Stranger Things Quick Review - Chapter Three: The Turnbow Trap

Eat your pie.

One episode left, guys. I just watched The Turnbow Trap last night and I will be watching Sorcerer tonight. I have (for right now) evaded all spoilers, so I am just out of my mind excited to see this mid-season finale. God. I cannot believe we are nearly halfway through the final season of Stranger Things. I am going to be devastated when this show ends.

Also, spoilers ahead for the first three episodes of Stranger Things 5.

The Sweet

I think this was probably my favorite of the first three episodes, which was surprising.

The way Stranger Things seasons tend to work, it does usually take about three episodes for it to get going. Usually, the first episode is fun because you enjoy being back in this world with these characters. The second episode meanders a bit and you feel the dragging of the setup. The third episode is usually the most frustrating of the bunch, because it still drags with setup while also hinting at where we're actually going.

The Turnbow Trap is none of that. Instead, it's just pure, classic Stranger Things at its best.

Legendary filmmaker Frank Darabont of The Shawshank Redemption actually came out of retirement to direct a few episodes of this season. This is the first one he directed, and it is just such a complete blast. After Holly's disappearance and Will's realization that Vecna's next target is Derek Turnbow, the group decides to set the titular "Turnbow Trap". And chaos ensues.

What makes this episode so much fun is how it does really feel like vintage Stranger Things. The whole idea of the Turnbow trap feels like a classic trope of this show, but not one that's been overused. It's a layered, complex plan that feels built out so you understand exactly the characters's goals and the consequences that will occur if they fail. There's a whole montage of the group setting up Home Alone style traps for the Demogorgon, and when the monster does show up, we get an incredible action sequence that feels exciting and earned. I was just grinning ear to ear during that entire part. God, I love this show.

This season is also doing a fantastic job of giving us bits and pieces of its mystery. The big overarching mystery is what Vecna's true intentions are, and every small piece of that is a mystery in and of itself. We know that Will is connected to his ultimate plan, but we don't really know how or why. I expect that Holly and these other kidnappings are also a part of it. There's a gigantic wall in the Upside Down that seems significant. Everything seems interconnected, and you can feel this all building to something.

I also loved that this episode felt a little bit lighter than the first two. This season is dark. It's probably going to get darker. The outlook is bleak. All hope seems kind of lost, but The Turnbow Trap really relies on its fun character dynamics and humor to make this feel, again, like a classic, great Stranger Things episode. Murray's appearance is really hilarious and well done. Hopper and Eleven have some cute interactions. Erica returns and is the frickin' highlight of the episode. And Mr. Clarke is back!!! Like, oh my God, there was just so much to love here.

I also absolutely adored everything with Holly. Something bad is brewing. You can tell. I said it in my first two reviews of The Crawl and The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler, but there is just this impending sense of doom lurking in the shadows of this season. And all of that is felt with Holly's little side quest here. She's in this eerily safe version of the Creel House with an uncomfortably friendly Henry who does ominously warn her not to go in the woods. Of course, halfway through the episode, she receives a letter that tells her to go through the woods and meet up with someone she thinks to be Henry.

As soon as I saw that frickin' letter, I knew exactly where this was going. And I was so excited.

Max Mayfield has made her glorious return to Stranger Things, and I could not be more happy. I have theorized for a while that Holly would encounter Max if she is indeed the one who vanishes, and alas, I was correct. Not to say that this was predictable in any way shape or form: I still have zero clue where they are or why Max is there. I assume it's some sort of mind prison that Vecna has created, but I don't know. And I cannot wait to find out.

I am also loving what they are doing with Will. This poor guy has been sidelined since season two, and the Duffers have promised that he will be front and center this season. So far, they have lived up to that promise. He is actively a part of what's going on and really feels like he has his own arc. I love his pairing with Robin. I raved about that in my review of episode two. There's a conversation he has here with Joyce about why she's so overprotective of him that I found to be really poignant and touching. It feels so real, which is what Stranger Things has always been so good at. Blending this insane supernatural story about monsters and alternate dimensions with characters who have such real, rich emotions is what makes this show so incredible.

I feel like there's a million more things I could say that I loved, because I just adored this episode. I thought basically every scene was a banger. I will close out my positives with this: I am very, very curious to see who is behind that door that Eleven saw in the soldier's mind. El said it was Vecna. I do not think it was. I think they are hiding Kali Prasad, ladies and gentleman. I think 008 will be making her return to the show imminently. You heard it here first (hopefully).

And, if she does somehow return in episode four, I am writing this before I've watched it. So I promise (even though there's no real way to prove it) that I am not cheating here.

The Sour

Honestly, I barely have any negatives here. My only slight negative is the Hopper-Eleven stuff. I love these two characters. They are both in my top five as far as Stranger Things characters go. And I think they are great in this season so far. I'm just not as invested in their little adventure in the Upside Down as I am in the other stuff going on. I feel like they've been separated from the main group, and I really want to see everyone back together.

I also think I was spoiled by season four, but I honestly wouldn't mind these episodes being a little bit longer. There's so much plot and action and excitement going on that it feels like we don't have a chance to breathe. I want more moments like the Will-Joyce conversation in this episode or the Mike-Holly conversation in the first episode. I love these characters. I want to savor every last minute with them. But I acknowledge that I am a Stranger Things mega-fan and I could watch eight four-hour episodes and not get tired of it, so that's probably just me.

Final Thoughts and Score

The Turnbow Trap continues the rampant build of season five's tension and excitement. I cannot wait to watch Sorcerer ..and then have to experience the inevitably excruciating wait that will be between now and volume two.

I am, of course, going Sweet here. Age range is 12+.

SWEET N' SOUR SCALE

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

"The Turnbow Trap"

"Stranger Things 5"

Fun Factor: 10/10

Acting: 9/10

Story: 9.5/10

Characters: 10/10

Quality: 9.5/10

Directed by Frank Darabont

Rated TV-MA for moderate violence, frightening themes and images, language, thematic elements

Premiered on November 26, 2025

1 hour and 6 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

Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers

Joe Keery as Steve Harrington

Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley

Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers

David Harbour as Jim Hopper

Jamie Campbell Bower as Henry Creel

Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler

Jake Connelly as Derek Turnbow

Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair Randy Havens as Scott Clarke

Brett Gelman as Murray Bauman

Sherman Augustus as Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan

Caroline Elle Abrams as Tina Turnbow

Gray Hawks as Ken Turnbow

Alex Breaux as Lt. Akers

Kelly Collins Lintz as Mrs. Turnbow

Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield