions, Henry’s reluctance to enter the cave, Kali’s death, Joyce getting revenge on Vecna … but the actually fighting was anticlimactic. It’s a CGI snooze-fest and Vecna dies way too easily. It’s a shame – they had all the pieces for a grand finale but the final battle felt undercooked and too brief. Oh, and Eleven’s “death” when the Upside Down was destroyed felt a little out of place.

The episode takes a turn, however, in its second half. It was scene after scene of me crying, basically. Hopper’s talk with Mike, Dustin’s valedictorian speech, Hopper proposing to Joyce, Mike’s DnD game (which hinted that Eleven might still be alive), Holly’s friends inheriting the basement … I was a sobbing wreck at points, and having David Bowie’s “Heroes” over the credits didn’t help.

So yeah, some extreme highs and lows in the series finale. It felt like there were too many cut scenes – did the military find and arrest Mr. Clark and Erica in the tower? Where’s Vicky? Where’s Linda Hamilton’s character? Time will tell if I sour on this ending, but for now I’m mostly satisfied.

Amazing

1 – Chapter Four: Sorcerer

I’ve seen an opinion online that “Season 5 is bad apart from Sorcerer”. I don’t entirely agree … but I get it. “Chapter Four: Sorcerer” sticks out like a sore thumb.

The episode revolves around the plot to save the kids from the military, and it’s a brilliantly tense series of scenes. It all culminates with Vecna’s “Rogue One” moment, where he comes to the military base and eviscerates everyone.

The big twists, however, come in the final five minutes. Will is revealed to have powers, and he uses them to save his friends. Eleven also finds her sister, Kali, being held in the Upside Down. It would’ve been good if both of these twists actually led to something down the line, but I can’t fault how this episode made me feel in the moment – I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Season Rating: B-

Was this a satisfying conclusion to one of the biggest shows of this century? No, not really, but it wasn’t a trainwreck either. There were fun moments, cringe moments, and on the whole I had a fun time.

Aaaand that’s my list! If you liked this post and want to support me, please consider giving me a one-time donation. Even a few pence (or whatever currency you use) is fantastic! I’ve never monetized this blog before, but it would be great if I could do this comfortably and not have to worry about the yearly website domain costs. Thank you so much!