The new season of “Stranger Things” arrived Nov. 26 with massive expectations, especially after years of theories, leaks and anticipation. As someone who has watched the show since the early seasons, I had really high expectations as well. To rate the season fairly, I focused on three main criteria: character development, plot originality and the quality of special effects.
With that being said, I’d rank this season 3.5 out of 5 stars. I landed on 3.5 because the character moments were strong, but several plot points felt predictable and the shift towards heavy computer-generated imagery (CGI) sometimes took away from the eerie feeling of the earlier seasons.
While fan reactions remain mixed, this season marks an important shift for a show that has shaped a large part of pop culture since 2016.
One of the bigger changes in this season is how much the show relies on large-scale CGI rather than the darker, practical effects used in earlier seasons. For example, bringing the Demogorgon and Upside-down to life, adding digital slime and making monsters move incredibly fast were really big factors of seasons one and two, making them super unique. This shift makes the world feel bigger and more cinematic, but it also loses some of the mysterious tone that made the first seasons so unique.
For me, the heart of the show has always been about the characters and the plot. Steve Harrington and Eleven remain my favorites, and with the help of the fifth season, I was reminded why. Steve evolved from the stereotypical high school jock, who was widely disliked, to one of the most reliable and selfless characters in the series. Eleven, on the other hand, carries the emotional weight of the plot and storyline, and her struggle to regain herself after everything she lost still hits hard.
I’m not the only one with strong opinions on characters.
“Steve Harrington is my favorite character because he is a good leader and he is really helpful,” Maggie Butler ‘27 said.
She also ranked the new season 4 out of 5 stars.
“I feel like everything was kind of expected, but they executed their ideas well,” Butler said.
Her reaction represents a lot of viewers who felt the season so far has been executed well, but not entirely surprising.
This season’s special effects also stood out. Earlier seasons relied more heavily on practical effects and darker lighting to build tension, which often made the show more atmospheric and intense. According to behind-the-scenes interviews, Season 5 uses the highest amount of CGI in the entire series. Some fans across social media platforms, such as TikTok and YouTube, explained how the visuals looked more realistic, while others argued they prefer the darker, more practical effects of seasons one and two, which felt scarier. While these visuals are impressive, this shift sometimes makes the supernatural elements feel less mysterious than seasons one and two. The scale is bigger, but some of the eeriness was lost.
Plotwise, expectations were high, but the new season didn’t exactly meet some of them. Many of the twists felt predictable, especially for fans who’ve followed the show for some time. Still, when the writers delivered an emotional hit, it landed hard.
“I think the season is going to end with a lot of characters dying, a lot of the characters have had plot armor through this whole time, so I want to see some characters passing away to see what will change the show,” English teacher Peter DeFillippo said. “I’ve seen a lot of theories that Vecna isn’t the big bad guy and that it’s really the Mind Flayer.”
Fan accounts on TikTok, including creators like @stgobsessed and @strangerthingsnews, have pushed theories about the final villain, especially the idea that the Mind Flayer, not Vecna, has been controlling the story since season one.
“I have been watching ‘Stranger Things’ since 2020, so my expectations for the ending are really high,” Cory Matheson ‘29 said. “The plot twist when Eddie died was really sad. I was super surprised and shocked.”
Moments like that kept the season emotionally engaging, even more when other storylines felt familiar. As the show approaches the finale, scheduled to release later this month, the producers have confirmed it will premiere as a two-part event, streamed live so fans can react in real time. This gives viewers a chance to watch the final rankings unfold together, keeping the excitement and speculation going until the very last moment.
