What you need to watch before Stranger Things Season 5

As Stranger Things prepares to enter its endgame, the return to Hawkins feels both nostalgic and daunting. Nearly four years have passed since the fourth season's explosive finale, and even the most devoted fans may find their memories frayed when it comes to the show's sprawling lore: Will's link to the Upside Down, Eleven's fractured past, Henry Creel's transformation into Vecna, and the many gates, tunnels, monsters and sacrifices that have accumulated across 35 hours of television.

The Duffer Brothers know the task is Herculean — so they've offered a guided route back into the story. Rather than rewatching all four seasons, they recommend a quartet of pivotal episodes that illuminate the mythology driving the three-part final season.

Their slimmed-down list includes "Will the Wise" and "The Spy" from Season 2, alongside Season 4's "The Massacre at Hawkins Lab" and "The Piggyback". 

It is no coincidence that these chapters revolve around Will Byers and Eleven — the two characters whose intertwined histories with the Upside Down form the backbone of this last act. They open the door to the answers the Duffers promise will finally "come full circle", tracing mysteries left intentionally unresolved since the earliest episodes.

Season 5 begins by returning to the very moment the story started: Will's disappearance on 6 November 1983. The opening flashback, set six days after he vanished, offers the clearest look yet at his ordeal in the Upside Down and directly ties Vecna to his abduction — a revelation that reframes the series' main villain as present since the beginning. 

We see Will singing The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go", evading the Demogorgon, and ultimately being delivered to Vecna's influence long before Joyce and Hopper found him cocooned in the Hawkins Library.

Crucially, this return to the past also revisits Eleven's role in opening the original gate. During a psychic experiment gone wrong under Dr Brenner's guidance, she inadvertently tore open the fabric of reality while attempting to contact a Demogorgon. 

The Upside Down froze in time on that day — the same day Will disappeared. That moment still defines the wider conflict that the characters are now desperately trying to close out.

The mythology only deepens from there. Hawkins remains under military quarantine after Vecna opened four gates during the Season 4 finale, tearing the town apart and leaving Max in a coma. Eddie Munson's legacy still haunts the Hellfire Club, and the military's fortified MAC-Z zone surrounds the convergence point where the gate remains open. 

Season 5 also resurrects the subterranean tunnels first discovered in Season 2 — remnants of the Upside Down's previous expansion — which now provide a pathway through the chaos above.

This makes Season 2 particularly important to revisit, and the Duffers' choices reflect that. "Will the Wise" and "The Spy" chart Will's possession by the Mind Flayer and introduce concepts that return in urgent fashion: "now-memories", hive-mind control, and the ability of Upside Down entities to spy through human hosts. In Season 5, the gang must contend with similar dangers, particularly as they suspect Vecna may be preparing to target a new victim, echoing the Mind Flayer's manipulation of Will.

In parallel, Eleven's ability to enter the Void remains a central tool. Since Season 1, her sensory deprivation techniques have allowed her to navigate memories and subconscious landscapes — whether revisiting her mother's mindscape, delving into Billy's trauma, or supporting Max during her confrontation with Vecna. 

Season 5 deploys this ability again as she attempts to uncover military secrets and locate missing characters, highlighting how intertwined psyche and battlefield have become in the series' climactic conflicts.

One of the most significant pieces of mythology to revisit comes from "The Massacre at Hawkins Lab", which reveals Henry Creel's past, his grooming under Brenner, his emergence as 001, and his transformation into Vecna after Eleven banished him into the Upside Down. 

This episode threads together the Creel murders, Henry's troubled childhood, his fascination with predation, and his symbolic link to the Mind Flayer — all of which reverberate into Season 5. It also clarifies why the Creel House remains central, even in dismantled form within Vecna's psychic lair.

The reappearance of Holly Wheeler's imaginary friend "Mr Whatsit" — revealed to be Henry himself — underscores how deep Vecna's grip extends into the town's mental fabric. It also gestures towards Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the stage prequel that expands on Henry's earliest exposure to interdimensional forces. 

While not essential viewing, its hints about Dimension X and Henry's origins offer a richer understanding of why he fears certain spaces and why his powers manifest as they do.

Among the human storylines, Hopper's backstory remains deeply relevant — from his daughter Sara's death to his captivity in Russia. These experiences shape his bond with Eleven and his determination to finish what began with their first search for Will. 

Joyce's and Hopper's shared childhood with Henry Creel in 1950s Hawkins, spotlighted in The First Shadow, casts new light on their long-standing entanglement with the town's darkness.

Finally, the Duffers continue to tease long-held fan theories around Will's potential powers. His Dungeons & Dragons persona, Will the Wise, has long fuelled speculation that he retains a deeper connection to the Upside Down — one that may yet prove central to defeating Vecna. 

With Will's visions resurfacing as he returns to Hawkins, and Volume 1 ending just as his memories begin to coalesce, Season 5 seems ready to place him at the heart of the show once again.

Whether you choose to rewatch the recommended episodes or merely absorb the essentials, the road to Season 5 is lined with echoes from the past: unfinished battles, hidden memories, and both literal and figurative gates waiting to be closed. 

As the series heads towards its long-promised conclusion, the mythology that once sprawled outward is pulling tightly back towards the characters who began it all — setting the stage for Stranger Things' final confrontation with the darkness beneath Hawkins.

Stranger Things Season 5: Volume 1 is now streaming on Netflix.