Stranger Things Season 5 Needs To Be As Gruesome As Season 4

Highlights

Stranger Things season 5 will likely feature a more gruesome and horrifying tone to raise the stakes and danger for the main characters.
The new season may show Hawkins in disrepair after the apocalypse, creating an even scarier atmosphere for the characters.
While violence will play a significant role, the series will still maintain its heartwarming vibe and focus on the relationships between the characters.

Whether Stranger Things has a finale similar to Harry Potter‘s or skips an epilogue or flash-forward, the hype for the series finale of the Netflix series continues. It’s clear that there will most likely be a fairly joyful ending since anything else would be too upsetting. But before Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), and the other fan-favorite members of The Party can move on with their lives, they’re going to show Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) what they’re made up. They also have to figure out how to stop evil from taking over Hawkins, Indiana completely. It’s clear that they have a lot on their plates and that the journey they’re facing won’t be simple.

While fans have heard for a while now that the new season will have a time jump, Stranger Things season 5 should also match Stranger Things season 4’s horrifying and dark tone. There are a few ways that this can happen.

Stranger Things Season 5 Shouldn’t Introduce Any New Characters

Stranger Things doesn’t need to introduce new faces in Hawkins, Indiana when season 5 returns to Netflix in 2025.

How Can Stranger Things Season 5 Match Season 4’s Scary Tone?

Stranger Things season 4 was violent and horrifying, and Stranger Things season 5 needs to be as gruesome because there has to be high stakes and real danger for the main characters. Since it seems clear that Stranger Things season 5 will share more of the Upside Down, that will automatically create the sense that every situation is life or death. The new episodes have to take artistic risks and while no one wants a main character to die, perhaps a minor character will lose their life thanks to Vecna’s control of the Upside Down. If there are no deaths, the Upside Down won’t feel as unnerving, and it needs to be even worse than it was in the previous four seasons.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the first look at Stranger Things season 5 shows that, Hawkins is in danger, which makes fans think that the characters could face life after the apocalypse. This will be even scarier than the fourth season since the characters can no longer call their small town a safe place to live, and they’ll be less certain about the future. While Hawkins has the same cozy yet creepy vibe of some of the most unforgettable horror movie settings, seeing it in disrepair will be really unnerving.

Stranger Things season 5 will also likely feature Eleven and her friends fighting Vecna, which could be an incredibly violent, upsetting, and hopefully ultimately satisfying scene in the series finale. It’s hard to imagine Vecna winning, although of course he’s a powerful creature who has created his own gross and dark world. Since Jamie Campbell Bower talked about Stranger Things season 5 and hinted at how dramatic the episodes are, it seems possible that there are a lot of battle scenes.

While there will no doubt be several violent scenes in Stranger Things season 5, it will also have the heartwarming vibe that fans have enjoyed since the first episode. This will help balance out the terrifying scenes and moments when it seems like The Party won’t make it. The violence in Stranger Things season 4 might have been more intense than in previous seasons, which make it shocking, but the Netflix series always keeps the focus on the relationships between the characters. David Harbour told Variety that he is aware of the Stranger Things series finale. The actor said:

“I’m such a harassment specialist that I think I’ve gotten it out of them. It’s been back and forth about like, ‘What happens to Hopper? Is he a character that’s able to survive Hawkins or does he die?’ I know what happens and it’s quite moving, and quite beautiful.”

Why Was Stranger Things Season 4 So Gruesome?

Eddie Munson plays "Master of Puppets" in the Upside Down in Stranger Things season 4 vol. 2

Stranger Things season 4 introduced another layer to the Upside Down by focusing on the villain Vecna, which is one reason the episodes were so violent and dark. Fans found out how Vecna finds people he wants to torture and then watched in horror as Vecna set his sights on Chrissy Cunningham (Grace Van Dien) and Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink). Much of the season centered around Max’s time in the Upside Down and her connection to Vecna, which was sad and horrifying to watch. While Max survived, she was left in a terrible state at the end of the fourth season, and it’s hard to know if Max is going to live in Stranger Things season 5.

Stranger Things season 4 was also scary since Jim Hopper (David Harbour) was kept in a prison in Russia. Fans didn’t know if Hopper would die, but thankfully, he and Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) had a great reunion.