A lone, dim lightbulb hangs from the rafters of young Will Byer’s backyard shed, barely illuminating the long forgotten space. Covered in dust lies his mom’s old rifle, of which he is scrambling to reload with his bloody, shaking hands. The light flickers once, but Will never notices. It turns off again, but never turns back on. Will’s screams can be heard throughout the neighborhood.

Created by the Duffer Brothers, “Stranger Things” narrates the eerie events that occurred in the fictional city of Hawkins, Indiana during the 1980s. First released on July 15, 2016, the series quickly gained popularity on Netflix and recently became Netflix’s first and only TV series to have four seasons hold a spot in Netflix’s Top 10. 

With the release of season five, part one on Nov. 26, “Stranger Things” skyrocketed to the top of the Netflix Top 10 List and received enormous amounts of recognition on social media. The Duffer Brothers’ strategic move of releasing Season five in three parts will only elongate the time “Stranger Things” spends on the Top 10, and additionally serves as extra marketing with social media hyping up the release of each part.

However, is all the attention “Stranger Things” receiving deserved, or is it really a repeat of the “Game of Thrones” final season?

So far, “Stranger Things” season five, part one, has fared amazingly with critics—even earning an average score of approximately 8.9 on IMDB, with season five, episode four securing a score of 9.7 as of Dec. 1. Avid fan Dylan Bang (’29) had much to say about episode four.

“Season four, episode five was actually life-changing,” Bang said. “You know, the scenery and the imagery and the plot twist at the end was truly inspiring. And like, the soundtrack is on a whole ‘nother level and everything was beautifully connected. It was the perfect build-up for the rest of season five.”

While Bang expressed fond words about season five, episode four of “Stranger Things”, others, like Brenna Brickley (’29), displayed an almost obsessive enthusiasm about the show as a whole. 

“I’m so glad that this show is getting all of the hype that it deserves,” Brickley said. “It truly changed my life. It all came together, the foreshadowing, the soundtrack, just everything, really, and really made the show so special”

Brickley said says that “Stranger Things” had been one of the most carefully composed pieces of cinema she has ever laid eyes on, with not a single part of it being ineffective in conveying the Duffer Brothers’ intent of inspiring awe in the audience. However, Eli Bernstein (’‘29) has a differing opinion about the writing of “Stranger Things”.

“I felt like I didn’t really get much of it and it was kind of just like super fast,” Bernstein said. “There’s some elements that are like really sad and just not the best.”

Bernstein also commented on how he believed that social media was “over-hyping” the series, and while the first few seasons were “peak”, the fifth season seemed to be a flop.

All in all, the public seems to have a general consensus that “Stranger Things” is a must-watch show of 2025. Even though some are suggesting that season five, so far, is sloppy and rushed, the only sure way for one to find out is to watch it themselves. 

“I’m really glad that I got to experience this,” Brickley said. “And I think everyone deserves to watch it.”