Stranger Things Finale Brings Hawkins’ Story Full Circle

Netflix has released a full extended teaser trailer for the fifth and final season of Stranger Things. The highly anticipated fifth season of the popular series will premiere late this year, but fans won’t have to wait much longer for more information. In the trailer, we get an exhilarating, action-packed look at what lies ahead for Hawkins’ ragtag band of heroes in the season finale.

The full teaser trailer, which clocks in at a bit over a minute, doesn’t mess around. We’re treated to quick flashes of some ominous imagery of the Upside Down creeping further into Hawkins. There are moments of pure chaos as well, including shots of demo-dogs sprinting down empty hallways, while flame cannons blaze behind them.

The last shot in the trailer is the coolest: We see Linda Hamilton bounding into a room armed with guns, wearing combat boots, and ready for battle. Hamilton will be joining the fight against the Upside Down alongside the main Hawkins crew.

Season 4 ended with Vecna (aka the mastermind behind everything evil we saw in the season finale) opening a giant gate into Hawkins, fully unleashing the Upside Down and its terrors. According to the teaser, season 5 will pick up several months in the future, in the fall of 1987. This ties in directly with the start of the series, as the period will also mark the third anniversary of Will Byers’ initial disappearance that launched the Season 1 story.

Season 5 will be composed of eight episodes, but these aren’t your standard hour-long TV show installments. Each episode will be feature-length, meaning that fans will get eight Stranger Things movies in the final season.

The teaser trailer plays into the announced plot for the fifth season. Hawkins has been permanently changed, and the Rifts have opened for good. Our heroes, old and new, must band together for one final mission: Kill Vecna. But where is he? And what will he do before the heroes catch up to him? The teaser trailer also teases that the U.S. government has instituted a military quarantine around Hawkins and upped their manhunt for Eleven, likely forcing her into hiding as well.

Fall is coming, and with it will be the third anniversary of Will’s disappearance. The trailer hints that this anniversary is likely a signal that Vecna will strike, and strike hard. The teaser trailer does a good job of making clear that this will be the final battle, and the foe may be the darkest and deadliest yet. The only thing that will save our heroes this time is if they can band the full party together for one last stand.

Old Faces, Familiar Faces, and Troubling Details

For the most part, the returning main cast will be back for the final run, along with several of the other main recurring characters from Stranger Things. Amybeth McNulty is back as Vicki. Gabriella Pizzolo, who plays Dustin’s girlfriend Suzie, will also return. Jamie Campbell Bower is back as the main villain of the fourth season, Vecna.

Stranger Things Season 5 has a bevy of new and returning talent as well. Linda Hamilton will play Dr. Kay, while other new cast members include Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler, Jake Connelly as Derek Turnbow, and Alex Breaux as Lt. Akers.

The trailer itself is packed with nostalgia, including a clear homage to a major pop culture franchise. A quick scene early in the trailer features Lucas and several others hiding from the demo-dogs, with the scene looking very similar to the velociraptor-kitchen scene in the movie Jurassic Park.

If you’re more into psychological horror, the teaser trailer also delivers on some scary fun as Vecna’s demonic voice intones, “found you” in that deep, growling voice.

The trailer also lands an emotional gut-punch with the character of Eddie Munson. The final season is the first time since Season 4 that we’ve seen Eddie’s gravestone in Hawkins, and a side of the headstone has been painted with the words “Burn in hell.” This cruel vandalism of Eddie’s memorial is a jarring reminder that, despite Eddie’s heroic sacrifice in the season 4 finale, a lot of people in Hawkins still blame him for everything that happened.

Eddie’s death, which may be the most heartbreaking death since Bob Newby in Season 2, will have an impact on the characters we know and love. But seeing Hawkins shun Eddie, especially as his headstone is vandalized, is a grim reminder of the fact that he’s not coming back to clear his name. Fans can expect Hawkins’ preconceptions about Eddie to change, but it’s hard not to feel emotional just thinking about it.

The release strategy for the season may be one of the most frustrating, but it also won’t hurt Netflix. The eight episodes for the fifth and final season will be split into three parts, meaning that, despite fans likely clamoring to drop everything to binge-watch the entire season as soon as it’s available, Netflix will hold our hands until the bitter end. The three-part season structure means that each season will be made up of several episodes with a scheduled break in between.