After many months of anticipation, Netflix finally released the official trailer for the final season of the hit sci-fi series, Stranger Things. The creators of the show have been hinting at the new season for more than a year, it seems, which has led to fans feeling mostly excited about its return. That being said, this will be the fifth season for the series and funnily enough, it has been nearly a decade since the first season came out. Personally, I have gone back and forth about whether or not I’d be up to watch the new season when it comes out, considering how long it’s been and how complicated the plot is already. After being fed tons of content regarding theories and recaps of the show on my social media, however, I can’t help but feel excited to tune in.
Still, the release schedule has become something of an ongoing mystery to loyal fans. Netflix loves dropping major episodes on holidays, as if the ideal time for supernatural drama is the same day people are burning pies and arguing about who forgot to bring the rolls. At this point it almost feels intentional, like the platform knows we’ll sneak away from family obligations the moment we hear the first ominous synth note in the opening credits. After all, they released Season 3 right around the Fourth of July back in 2019.
And honestly, returning to this show now feels surreal because so many of us have aged significantly since the start. Fans joke that they were stressing over high-school finals during Season 1 and now they’re stressing over full-time jobs. For me, I was in middle school when I started watching. Now, I’m a college freshman which is strange enough. I was too young for horror and gore at the age I began watching, but now, I feel like I can watch an episode with monsters and alternate dimensions, and still sleep soundly at night. So, in a way, I have grown in both maturity and age throughout the making of this series, and that’s a beautiful thing to consider!
Of course, the long wait hasn’t been without reason. The writers’ strike understandably put production on pause, and if anything, the series coming back after such a major industry shake-up makes it feel even more like a cultural time capsule. But the actors growing older in the meantime is its own subplot in my opinion. They’ve all grown so much that calling them “high schoolers” at this point feels like a stretch of supernatural proportions. I’m fully rooting for them, but just occasionally distracted by the fact that some now look ready to file taxes alongside the rest of us. For instance, Millie Bobby Brown was about eleven — no pun intended — when the show first premiered. She has since married the son of Jon Bon Jovi and recently, she became a mother. So yeah, time has definitely passed since the world of Hawkins first appeared on our screens.
All things considered, I would argue that this is part of the charm now. The show and its audience have aged together. Even if I don’t remember every twist, I remember how the show made me feel years ago, and that’s enough to pull me back in. Plus, the new season promises the usual mix of nostalgia, adventure, and surprisingly emotional moments that have kept fans hooked since the beginning. As long as I stay on top of my rewatching schedule that I’ve made for myself leading up to the premiere — as well as watch deep dive videos on YouTube when necessary — I will most certainly be ready for the next chapter.
While the wait was long, the cast is older, and Netflix chose to release new episodes at the least convenient moment possible, I view this as a celebration of community, and the world needs that now, more than ever.