All 7 Episodes of Stranger Things Season 5, Ranked (So Far)

One more episode to go.

Okay. I was on vacation when volume two dropped, so, while I was able to watch it, I was unable to get a full review in. I figured I would chime in on my thoughts by doing a ranking of the episodes this season, adding in the three episodes we got from volume two. Let me just say this before we go in: some of the hate online that I have seen about this volume is absolutely ridiculous. If you genuinely did not like these three episodes, I respect and understand that. But calling this another Game of Thrones or saying that this is "the worst volume ever" is just stupid, guys. So if you are coming into this ready for me to just dunk on Stranger Things 5, go find some other toxic corner of the internet. I have my criticisms, but I still believe that this is a good season and these three episodes have their strengths. That said, here's my ranking.

7. Chapter Seven: The Bridge

The penultimate episode is underwhelming but some of this hate is just ridiculous

I think The Bridge is where a lot of the backlash regarding this volume of episodes has come from. The legitimate criticism about this episode is that it does not feel like it's building to the final episode of Stranger Things. It's a slower, character-focused episode. It's light on action. It doesn't really give us a ton of revelations or reveals. It does not raise the stakes or tension going into the finale. And that is really, really frustrating. It is disappointing to have the second to last episode of the entire show feel like it's not trying to get you excited for the epic final showdown. I also think opinions on this episode will shift after the finale, but we will see.

And, while this episode feels underwhelming as the penultimate episode of the show, it still has some great moments. The fact that it's the lowest rated episode of Stranger Things is utterly ridiculous. Lucas and Max's reunion is as emotional as you'd expect. Holly's rebelliousness in Camazotz and Vecna's growing menace do give us a small semblance of stakes. And I thought Will Byers's coming out scene was absolutely beautiful. This is the most controversial part of this volume, and I just don't get it. Noah Schnapp delivered a fantastic performance in one of the series's most emotional payoff scenes. Will being gay has been set up since literally the first episode of the show. This scene was, in my opinion, a beautiful and cathartic way to fight back against the fear Vecna injects in everyone. It's really a massive shame that so many people are hating on this scene, whether it's because they are actually homophobic or because they wanted Will and Mike to end up together. I thought it was a perfect way to let Will let go of this massive, weighty secret that he'd been holding in for so long.

6. Chapter One: The Crawl

The season's kick-off is a very fun reintroduction into the newly quarantined Hawkins

The Crawl is an undeniably messy episode, but I love how quickly it jumps into action. We see the group back together, all in one place, for the first time since the end of season three. It's nice to have everyone interacting and working as this sort of underground spy network trying to fight Vecna in the shadows while the military quarantines Hawkins. I love seeing where everyone is at. Dustin being traumatized from Eddie's death makes sense, and his new rebellious state sets him up for a powerful journey across the rest of the season. Mike Wheeler returns to season one form by being the loyal, great friend that I've missed seeing in seasons two through four. The climactic crawl ends in a dread-inducing sequence as a Demogorgon viciously rips through Holly Wheeler's ceiling and throws us right into the action of season five.

5. Chapter Five: Shock Jock

A slower episode that has a lot of pacing issues but also gives us some really satisfying moments

This is a trend with Stranger Things. Episode four usually is an epic, mid-season finale that gives us some huge revelation or incredible sequence. In season one, we saw that Will's body was fake. In season two, Will has been infected by the Mind Flayer and Hopper gets stuck in the tunnels. In season three, we had the sauna test. And, of course, season four had Running Up That Hill. Episode fives tend to not be able to measure up to the epic-ness of the fourth episode, so they feel a little bit softer. Shock Jock has the insurmountable task of living up to Sorcerer, so it just feels a bit slower and less exciting by design. I love seeing everyone's reaction to Will having powers. We get some great moments from Holly and Max. Will taking over Vecna's body and yelling at Max to run was one of the highlights of the season for me. It's a bit awkward in the structure and pacing. Hopping between Camazotz and the Upside Down and the Squawk when all of them feel disconnected can be a bit frustrating. But I thought that this episode delivered some really fun and satisfying moments for a few of our biggest characters.

4. Chapter Two: The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler

A sophomore episode that ramps up the tension and the stakes very nicely

The much-anticipated second episode of the season turned out to have one of the best sequences of the series. You wanted stakes right off the bat? Well, a Demogorgon annihilating the Wheelers and taking Holly into the Upside Down is pretty gnarly stuff. I love how this picks up the momentum of episode one and delivers an action-packed, exciting episode that also delivers on some character moments. Nancy's guilt about not letting her family in on the Upside Down feels very real and very sad. Robin and Will's dynamic is just incredible. The episode also has some pacing issues (as many of this season's episodes do), but it's a lot of fun and really does get the ball rolling early.

