(Credits: Netflix)

What an ending. What an epic ending to the first volume of Stranger Things season five.

The Duffer brothers were not kidding when they said that this season is going to shake everyone for real. And guess what? Everyone was already convinced before the release, but now that it’s out and has been binged, fans are more convinced than ever. People logged into Netflix on a working day, on a school night, at the time of day they absolutely should have been asleep, and binged all four episodes like their sanity depended on knowing what happened to Hawkins.

The second those Demogorgons surrounded the group with no Eleven around? Heart rate gone. The moment Vecna whispered into Will’s head again? Emotional stability gone. The final five minutes? Leave Hawkins; our worlds turned Upside Down. Twitter had to reboot itself in the middle of the night because everyone screamed the same sentence: “What did Will just do?”

But here is the magic: the finale is not only about Will. It is a chain reaction. Holly gets pulled into a nightmare wrapped in something that looks like a fairytale. Max shows up in a place the villain refuses to enter (thank god she is still hanging in there). Kali is revealed like a locked-up nuclear secret. Hawkins turns into a controlled zone. And a new kid named Derek (dipshit) comes out of nowhere like the most unexpected surprise.

With everything happening over the span of four episodes and five more yet to come, it was absolutely necessary to discuss the end of this epic volume of Stranger Things, so here you go.

Will’s power awakening, the twist that flipped the finale

The boy who spent the first four seasons shaking, getting attacked over and over again and getting possessed like Hawkins’ favourite trauma magnet just walked into the finale and switched the entire power grid ON.

As usual, Vecna tries to crawl into his mind like he has done a hundred times, expecting the usual trembling Will, but instead, Will taps into memories that once hurt him and hurls them right back into Vecna’s pets. Yes, we are talking about the Demogorgons drop. Like they were waiting for him to press an internal “enough” button.

This is not a glow-up. This is not a comeback. This is the Duffers finally giving Will Byers the due credit he always deserved. The poor guy has suffered enough, and fans were really rooting for him to be healthy for one. But nobody in their wildest dreams thought about Will gaining power.

Vecna’s real plan finally makes sense

Vecna finally opens his mouth, and surprise! It is worse than anything this man has teased so far. Twelve kids. He wants a full dozen of tiny, malleable brains to build whatever nightmare project he is cooking. And then he admits Will was the first trial run. The starter pack, the original experiment.

And Will fighting back at the end? That is Vecna’s worst-case scenario, hitting him like a truck. He built a blueprint, and the blueprint punched him in the soul. Go, Will Byers.

The military twist: Hawkins is under lockdown, but secretly experimenting

Well, Hawkins being covered with military personnel was not really a “twist” because we all saw it coming after what happened at the end of season four. Hawkins is not a town anymore. It is Area 51 with better landscapes. You cannot even enter without flashing clearance, like you are sneaking into a nightclub.

Dr Kay is slicing Upside Down creatures open like she is preparing a dissertation. She, by the way, was a huge plot twist. Soldiers roaming around with energy weapons and then that sonic device? The one that almost knocks Eleven flat? That weapon screams that Dr Kay was well prepared and knew about El’s weakness.

Holly Wheeler becomes a target… Thanks to Mr Whatsit

One thing fans were absolutely right about was the “Vanishing of Holly Wheeler”. You see, the makers kept the name of the person blank in episode two when they released the episode title list. Coming back to Holly, she thought she had a sweet imaginary friend. Turns out she was FaceTiming Vecna in disguise.

He literally borrowed a character from her favourite book, softened his voice, and slid into her life like a bedtime story villain. And the place he drags her to: his own memories. Well, in a way, good for her because that’s what led us to know that Max survived in his head and is fighting to come back.

Derek Turnbow: the unexpected MVP of the trouble

Derek Turnbow, aka Dipshit Derek, entered this season like a snooty brat. He was loud and annoying, and we all hated it for the first time. But then he switches sides faster than a malfunctioning compass the moment a Demogorgon tries to body-slam him.

He goes from running to managing in record-breaking time. Suddenly, he is the inside man we never expected, helping the group navigate a restricted military base like a pro. Derek is proof that in Hawkins, even the brats get character arcs.

Karen Wheeler finally sees the truth, but also pays the price

Karen Wheeler finally enters the chat. She goes from bubble bath relaxation to full monster showdown in seven seconds. The poor lady just wanted to grab a bottle of wine and relax in the bath. Instead, she breaks the bottle like she is starring in a mom cinematic universe and defends Holly with zero hesitation. And she fights hard.

When Nancy finds her bloodied on the floor, we all feel the pain because this is the moment the Wheeler household finally collides with the nightmare their kids have been buried under since 1983. Karen has been clueless for years, not because she is careless, but because the show kept her away from the horror… until now.

Max is alive and trapped in the only place Vecna fears

Max Mayfield is alive. Not in a hospital bed. Not floating in some random memory loop. She is literally living inside a cave in Vecna’s mind, like she claimed squatter rights. She used fragments of old memories and stitched together a mental shelter. And here is the kicker: Vecna refuses to go in there. He tiptoes around it like the cave is a spider he does not want to touch. That cave is the first sign that Vecna is not invincible. Max is alive, and she is living in the ONE spot he cannot control.

Kali is the real secret weapon, the “Kryptonite” reveal

Remember when Eleven entered Akers’ mind expecting a monster and instead found a door she couldn’t get in? It turns out there was a girl locked behind a steel door like the government’s biggest secret, and she was none other than our number eight, aka Kali. The illusion queen. The long-lost sister of El, she was the biggest curveball the military could possibly hide. When that door opens, and she appears, the entire story widens by several dimensions.

Someone with powers as tricky as hers being held in a greenhouse vault? That is not security. That is containment. And her return right before the finale hits is a sign that the ending will not be a two-person battle. This is a group project with extremely dangerous classmates.

So… did Will just change the entire story?

Yes, he did! Will’s moment is the spark, but the whole finale is the explosion. Holly’s trap, Max’s cave, Kali’s capture, the military’s experiments… everything circles back to that single moment when Will stops being a victim and becomes someone who can actually reshape the board.

But one thing is clear: volume one does not hint at the final act. As much information as we got about the season finale from this volume, it feels like the Duffer brothers were just setting the tone for something huge coming ahead. And the most poetic piece of all? The kid who vanished in the woods becomes the person who might end the darkness that started there.