Okay, so Season 5 of Stranger Things is wrapping up, and honestly, I was surprised by how they’re handling the finale. After Volume 2 dropped on Christmas Day, we’re down to one final, extra-long episode to finish everything off. They’ve seemingly cracked the mystery of the Upside Down, but the darkness isn’t gone yet, and our Hawkins crew still has a lot on their plate. (Heads up, spoilers ahead!) They need to finally take down Vecna and rescue Holly and the other kids, which means the last episode is going to be packed with huge moments and a pretty epic showdown. Get ready!
Considering the unexpected turns and revelations from the first two seasons, it’s evident that Season 2 is playing a crucial role in how the show will ultimately conclude. While it took four seasons to develop the story and characters, much of the groundwork for Season 5 was laid much earlier. The final season may revisit the events of Will’s disappearance in Season 1 and continue plotlines from Season 4, but none of what happens in the latest episodes would have been possible without the events of Season 2.
Stranger Things Confirmed That Season 2 Is, Surprisingly, the Most Important Outing of the Show
Now that Stranger Things Season 5 has finished, it’s become clear that Season 2 is actually the most crucial part of the entire show – something many fans likely didn’t realize. While it’s one of the best seasons, it’s also surprisingly easy to forget. Compared to the massive scale of Season 4, or the fresh, nostalgic feel of Season 1, Season 2 doesn’t stand out as much. It doesn’t even have the notoriety of being heavily criticized, unlike Season 3. It’s just a really good season of television that, unfortunately, gets overshadowed by the others.
Season 5 really highlights how important Season 2 was to the overall story. Looking back, Season 2 will seem even more impressive, showing how carefully the creators planned things out from the beginning. Several storylines and details introduced in Season 2, like the cliffhanger with Will in Volume 1 and the reappearance of a character we hadn’t seen in a while, pay off in a big way in Stranger Things Season 5.
All the Ways Stranger Things Season 2 Set Up The Final Chapter
The final season of Stranger Things significantly expands on ideas first introduced in Season 2, most notably Will’s link to Vecna and the hive mind. While this connection originated with his disappearance in Season 1, we only truly understood its impact later. Season 2 powerfully showed the lasting trauma Will experienced and established his connection to creatures like the Mind Flayer and Demogorgon. Despite Joyce and Jonathan thinking they severed this connection at the end of Season 2, the new episodes reveal it never truly went away. Will can still access this power, and surprisingly, he’s now able to use it against Vecna – a development that could be crucial in the final battle.
The tunnels first shown in Season 2 of Stranger Things become crucial to the story’s ending. They’re revealed as part of Vecna’s scheme to connect our world with the Upside Down. Vecna says Will Byers created the tunnels while unknowingly controlled by the hive mind, providing backstory to their initial, mysterious appearance.
The character Kali, also known as Eight, returns in Season 5 of Stranger Things. Her appearance in the divisive episode “The Lost Sister” from Season 2 initially felt like a dead end, as her story wasn’t revisited for a long time. Now, it’s revealed that Dr. Kay is using Kali against Eleven. Though Eleven and Hopper rescue her, Kali’s motives are questionable, and her urging Eleven to make a huge sacrifice suggests she’ll play a key role in the show’s final episodes.
Season 2 isn’t just about the immediate story; it also sets up crucial characters and relationships for the later episodes. We first meet Max Mayfield, who becomes vital to the group’s search for Holly and Vecna in Season 5. While the struggles in Steve and Dustin’s friendship and Nancy and Jonathan’s relationship don’t directly drive the main plot, they become significant emotional storylines in the final season, and their beginnings are in Season 2.
Stranger Things Could Have More Season 2 Connections in Its Series Finale
Season 2 of Stranger Things sets up a lot of what happens later, and the connections to earlier seasons might continue. The Mind Flayer first appears in Season 2, and many fans believe it will be the ultimate villain of the entire series. Even though it seemed to be defeated in Season 3, the Mind Flayer could still be out there, secretly planning its return – similar to Vecna. Clues from the stage play The First Shadow and glimpses into the Mindscape in Season 5 hint at a traumatic event in Henry’s past, connected to the cave where Max hid. It’s possible the Mind Flayer was responsible for this event and is manipulating Henry. This would be a surprising twist for the finale, referencing earlier seasons and solidifying Season 2 as the most important part of the whole show.
Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 3 arrives on Netflix at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on December 31.
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2025-12-29 04:41