After the ending of season four of “Stranger Things,” the audience was still left with many questions. Fans were told how the first gate to the upside down was opened, but as far as the upside down, that was it. Knowing the show was entering its final season, the expectation was all questions would be answered: What is the Upside Down? Was it there before Eleven opened the gate? Why did Henry choose Eleven? Who controls whom, Henry or The Mind Flayer? And why was Will chosen to be taken to the Upside Down?

The first volume in what is to be a three-part release of the season has instead decided to expand the narrative, and it’s as fun as ever. “I thought it was as exhilarating as could be,” according to Matthew Almendarez ’26.

After surviving the events at the end of the season, Vecna has come back stronger than ever, hoping to take more victims as he expands his plan to bring the Upside Down into our world. With a new military presence around the town and with no one being allowed to come in or leave, characters are left by themselves to save the world. But after a short exposition given to us by Rockin’ Robin Buckley, fans are thrown into a disordered and isolated Hawkins.

The amazing story doesn’t miss a beat, and although each episode is nearly ninety minutes long, they don’t drag on. No one is safe, including some minor characters whose stories we haven’t heard much of until this point. The upside down is more powerful than ever, and the show doesn’t waste any time displaying it.

However, the one thing the Duffer brothers have struggled with writing this season is dialogue, and the large gaps between seasons have contributed to that. “I thought the storyline was well planned out, and the emotional beats were strong, but the dialogue was cheesy and stiff,” Jacob Boyle ’26 claimed.

For Gaten Matarazzo, who is 23, playing Dustin, who is 17 in the show, there is a scene in high school where Dustin is getting bullied, and his quippy dialogue isn’t that of an unpopular 17-year-old. Instead, it matches the language of a twenty-three 23-year-old reading off a script. Other times, the dialogue is too wordy and doesn’t sound like something people would say.

Coming into this season, a significant concern was that the Duffer brothers would struggle ending a show that has been such a cultural phenomenon. How can they make a final season that both satisfies the fans but also keeps within the scope of the show? While critics haven’t seen the finale yet, the story is unraveling in a way that has kept fans on their toes and excited for part two and the finale dropping on Christmas and New Year’s Eve, respectively.

If you haven’t watched “Stranger Things” before, I can’t recommend any show more as the mystery and intrigue pervasive throughout the show is unmatched. This is the best time to binge the show before the finale on to be released in theatres on New Year’s Eve, as you will get to witness the end of the show with the rest of the world.

And if fans have fallen behind and haven’t watched in a couple of seasons, there is no better time to catch up, as the show has not lost any of its original intrigue. With its blend of nostalgia and horror, “Stranger Things” proves once again why it has become one of the defining shows of the last decade.