For casual fans, the "Stranger Things" season five trailer marks an overdue finish to a legendary television show filled with “Goonies”-esque mysteries and the overwhelming horror of Eldritch supernatural creatures. What the trailer promises is a final trip through Hawkins with the outcasts that audiences have grown up with over the past nine years.
For diehard fans, the trailer is a stepping stone into the world of Hawkins, including the Upside Down, the lives of the gang and their relationships, as it focuses on the fight for humanity.
Whether it's the epic final fight against Vecna or the nostalgia of a show, audiences are anticipating seeing the entirety of the world-building of Hawkins finally come to a connective close.
The two-and-a-half-minute trailer is packed with emotional turmoil, high-stakes action and imagery that invites endless speculation.
The trailer begins at the Upside Down’s version of the Hawkins Library, where past scenes have included Dustin Henderson screaming about his “curiosity voyage” and characters scouring old newspapers.
Viewers see the Demogorgon, once the apex predator of the series, now bowing at the presence of Vecna. Scary enough already, Vecna’s haunted and guttural voice comes through signaling the start of the end, “At long last, we can begin.” Clearly, the hierarchy within the realm of the Upside Down has become clear; it’s evil, primal and personal.
While the gang is comprised of a ragtag collective, each with their own reasons for fighting, watching the destruction of the town of Hawkins is difficult for viewers. Despite being fictional, the town is a character in itself.
In the trailer, Hawkins, once a small-town backdrop for ‘80s supernatural mystery, now looks like a war zone. Buildings are decimated, streets are run through with cracks into the Upside Down and familiar landmarks are barely recognizable. Once a peaceful suburban town, now a hauntingly destroyed battlefield.
The trailer introduces some new locations, including a radio station, possibly related to the radio situated at the highest point in Hawkins, a speculative new hub for the group of outsiders.
After four seasons in which the group dynamic has constantly shifted, the final season looks to focus on togetherness. For the characters who have survived, the fight has become a collective mission rather than their individual agendas.
Seemingly trapped within the Hawkins city limits by military operations, the group will begin this season already united. Mike Wheeler’s declaration, “We find Vecna, end this once and for all… together,” hints not only at the importance of the group finally coming together but his evolution as a leader.
The young fan-favorite telepathic protagonist, Eleven (or Jane Hopper), is at her most powerful. In multiple clips, you see not only her stoicism, fingers curling, likely staring down evil, but her actual power developing as she flies over fences and effortlessly throws things with her mind. Despite Brenner’s death, Eleven’s growth feels like a vendetta, not just for herself but for the stake of the world’s future.
The trailer shows Henderson walking through the halls of his high school, donning his Hellfire Club shirt. While the town sees the logo as the satanic reason why Hawkins is crumbling, Henderson knows the truth behind Eddie Munson’s death, even while being faced with societal judgment.
Meanwhile, Lucas Sinclair is running from a demogorgon with a blind-unconscious Max Mayfield in his arms in the hospital, and in another scene, trapped within the vine tunnels. For two characters that have, for so long, succeeded, their relentless fight reflects hope for the trailer’s moments of uncertainty.
As the trailer progresses, the Upside Down leaks into the town of Hawkins, affecting those who were originally more oblivious to the actual situation at hand. Karen and Holly Wheeler, two characters who have had lesser roles in comparison to their counterparts, are seen holding their breath underwater, paralyzed with fear.
Jonathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler appear surrounded by the red-and-black swirling dust of the Upside Down, a chilling allusion to the vision Vecna once showed Nancy Wheeler of Hawkins engulfed in flames, as she warned, “It is not going to stop until we’re drained of every last ounce of suffering.”
Will Byers’s centrality to the show is unparalleled as his connection to the Upside Down since his original vanishing is challenged when Vecna says, with Byers floating before him, "William, you are going to help me, one last time."
Theories online have swirled around the influence of Dungeons & Dragons on the show, suggesting that Byers’s fate may mirror that of the game. Unsure of what to expect, fans worry Byers may be the perfect pawn in Vecna’s final move against Hawkins.
Hoping for the survival of all the characters while accepting that it is impossible, fans should expect many tears to be shed. With Steve Harrington, a character that was to be originally written off in the first season, the looming uncertainty of Mayfield’s health and connection to Vecna and the relationship between Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper leave fans impatient, giddy and terrified all at once. There is no doubt that society will feel the impact of the show’s ending as fans say goodbye to a story that has shown a generation what it really means to be human.
@emiliedeoreo
