Stranger Things 5’s most-criticized element really couldn’t have been avoided. Netflix subscribers raced to their devices this week to see the beginning of the final season for the Hawkins ensemble. The first episode in that salvo, “Chapter One: The Crawl,” had the wild task of bringing fans up to speed since Stranger Things 4 released all the way back in 2022. It’s a different world for these kids, now young adults really, and the audience has felt that time pass by in the years between seasons.
It seems like Matt and Ross Duffer knew that they would have to do a little bit of recap for the audience as they got ready to watch the final season. In particular, “Chapter One: The Crawl,” but really the entire first section of Stranger Things 5, is devoted to setting up the playfield for a final confrontation with the murderous Vecna. After all, fans only have 4 more episodes before this chapter of the franchise waves goodbye.
