‘Stranger Things’ S5 streams today, but first…

The fifth season of Stranger Things is streaming on Netflix from today (27 November 2025), and the group of heroes is set to face their darkest and most dangerous fight yet.

The cast outlined eleven things in a YouTube video that viewers should remember from the previous season, before watching the final season of the acclaimed science fiction drama.

Eleven things to remember before watching Stranger Things season 5:

1. Hell breaks loose in Hawkins when teens start dying in gruesome ways. The town blames Eddie Munson and the Hellfire Club. The real killer is Vecna, a powerful entity who preys on his victims’ darkest thoughts, then kills them by breaking their bones and gouging their eyes.
2. Eleven is now living with the Byers in California. Still without her powers, and dealing with some pretty nasty bullies, Mike comes to visit Eleven and Will. During his visit, Eleven fights her mean girl nemesis, Angela, gets arrested, and is then extracted by Dr Owens’ team. He convinces Eleven to rejoin him and Dr Brenner to regain her abilities.
3. We find out Hopper didn’t die in the Russian base under Starcourt Mall. When Joyce and Murray discover he’s being held hostage in Russia, they fly there to rescue him. During the heroic escape, Hopper beheads a Demogorgon while Joyce finally gets on the same page with him romantically.
4. Vecna targets Max, but Nancy and Robin’s digging into Vecna’s backstory gives them the weapon they needed to save her: Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush.
5. Steve and Nancy grow closer again while trying to figure out how to defeat Vecna. Even though Nancy is dating Jonathan long distance, Steve admits that Nancy is still the girl he sees riding shotgun in his RV with a family of little nuggets.
6. Nancy masterminds a plan for the gang to attack Vecna on his own turf. While Max is the bait that lures Vecna into a trance, Nancy, Steve, and Robin attack him in the Upside Down.
7. Will, Mike, and Jonathan flee the Byers’ home in Argyle’s pizza van when the military comes for Eleven. They go on an epic journey to find and rescue El from Papa, just in time for her to engage in a battle against Vecna in Max’s mind.
8. Dustin’s new BFF and personal hero, Eddie, sacrifices himself to save Dustin and to buy more time for Steve, Nancy, and Robin. Eddie dies a hero in the Upside Down.
9. Lucas and Max attempt to bait Vecna in the Creel house attic, hoping he’ll come for Max, leaving himself vulnerable in the Upside Down. At a crucial moment, town bully Jason rudely interrupts them, confronting Lucas and engaging him in a fight. This leaves Lucas unable to help rescue Max from Vecna’s curse. Max becomes Vecna’s fourth victim. El uses her powers to save Max as she’s left in a coma with an uncertain fate.
10. Most of Hawkins thinks the town was split open by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake, but the disaster was less than natural. Scary clouds are swirling in a red sky, and mysterious particles start falling like snow.
11. When everyone comes together to survey the devastation and figure out next steps, the chill on the back of Will’s neck tells him that Vecna is weak, but not defeated, and he won’t stop trying to destroy humanity until he’s killed once and for all.

The show’s heroes face their final battle in Volume 1 of Stranger Things 5, streaming on Netflix from today (26 November 2025). The first volume includes four episodes.

Volume 2 will release on 26 December, with the finale streaming from 1 January 2026.