The first four episodes of Stranger Things Season 5 are out now. As of now, this season has not seen any major deaths, including Karen Wheeler. Jim Hopper comes close to meeting his maker, but even he survives the events of volume one. But the fourth episode sets up an exciting second part of Stranger Things Season 5 as Eleven gains two more allies.“The fall of 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding. As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time.”What happens in Stranger Things Season 5: Volume 1? View this post on Instagram Instagram PostHawkins is under quarantine after the events of the season 4 finale, and our heroes are endlessly mapping out the Upside Down. Unfortunately, things take a dark turn after Hopper's trapped in the other dimension, prompting Eleven to mount a rescue effort.Jane manages to locate her adoptive father, and they settle on a plan to raid the government-funded military base in the Upside Down after some contentious conversation. They find a captured Vecna, who is the subject of Dr. Kay's brutal experiments. Eleven infiltrates Dr. Kay's lab only to discover that the captive is not Vecna, but rather her "sister" Kali, i.e., 008.Meanwhile, Dustin, Nancy, Steve, and Jonathan are stuck because of an impenetrable and disgusting wall on a different side of the Upside Down. Dustin intercepts a radio signal, which he realizes comes from the wall. He uses his math skills to determine that the wall is a circle that encompasses Hawkins. At the centre of the circle is Hawkins' lab, where it all began.In Hawkins, Joyce, Lucas, Will, Robin, and Mike mount a rescue mission to break out the children Dr. Kay captured to lure Eleven. While Kay does not realize that Vecna wants children, the heroes do. They try to break out the kids by breaking into the military compound through the tunnels, but the rescue mission is all for naught.Vecna already manages to abduct the children and sets Demogorgons on the heroes. When all hope seems lost, Will discovers something about himself.Stranger Things Season 5 reveals that Will has the same powers as Eleven: View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThe opening minutes of the Stranger Things Season 5 premiere reveal that Vecna was behind everything since the beginning. He was Will's real captor back in season 1 as the boy went missing. Now, the two meet again five years after Will's first disappearance in the fourth episode. Vecna reveals to Will why he targeted children:“Do you know why I chose them to reshape the world? Because they are weak. Weak in body. In Mind. Easily broken. Easily reshaped. Controlled. The perfect vessels. And you, Will, you were the first. And you broke so easily. You showed me what was possible, what I could achieve. Some minds simply do not belong in this world. They belong in mine.”Vecna leaves a distraught Will behind after his taunts, but that may not have been prudent. He decides to embrace Robin's advice to accept himself, and as that happens, he discovers his telekinetic powers and unleashes them on the Demorgorgons before his friends are harmed.The closing minutes of Stranger Things Season 5: Volume 1 bring Will's character arc to a full circle as he finally lives up to his Dungeons & Dragons role of the Sorcerer. The cliffhanger ending sets up an exciting Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 2, which consists of episodes five to seven that stream on December 25, 2025.