Stranger Things final season concludes Upside Down mystery

Stranger Things returns for its fifth and final season beginning Nov. 26, with creators saying the eight-episode arc will close the decade-long story of Hawkins, Indiana, and finally explain the nature of the Upside Down. The season will be released in three volumes—four episodes on Nov. 26, three episodes on Dec. 25, and a feature-length finale on Dec. 31—and opens 18 months after the events of season four with Hawkins under military quarantine.

Showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer have described the final run as a definitive conclusion that resolves the principal mysteries that have driven the series. Ross Duffer said the writers reached a point where they needed to answer what the Upside Down is, and Matt Duffer said the core idea of the ending has been in their heads for years. The brothers added they intended to complete the arcs for Vecna, the Demogorgons, the Mind Flayer, and the central characters rather than leave loose threads.

Netflix will present the season in three holiday-timed drops. The first volume’s episodes run longer than typical television installments, with the first four chapters clocking roughly 68 minutes, 54 minutes, 66 minutes and 83 minutes respectively....