3. Chapter Three: The Turnbow Trap

A ridiculously entertaining hour that has everything I love about this show

The Duffers described The Turnbow Trap as the most classic Stranger Things episode this season, and that could not be more true. After Holly has been kidnapped by Vecna, the group tries to figure out a way to get her back. Will, having tapped into the hive mind, figures out that Dipshit Derek Turnbow is Vecna's next target. We get the return of Erica Sinclair in a glorious sequence where she drugs an entire family. We get a great needle drop of Tiffany's I Think We're Alone Now as Holly dances in the empty Creel house. And, of course, the eponymous Turnbow trap where the entire group tries to Home Alone a Demogorgon is just incredible. Cap off the episode with Max's return to the show and you've got one of the most purely entertaining entries in all of Stranger Things.

2. Chapter Six: Escape from Camazotz

One of the most emotional episodes of the entire series

Whereas The Turnbow Trap delivered on all the action and classic fun of Stranger Things, Escape from Camazotz delivered on all the characters and emotional side of the show. To start off, though, we have some majorly satisfying reveals about the Upside Down. The dimension we've always viewed as a scary mirror of Hawkins is not that at all: it's a bridge between Hawkins and the mysterious Abyss, the true home of the Demogorgons, the Mind Flayer, and now Vecna. This revelation was really cool and does kind of reshape the way you look at earlier seasons and how the Upside Down operated.

But let's get into the meat of this episode. The highlight here is Max and Holly as they try to escape Camazotz. Holly comes up with the great idea of looking into Henry's trauma (where we see that weird cave memory) before they discover Vecna's mind lair. There, we get an extremely emotional scene where Max encourages Holly and tells her that she is heroic, thus opening up her portal in the mind lair. The parallel of Dear Billy worked beautifully for me as both Max and Holly ran towards their freedom.

The other standout moments here are, of course, Nancy and Jonathan's scene and Steve and Dustin's scenes. On the brink of death, Nancy and Jonathan are finally honest with each other. Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton give powerhouse performances here as they just lay everything out on the table and reconcile the secrets they've kept from each other. There is part of me that wished they died, but I also don't think it's satisfying to kill them off because Nancy shot the exotic matter. Either way, this was a great scene. And the other incredible scene is between Dustin and Steve. After being at each other's throats all season, Dustin, in a moment of vulnerability after fearing that Steve might die, reveals that he's been so angry because he can't "let it happen again". Gaten's voice breaking as he says that he can't let Steve become his next Eddie is making me emotional thinking about it. This is where I just don't get the hate for volume two. Stranger Things is about the characters at its core, and the characters are the primary focus of this volume. And nowhere is that more present than in Escape from Camazotz.

1. Chapter Four: Sorcerer

The mid-season finale is huge in scope, reveals, and emotions

Sorcerer is still the mark to beat, and, hopefully, The Rightside Up will reach or beat that mark. As Vecna's plan continues in motion, the group desperately tries to save the kids that he is attempting to kidnap. During this whole setup, we get some great moments. Robin's speech to Will (which eventually motivates him to come out) is one of the best moments of the season. Maya Hawke's performance is not talked about enough, because she's been fantastic this whole season, and that was her standout moment. Derek Turnbow becomes the newest fan-favorite character as he becomes Delightful Derek instead of Dipshit Derek. And Hopper and Eleven have some really powerful father-daughter moments as they try to break their way into the military base in the Upside Down.

But none of those are the reasons that this is one of the show's strongest episodes. The climax of this episode is an epic, insane battle in the MAC-Z when three Demogorgons show up and start massacring the military. The highlight of this battle is a gorgeous one-take as we follow Mike, Joyce, and Will as they navigate the kids through this insanity. Vecna then shows up and absolutely destroys the military. He then taunts Will and sets the Demogorgons on his friends...which is when we get the second best moment of the entire show.

Through four seasons, Will Byers has been sidelined. He has not been the focus, despite being the central figure in season one. And that has always been disappointing. But they are remedying that in season five, which they prove when he remembers Robin's speech and accepts himself for who he is...thus tapping into the hive mind and siphoning Vecna's powers. In one of the most badass and epic moments I've ever seen on TV, Will, with whited-out eyes and a menacing look, stops the Demogorgons from killing his friends and snaps their limbs Vecna-style. What a mid-season finale. If the real finale can live up to this, I really think that will cement Stranger Things as one of TV's biggest successes.