All 8 Stranger Things Season 1 Episodes, Ranked

(We're within a month!)

My Stranger Things season one coverage is continuing with an episode ranking! If you read my review, you know that I adore this season. I do truly believe that this is one of the best seasons of TV ever made. There are no bad episodes. Honestly, there's no episodes that are even decent. Every single episode is very good to great to some of the best TV has to offer. This is just a perfect season of TV, so naturally, this ranking was very difficult. But I tried my best, so here's my ranking of every episode of Stranger Things's first season.

8. Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat

The slowest episode of the season that focuses on major subplots

The Flea and the Acrobat is still a very good episode, but it is also the one that focuses the least on Will being missing. There's a lot to love here: Hopper's continued investigation, Joyce standing up to Lonnie, and Nancy and Jonathan's budding relationship. I think this episode needed to do a lot of the least exciting leg work to continue building tension and moving the story forward. I find Lucas's character to be very frustrating in this season, and he's the most frustrating here. Lonnie is just the worst, so him being prominent is not my favorite thing. But, again, all of these things end up paying off by the end of the season. Being the worst episode in season one of Stranger Things is like being the worst player on the current Los Angeles Dodgers team: you are surrounded by superstars, so you seem a little bit worse than you probably are, but you are still better than 99.9% of the world at baseball.

7. Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street

An episode that lives off of building incredible character interactions

Episode two is tons of fun. We get to see the boys interact with Eleven for the first time, and that is worth pressing play in and of itself. This is also, of course, where we see Barb's disappearance and kick off Nancy's character arc. This is what the episode's is; episode one gave us the inciting incident and introduced us to all of our characters, and episode two really lets us live in this world where Will is missing and shows us the entire cast starting off their journeys. It's super fun and still has a lot of the heart-breaking feel that this entire first season has while maybe not having the explosive moments that the rest of the episodes have.

6. Chapter Six: The Monster

A good episode with an iconic ending sequence

This is where the ranking gets tough. The bottom two are both very good episodes. This is where all of them start to get great. The Monster kicks off with us getting our true first look at the Upside Down as Nancy gets stuck and spots the Demogorgon. We also track Mike and Dustin trying to figure out where Eleven went so they can get her back and find Will. Steve also gets his much needed punch in the face. This episode has so many awesome things. Of course, the best part is that quarry sequence near the end. Eleven's awe-inspiring return is just so iconic. Her badass look with the dirty dress and bloody nose as she breaks Troy's arm (well deserved) and saves Mike and Dustin is just incredible. Pair that with Dustin's fantastic line: "You better run! She's our friend and she's crazy!" and then that heart-warming group hug, and you've got one of the most iconic sequences in the show. I want to put it higher, but this just goes to show how great this season is.

5. Chapter Seven: The Bathtub

A classic Stranger Things penultimate episode

The Bathtub picks up right where The Monster left off. Right after our group hug, we go straight into the epic bike chase as Brenner and Hawkins Lab try to get Eleven back. The incredible van flip may pale in comparison to some of the epic moments in the later seasons, but it was a gorgeous, awesome stunt that was achieved practically, and it still has a jaw-dropping feel to it despite the growing scale of the show. One of the things Stranger Things does so well is its consistency with penultimate episodes: the reason every single season finale is fantastic is because they are setup so well in the previous episode. The Bathtub brings together all of our characters and has Eleven search for Will in the Upside Down. Everyone has been on their separate journeys throughout this season: Joyce and Hopper, Nancy and Jonathan, the boys and Eleven, and they all come together in this episode to give us some incredibly fun interactions that also get you excited for the final episode.

4. Chapter Three: Holly, Jolly

A thrilling, emotional, and heart-breaking entry that gives us one of the show's best set pieces

This episode was the episode that elevated Stranger Things from a fun, exciting, heartfelt show to the pop culture phenomenon that it was. After building up the mystery of Will's disappearance through the first two episodes, we get an explosive turn into act two as Joyce discovers his ability to communicate through the lights. This causes her to hang up the iconic Christmas lights alphabet as Will tells her to "R-U-N" and we see the Demogorgon for the first time. Beyond that, Nancy's concerns about Barb begin to develop here. Lucas is skeptical of Eleven's true motives. And, of course, the episode comes to a heart-breaking conclusion as Will's "body" is discovered in the quarry. This is a devastating and shocking episode that showed us the potential of Stranger Things.

3. Chapter Four: The Body

The moment when Stranger Things showed how great all of its characters were

After the surprising twist of Will's body being discovered in episode three, The Body slowly quells our fears by confirming that Will is still alive. We investigate this mystery of his body through Hopper, who flexes how good of a cop he actually is. The thing that this episode does so well is showing us Hopper's investigation of Will's body while also developing his character and the greatness that he once had in him. This is where he becomes the best character in Stranger Things. Beyond just Hopper, we see Eleven in the real world for the first time. She goes to school with the boys and makes contact with Will while Joyce sees him in the wall. This episode knows how to give us relief by showing that Will is still alive while also keeping the tension up by making it clear he's in serious, serious danger. This is just another iconic entry in season one. Truly one of the best episodes of the show.

2. Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers

One of the best pilots ever made

The one that started it all. The Vanishing of Will Byers is a perfect introductory episode. In the first ten minutes, it gets us invested in this group of boys and the 80s-inspired atmosphere while also showing us something mysterious and horrifying when Will gets kidnapped. From there, after being introduced to the boys, the story shows the reactions and dynamics of the other characters: Hopper is a drunk, checked-out police chief, Joyce is a frantic mother, Nancy is the schoolgirl who has fallen for the jock, Jonathan is a loner, and, the best, Eleven is entirely mysterious. Every scene is purposeful. Every character is given something about them that pops. You see Hopper start his transformation early as he initially ignores Joyce before realizing that Will is actually missing. Joyce, despite being an anxious mess, has an undeniable strength and power in her. The episode caps off with a perfect cliffhanger as the boys, while searching for Will, come across Eleven in the woods. What a way to introduce us to the greatest show in the world.

1. Chapter Eight: The Upside Down

A cathartic and exciting finale that caps off a near-perfect first season

Season one of Stranger Things is great throughout, but nothing matters if you don't stick the landing. Not only does it stick the landing: it knocks it out of the park. Later seasons also have great finales, but there's something refreshing about the smaller, more personal stakes of the first season. The goal is simple: find Will. Will being found is just as emotional and powerful as you'd expect. At the same time, we see Eleven take down the Demogorgon and "sacrifice" herself in a devastating goodbye to Mike. We see Hopper's heart-breaking backstory and watch him complete his journey as he is able to find some peace in the fact that he saved Will. And, of course, Steve Harrington gets his redemption and starts his path of becoming one of the best characters in television history. All of this incredible story is capped off with the perfect epilogue as we see another D&D game, Nancy's continued relationship with Jonathan despite staying with Steve, Hopper leaving some Eggos in the woods, and a quiet tease for season two as Will throws up a slug. There's nothing I can say about this season that hasn't already been said. It's basically perfect, and the finale is the perfect capper on all that perfection.