All 5 Seasons of Stranger Things, Ranked

Over and out...

I am wrapping up my Stranger Things coverage here on the blog. One final bittersweet goodbye to this beautiful ten-year journey that all of us have been on together. Yesterday, I ranked every single episode of the show, so today, we are zooming out and ranking all five seasons. Despite me loving every single season of this show, there was a pretty clear ranking in my head. This was not as hard as I expected it to be. I think part of that is because all five of these seasons are great to me. So here it is. My ranking of every season of Stranger Things, one last time.

5. Season 2

The series's sophomore outing feels darker and a little less fun, but still great

Season two of Stranger Things would be the peak for so many other shows, so it is telling that this is the weakest season of the show. There are a few reasons why it ultimately falls short of the heights of season one, but I think the biggest one is that it tries too hard to replicate season one while lacking the mystery and intrigue that made it great in the first place. I think they do a great job with Will's character in this season, but having him be the focus of another conflict with the Upside Down feels repetitive. You can feel them trying to replicate the iconic Christmas lights with the drawings hung up all around the Byers's house. It feels like it is sticking too closely to the formula of season one which holds it back from feeling like its own unique story.

That said, it's still great. So much of the iconic stuff about this show actually starts in season two. Max and Billy are introduced here. Jonathan and Nancy get together. We expand the Upside Down and its lore and reach a bit more. Hopper adopts Eleven. And, of course, Dustin and Steve become arguably the most iconic duo in the history of television. By the end of the season, watching Eleven reunite with the party and close the gate is almost as satisfying as her defeating the Demogorgon. The payoff of finally seeing the Snow Ball is such a great emotional crescendo for these first two episodes. I think season two is still a fantastic season of TV. It just goes to show how great Stranger Things truly is.

4. Season 5

The final season is a bit rocky at times but ultimately comes to a very satisfying end

The final season of Stranger Things has some of the highest highs and the lowest lows of the show. Before the season started, the Duffers said this would be a combination of seasons one and four, which is true, but in doing that, it loses some of the magic of both of those seasons. It wants to be as epic as season four but struggles to mix that sense of stakes and urgency with the small, personal story of season one.

But let's stop beating around the bush here: the final season of Stranger Things still comes to a very satisfying conclusion. This season gives us so many incredible moments of emotion and payoff that we've been waiting to see for years. Watching Will Byers accept his identity and gain superpowers is incredible. The final showdown with Vecna gives every one of our characters a moment to shine. And, of course, the extended forty-minute epilogue is a poignant goodbye to this beautiful ten-year journey that we have been on.

All in all, season five does not reach the heights of the two seasons it is trying to combine. But it achieves its most important goal: sticking the landing. A show can be made or broken by its finale. When its a show with the popularity of Stranger Things, it really can only be broken. Just look at Game of Thrones. This final season knew the stakes going in, and delivered a great end to this story that will leave Hawkins behind with a positive legacy.

3. Season 3

On the flip side of season two, season three is a bit too bright and energetic, but also still great

I know a lot of people view season three as the weakest season of the show, but I personally love it. It definitely feels like a change of pace from seasons one and two, but I think that's a good thing. After season two tried to be a darker season one, this entry decides to brighten the world and bring some fun, popping 80s energy to Stranger Things. And, while that decision doesn't always entirely work, I think it makes for an ultimately satisfying middle entry in this show.

What does work perfectly, however, is the crescendo and final showdown with Billy and the goo-Flayer. After the incredible sauna test sequence, season three kicks into high gear and does not let off the gas until the credits of episode eight roll. There are so many incredible action sequences and satisfying moments of payoff. Dustin calling Suzie in their moment of need and giving us The NeverEnding Story is one of my favorite scenes in Stranger Things. Billy's final sacrifice and Hopper's speech to Eleven give us the most emotional moments since season one. The acting in this season is absolutely fantastic, from Dacre Montgomery to Millie Bobby Brown. I love the addition of Robin as this great new companion for Steve. Her coming out scene is one of the best written scenes in this show. Such a good way to subvert audiences expectations. Season three has a lot more great moments than people remember, and I absolutely love it.

2. Season 4

The epic, sprawling season that catapulted this show to legendary status

As much as I love the other three seasons below this, seasons four and one of this show are basically perfect. After season three's bright energy and somewhat campy feel, season four gets back to the core of this show...but this time, it gets epic. This is one of the most ambitious seasons of TV ever. Every single episode is over an hour long. And almost every single minute of that runtime is earned. We have characters in different cities, different states, different countries, different continents. And, despite the spread-out nature of this season and the epic scale, it still manages to have those great, touching moments between characters that make this show special.

By introducing Vecna and having a real, sentient threat for our characters to go up against, this season automatically raises the stakes and the urgency. Whereas the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer are unstoppable creatures, Vecna can outthink and outsmart our characters, which is even scarier. This allows for the Duffers to just slowly crank up the tension and the dire situations throughout the season. And, in this, we get some of the best and most powerful moments in the show. I kid you not when I say the Running Up That Hill sequence is possibly my favorite moment in any movie or show. I wrote a whole ten-page essay on it in my English class last year. I've probably watched it over a hundred times, and it still hits me every time. It's so good, and while no other moment in this season reaches those heights, it gets close from time to time.

All of this epic building of tension and stakes lead us to the super-sized two and a half hour finale, where we get one of the best episodes of TV of all time. This interconnected battle that is taking place in Hawkins, in Russia, in Vecna and Eleven's mind, and in the Upside Down just makes for one of the coolest and most ambitious finales ever. You get almost two hours of non-stop action and epic payoff before moving into a very emotional final thirty minutes as you see the party cope with the losses they've suffered. As I am writing this blurb, I want to put season four in the top spot. Because if this were any other show, it would take the top spot. Along with the final two seasons of Breaking Bad and a specific other season that we are going to talk about very soon, this is one of my favorite TV seasons ever.

1. Season 1

Arguably the best first season of any show ever

Stranger Things was special from the beginning. Season one of this show is unlike anything I have ever seen and will see in the future. It is this perfect, lightning-in-a-bottle little story that feels like the perfect blend of Steven Spielberg's kid-like wonder and Stephen King's coming-of-age horror. Even people who don't love Stranger Things as a whole acknowledge that season one is absolutely perfect. It's such a simple story: a young boy mysteriously vanishes and his three best friends, the police chief, and his mother desperately search for him. But through this very simple and effective plot, we get to explore these fantastic characters. Whether you are talking about Mike, Lucas, and Dustin, who feel like actual nerdy kids who are adventurous and want to find Will. Whether you are talking about Joyce, who is acting insane but is actually right and no one will believe her. Or whether you are talking about Hopper, the checked-out alcoholic police chief who gets a chance to become the great man he once was through this search for Will.

In crafting these fantastic characters, you just feel the emotions and thrills that the Duffers want you to feel throughout this season. They craft a very compelling hook and just build so much incredible stuff around it. How can you not talk about Eleven in this season? From the moment she steps on screen with that torn hospital gown, she was iconic. Millie Bobby Brown does so much in her performance despite barely speaking throughout the season. And that can be said of so many of the actors this season. Winona Ryder. David Harbour. Finn Wolfhard. Gaten Matarazzo. Charlie Heaton. Natalia Dyer. Joe Keery. All of them are just absolutely incredible this season.

I don't know what else to say. Stranger Things as a whole is my favorite show of all time, and I love the following four seasons after this. But there are very few stories that connect with me like the first season of Stranger Things. It was what got this special journey started in the first place, and it is absolutely perfect.