Stranger Things Quick Review - Chapter One: The Crawl

Burn commencing in five..four...

So I do plan on releasing a full volume one review once I've watched the whole thing (that will probably come out Friday night or Saturday morning), but for now, I'm posting my quick thoughts on each individual episodes. I am savoring the final season of this incredible show, so I am not binging the whole thing at once. I did, however, watch the first two episodes tonight.

And there will be spoilers, so if you haven't watched it, please click away.

The Sweet

Look. Before I get into this review, let me say that I am one hundred percent biased. I have been waiting for three and a half very long years to watch this season, and in that time, my expectations have skyrocketed and my love for the series and its characters has grown. So I have a difficult time looking at this with a critical lens, because it's such a blur of excitement and emotion that we've finally reached its release.

That said, this premiere was amazing. Was it perfect? No, but it did exactly what I expected it to do. It made it clear that the stakes are the highest they've ever been and the insanity is cranked up to eleven (no pun intended).

The thing that I really appreciated about this was finally seeing all of our characters in the same place for the first time in what feels like forever. When was the last time we had a full episode with multiple scenes between Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin? That's refreshing. Everyone being in Hawkins and being in close proximity makes this season feel even tighter and more emotional. Everyone has the same mission: find and kill Vecna. You feel every character's motivation and fears as they scour the Upside Down and Hawkins for any sign of him.

This episode also has some unexpected and very welcome stars. It has been a long, long time since Mike Wheeler has been one of the best characters on the show, but he is the standout in this premiere. Him and his two sisters. That's right. Nancy, who is obviously always great, is a standout, but Nell Fisher's Holly Wheeler gets her time to shine, too, and it is amazing.

The show also feels both darker and more epic than it ever has. I guess maybe it's just as dark as season four, but there's a sense of impending doom that you have throughout the episode. The tension just keeps on building, because you know that the group is eventually going to find Vecna or find some sign of him, so you are just waiting with baited breath for that to happen. But also, because Vecna is in hiding, it takes us through the whole Upside Down and really lets you feel the scope of this epic final season.

I also really loved the military quarantine as a backdrop. The way that the group is operating almost as this underground spy network trying to secretly search for Vecna makes it really, really exciting and intense. The final twenty minutes, where they perform the actual crawl, is just so much fun. Every character has a role in this epic plan, and every role feels important. Stranger Things is always great about having these epic, interconnected sequences, and they show that off immediately in the first episode.

Finally, this is the most gorgeous Stranger Things has looked...ever. Between the cinematography, color grading, and absolutely stunning visual effects, this show has never looked better. It's ludicrous $40 million per episode budget looks like it is paying off in full, because almost every shot here is just beautiful.

The Sour

Again, I am just so excited that this show is finally here that I am not really focusing on my negatives. I don't even really have that many, so I'm just going to touch on them quickly.

I was not crazy about Steve and Jonathan in this first episode. We know their love triangle with Nancy is a huge part of this show, but it felt a little bit overdone in this introductory entry. Like, we get it. They're competitive. They want to show off for her. But in the grand scheme of things, with Hawkins being quarantined and Vecna being out there, this love story feels so inconsequential. We don't need it so shoved in our face. I think it'd be better if they added some subtlety to it instead of having them so overtly compete for Nancy's affection.

This isn't even really a negative, but there's a lot going on in this first episode, and it can sometimes feel like a lot to keep track of. Holly has a very eerie imaginary (or maybe not so imaginary?) friend. The crawl is happening. Eleven wants to join the crawl but Hopper won't let her. Dustin is being bullied for his support of Eddie and the Hellfire Club. Will is having some weird visions. He also spots Robin kissing Vickie. Dr. Kay and the military are searching for Eleven. And then, in the end, a Demogorgon attacks the military truck during the crawl and then breaks into the Wheeler house. That's a very, very dense first episode. So much to keep track of, and it can sometimes be overwhelming.

But honestly, who cares? This was awesome. It was exactly the kick off I hoped for in season five.

Final Thoughts and Score

The Crawl is an exciting, ambitious premiere for the final season of Stranger Things. It hits basically every beat I wanted it to. I cannot wait to watch the rest of this season.

This gets a Sweet. Age range is 14+.

SWEET N' SOUR SCALE

Sweet (Great) Savory (Good) Sour (Bad) Moldy (Terrible)

"Chapter One: The Crawl" "Stranger Things 5"

Directed by Matt and Ross Duffer

Rated TV-MA for strong bloody violence, frightening themes and imagery, language, thematic elements

Premiered on November 26, 2025

1 hour and 11 minutes

Millie Bobby Brown as Jane Hopper / Eleven

Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler

Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair

Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson

Noah Schnapp as Will Byers

Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler

Joe Keery as Steve Harrington

Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers

Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley

Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers

David Harbour as Jim Hopper

Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler

Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler

Joe Chrest as Ted Wheeler

Linda Hamilton as Dr. Kay

Amybeth McNulty as Vickie Dunne

Brett Gelman as Murray Bauman

Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield

Jake Connelly as Derek Turnbow

Clayton Royal Johnson as Andy

Sherman Augustus as Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan

Jamie Campbell Bower as Henry Creel / Vecna