Stranger Things season 5 writers drop a big hint about what to expect

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Stranger Things is returning to its season 1 roots

Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler and Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson in STRANGER THINGS 4
(Image credit: Netflix)

The final season of Stranger Things might be the biggest, best and strangest yet. The writers of the show are teasing what to expect from Stranger Things season 5, and it sounds like the Netflix sci-fi/supernatural hit will go out with massive fireworks. 

One of the best shows on Netflix, Stranger Things has been a phenomenon since it premiered in 2016. From demogorgons to "Justice for Barb" to "Running Up the Hill," aspects of the show have pervaded popular culture. And over time, fans have watched the young cast grow up before their very eyes. 

As it embarks on a final journey into the Upside Down, Stranger Things season 5 will bridge its most recent installment with the one that started it all. On Twitter, the show's writers recently teased, "Season 5 is like if season 1 and 4 had a baby. And then that baby was injected with steroids."

What could that mean? In Stranger Things season 1, the kids were young, innocent and naive middle schoolers, happily playing Dungeons and Dragons without a care in the world. Until Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven stumbled into their lives, and revealed the existence of the alternate dimension they called the Upside Down, which was home to the deadly demogorgons and the terrifying Mind Flayer. 

By season 4, the kids were in high school, and had gone through some stuff. They were battled-tested, heart-sore after losing friends, and cynical about official types (government, medical, law enforcement). 

(l to r) Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown in Stranger Things season 1

(Image credit: Netflix)

The hint dropped by the writers could indicate Stranger Things season 5 combines the child-like awe and wonder of the first installment with the darker, more grown-up action of the fourth. The kids will be older, perhaps on the verge of graduating high school — somewhat necessitated by the fact that Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo and the other younger cast members will clearly have aged. The creators, the Duffer Brothers, have all but confirmed a time jump.

"I’m sure we will do a time jump,” Ross Duffer told TVLine. “Ideally, we’d have shot [Seasons 4 and 5] back to back, but there was just no feasible way to do that."

Most of the kids huddled around a table in a press image for Stranger Things 4

(Image credit: Netflix)

A callback to season 1 would bring the show full circle and, hopefully, make for a satisfying ending. A final season of a popular show is a very tricky thing to pull off. It can either put a beautiful bow on the story (Better Call Saul) or leave a bad taste in everyone's collective mouth (Game of Thrones).

"The ending is the hard thing,” Matt Duffer admitted to TVLine. “That’s obviously the stressful thing. We really want to stick the landing.”

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Kelly Woo
Kelly Woo
Managing editor, streaming

Kelly is the managing editor of streaming for Tom’s Guide, so basically, she watches TV for a living. Previously, she was a freelance entertainment writer for Yahoo, Vulture, TV Guide and other outlets. When she’s not watching TV and movies for work, she’s watching them for fun, seeing live music, writing songs, knitting and gardening.