Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 1: Highest-Rated Episode on IMDb

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Be warned, this contains spoilers for the first part of Stranger Things season 5! After a three-year wait, the final season of Stranger Things is finally here, and early reactions suggest it’s a strong return for the Netflix series.

Wow, the season finale, “Sorcerer,” is a real standout! It’s currently the highest-rated episode of the series on IMDb, scoring a fantastic 9.8 out of 10. However, it’s interesting to see how critical reception has shifted over the seasons. While the first season was almost universally praised with a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, we’ve seen a bit of a dip with the current season, which is holding steady at around 87%. It’s still great, but that initial buzz seems to have cooled slightly.

The show has earned Netflix over $1 billion and remains incredibly popular, consistently appearing among the platform’s top titles. Even though critics haven’t all loved it, viewers flocked back for the latest season, causing a temporary outage when the first part of season 5 was released.

Kara Hedash, in her review for ScreenRant, complimented the series but noted that the first four episodes of season 5 contain bold storytelling choices by the Duffer Brothers. These decisions, she suggests, could significantly impact how viewers see the entire show.

With only four episodes of the final season released so far, it’s too early to know how well the season will perform overall. But considering the dramatic ending of episode four, it looks like ratings might increase as the story gets more intense.

In the fourth episode of Volume 1, Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) discovered he had the power to control Vecna, ultimately rescuing his friends from the demogorgons. Fans were thrilled by this turn of events, as Will’s story has been heartbreaking ever since he disappeared in Season 1.

Image via Netflix

Will’s recently discovered abilities have significantly increased the danger for the heroes in Hawkins, meaning Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) isn’t the only one with powerful mental abilities anymore. The episode built suspense effectively, keeping viewers engaged and ultimately becoming the highest-rated episode of the series to date.

The first part of Stranger Things season 5 is now streaming on Netflix. The second part will be released on December 25th, and the final episode of the series will be available on December 31st.

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2025-11-28 19:08