[This story contains MAJOR spoilers for Stranger Things season five, Volume 1, including episode four, “Sorcerer.”]
The first part of the final season of Stranger Things is here and fans aren’t holding back on their reactions.
After waiting four years to return to the Upside Down, viewers bombarded Netflix on Wednesday when the first four episodes dropped (they even crashed the streamer initially). And between Vecna’s new look, Will Byers’ glow up and that epic final scene in episode four, fans are rightfully going through all the emotions.
Ahead of the Volume 1 releases, the Duffer Brothers admitted to The Hollywood Reporter that fan reactions are one of their favorite parts of releasing a project.
“One of the things that’s so exciting about the show is we’re surprised constantly by the reactions,” Matt Duffer said. “We think we know what are going to be the big moments, what fans will react to, and sometimes we’re right and sometimes we’re wrong. But then there are often surprises, going back to season one with Barb [Shannon Purser]. Dr. Alexei [Alec Utgoff] was a huge surprise. We did not know people were going to respond to him quite in the way that they did. That, in some ways, is actually the more fun part of it, when they surprise us with what they’re responding to.”
He added, “I’m really excited to see how they react to the end of Volume 1, because we designed the volumes so they’re basically like mega movies. The end of episode four has its own climax and I’m excited how they react to that. And of course, I’m excited to see how they react to the finale, which we will be able to be in there with them live — and hopefully they’re not all booing.”
And now, the co-creators have finally received their first round of reactions to episodes one through four. Below, THR is rounding up some of the wildest ones from social media.
Vecna Found Ozempic
Image Credit: Netflix It appears some fans are less terrified of Vecna this season and are actually more envious of the villain’s new “snatched” look this season. After he made his grand return in episode four of the new season, viewers were quick to take to social media to point out the notable differences in his physique from last season, with some jokingly blaming the viral weight loss medication Ozempic for the changes.
“I think vecna along with the rest of the world, got hooked on ozempic in the last 3 years. Check out that snatched waist,” one user wrote on X, while another person added, “Vecna got on that Ozempic shit between seasons 4-5 or mother fucking inflation happenin in the upside down too.”
And there are many more similar comments where those came from. While fans are eating up Vecna’s new appearance, Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays the villain, recently explained to ScreenRant the reason for his much more skeletal frame this season.
He said it’s “partly a byproduct” of suffering a fall and being almost burnt alive in season four by the Hawkins gang, “and also just having spent more time not in the human world, as it were. He’s become more resentful and just hideous within that process, and the part of the world in which he was thrown into.”
Did Will Get a Glow Up?
Image Credit: Netflix Will Byers left that bowl cut in the past and has officially moved to heartthrob status. Aside from the epic Volume 1 finale, which saw Will gain his own powers (more on that later), fans also couldn’t get over his new look.
“Will Byers being extremely hot at the end of Stranger Things is not something I was expecting, but I’m sure not complaining,” one user wrote on X. Another person also commented, “Stranger things this that but someone tell me how did Will byers turn so hot by the end of 4th ep.”
The final moments of “Chapter Four: Sorcerer” were a specific highlight for viewers, leading to quite a number of fan edits of Will Byers on TikTok.
While there’s no doubt that Noah Schnapp’s character leveled up this season, just based on his newfound powers alone, it’s also safe to say he got a glow-up appearance-wise. And that’s likely partly due to just maturity, as Schnapp was 11 years old when he started Stranger Things in 2016 and he’s now 21.
But even Schnapp knows Will has a new aura this season. He recently told THR that he also enjoyed “getting to explore these new colors of Will, who is stronger and more defiant” in season five.
A Shocking Return From Eleven’s Past
Image Credit: Netflix A familiar face that no one really expected to see again made a surprising return in Volume 1: Kali (008), played by Linnea Berthelsen. While fans weren’t totally thrilled with her character in season two’s “The Lost Sister,” which is often considered the most disliked episode from the show, some fans were delighted to see her return.
“Kali returning makes Stranger Things a show with no plot holes. With no pointless episodes. An Absolute Masterpiece. The Duffers knew what they had to do and they did it,” one person wrote on X, while another person added, “Kali being back was the best part of this episode.”
In the new season’s fourth episode, Eleven and Hopper find Kali imprisoned in the Upside Down military base, hooked up to wires and IVs, suggesting she’s been experimented on by the military, now led by Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton).
The Duffer Brothers recently opened up about their decision to bring back Kali for the final season. Ross told THR that not doing it “would be a disservice to the entire story. Because then that episode does look like a mistake. We’ve always wanted to bring her back and do justice to Linnea and Kali, but we didn’t want to just do it for shock value. We wanted to bring her back in a way that she was really going to impact the narrative and arc of Eleven’s journey. Now as we go into volume two, she plays a really important role moving forward.”
Where Exactly Is Max?
Image Credit: Netflix Everybody, stay calm! Max is back, sort of. Fans were jumping for joy when Max, played by Sadie Sink, made her grand return in episode three, titled “The Turnbow Trap.” However, Max is unfortunately still in her coma from the end of season four.
“MAX IS BACKKKKK I MISSED THIS DIVA,” one user commented on X, while another person wrote, “What do you mean max almost woke up from the coma but the song ended… oh my god?”
In season five, Volume 1, Max appears as a consciousness trapped in Vecna’s mind and memories, where she found a safe refuge in a set of caves that the villain is seemingly afraid of. But things take another turn when Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) ends up trapped in the same dimension after being taken by Vecna. And the ending of Volume 1 teases that the pair are going to team up to try and escape back to the real world.
Sink recently opened up to THR about the challenges of having nothing to anchor her to her character like she’s had in past seasons, as she’s playing a different version of Max this season.
“In past seasons there’s always been something to anchor me to the character, whether it’s the actors I’m with or the environment, or even just the clothes, the bands, the skateboard,” she said. “But this season, there was nothing. It was clothes that didn’t feel like Max, crazy hair that was grown out and tangled, and dirt all over my face. She’s in a rough, feral state. It was pretty bizarre. It was weird to feel like Max and then look like that and be in that environment, and working with a new actor. I know how Max responds to Lucas or Mike or Eleven or Will, but to a 12-year-old girl? I didn’t know what that was like.
That Epic Final Volume 1 Scene
Image Credit: Netflix When the Duffer Brothers said the end of Volume 1 has “its own climax,” they weren’t kidding. Fans were left speechless when it was revealed at the end of episode four that Will has his own powers.
After Vecna makes his grand return, confronts Will at the military base and takes the Hawkins children, the villain leaves Demogorgons to kill Mike, Lucas and Robin. However, that’s when Will unlocks his abilities, ultimately killing the Demogorgons and saving his friends.
“The scene where Will Byers closes his eyes and remembers that day Mike saw him alone on the swingset, walked over, and asked, ‘Do you wanna be friends?’ and all their memories together come flooding back, finally unlocking Will’s powers was absolutely beautiful,” one user wrote on X. And another person added, “WILL HAVING POWERS ???? girl what the FUCK.”
The Duffer Brothers recently unpacked that Volume 1 climax with THR and why they decided to have Will finally be able to channel Vecna’s powers in the final season.
“Season five felt perfect because the story began with Will and his vanishing, so it felt very natural to recenter the story on Will for this final season,” Matt explained. “We wanted everything to go full circle. It was something we knew we were going to do that we settled on pretty immediately. But it was important to us that he wasn’t a second Eleven. He doesn’t exactly have his own powers. Obviously, it’s a little bit more complicated than that.”
