Stranger Things Season 5 Episode 1 recap: Hawkins braces for Vecna and new horrors

Stranger Things Season 5 is here! Netflix has released the first four episodes of Volume 1.

Viewers go back to Hawkins right away. The story continues exactly where Season 4 ended. Old dangers are greater now. New threats are appearing. The characters must show bravery, loyalty, and cleverness.

Before Episode 1, it's worth recalling Season 4’s cliffhangers: Chaos in Hawkins, secret experiments, and strange powers beyond human understanding. Vecna has returned. The gates to the Upside Down are still open. Characters like Eleven and Will have gone missing. All this has left the town on edge.

Episode 1, The Crawl, jumps straight into the action. The episode brings back our favorite characters. It shows the rising tension in Hawkins. It also starts the main themes: danger, friendship, and courage. These themes continue through Volume 1.

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Stranger Things Season 5 Episode 1 recap – The Crawl

Stranger Things Season 5 starts with a flashback to November 12, 1983. This is just days after Will Byers disappeared. Will is trapped in the Upside Down. He hides in Castle Byers and sings to comfort himself.

A Demogorgon suddenly attacks him. Will runs through the forest but falls unconscious. He is captured and taken to Vecna. Vecna attaches a tentacle to him and injects a strange substance. Vecna says they will do “beautiful things together.” Will survives, but he does not remember any of this.

Stranger Things Season 5 then jumps to November 3, 1987. This is more than a year after Season 4. Hawkins is still recovering from the Upside Down chaos. The town is under military control. The MAC-Z (Military Access Control Zone) watches the remaining gate.

Many people think last season’s events were a natural disaster. They do not know the military is watching the Upside Down.

At Hawkins High, Dustin is sad about losing his friend Eddie Munson. He faces bullies but keeps wearing his Hellfire Club shirt. He refuses to change who he is. Mike, Lucas, and Will want him to stay safe, but he does not listen.

Meanwhile, there is a missing-person poster of Eleven. She is not really missing. She is training in a junkyard to get stronger and faster for trips into the Upside Down. These trips are called “crawls.” Hopper and Joyce supervise her, and Eleven is determined to help defeat Vecna.

The group explains what a crawl is. A crawl is a mission into the Upside Down. Hopper sneaks in while the military opens a gate. They check the area for danger. They have done 37 crawls before. This time, they hope it will stop Vecna.

Steve doubts it and wonders if Vecna is already dead. Jonathan reminds him of his vision of Hawkins burning. This shows that Vecna is still a threat.

In Stranger Things Season 5, Holly Wheeler, Mike and Nancy’s little sister, is introduced. She talks to a mysterious figure called Mr. Whatsit. No one else can see him. Holly thinks he protects her from monsters. Her family and teachers think she is imagining it. Mike comforts her and gives her a D&D figure, and this helps her feel brave.

The team gets ready for the crawl, and tensions are high. Dustin goes to Eddie’s grave and sees it has been vandalized. There is blood and pieces of a snake he had hidden. Bullies confront him, and a fight breaks out. Dustin is left in danger as the episode ends.

Hopper leads the crawl through the woods in Stranger Things Season 5. He uses old underground tunnels found in earlier seasons. Military trucks bring supplies into the Upside Down. They open a gate so Hopper and the team can enter.

Will has a vision of the Upside Down. He feels that Vecna is close. At the same time, a Demogorgon attacks the convoy. It flips a van and hurts some soldiers. Back in Hawkins, Will collapses but then recovers. He warns Joyce that the Demogorgon is coming for them.

The episode ends in Holly’s bedroom. She cries in bed, and a portal to the Upside Down opens above her ceiling. A Demogorgon starts to come through. This shows new dangers are coming for Hawkins.

The first episode of Stranger Things Season 5 starts a new, dangerous chapter in Hawkins. Vecna is back, and the town is under military control. Mysterious forces even target kids like Holly. The stakes are higher than ever.

Old friendships, losses, and new threats all come together. The group prepares for another risky crawl into the Upside Down. The episode keeps viewers on edge. The fight against evil will test every character, reveal secrets, and push them to their limits.