The DufferBrothers recommend rewatching very specific Episodes prior to each Season 5 episode!

Matt & Ross Duffer Recommend rewatching five episodes before season five: Season 2's “Will the Wise” and “The Spy,” Season 3's "The Bite", Season 4's “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab”,

“The Piggyback" & U.K. Play;

"The First Shadow" (Youtube).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_Things:_The_First_Shadow;
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ePpma9JFSL8&pp=0gcJCR4Bo7VqN5tD,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Angel_(American_TV_series),

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_Street_(film_series),

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Wrinkle_in_Time_(2003_film)

These Episodes, Films & UK Play are Crucial for understanding the story's mythology and the direct setup for the final season.

(GiffordPinchot #NationalForest)

Season 2, Episode 4: "Will the Wise":
An ailing Will opens up to Joyce with
disturbing results. While Hopper digs for
the truth, Eleven unearths a surprising discovery.
This episode is important for setting-up the emotional and psychological impact of the Upside Down on Will.

Season 2, Episode 6: "The Spy":

Will’s connection to a shadowy evil grows
stronger but no one’s quite sure how
to stop it. Elsewhere, Dustin and Steve
forge an unlikely bond. Considered by
the brothers to be one of the most important
episodes, this installment shows Will
acting as a "spy" for the Mind Flayer
and deepens the show's mythology.

Season 3, Episode 7: "The Bite": Where
Robin Comes-Out to Harrington as Lesbian,
#NewCoke in Supermarket and Eleven is Injured
Fighting #TheMindFlayer!

Season 3, Episode 8: "The Battle
for Starcourt Mall" (S8 Finale)

Season 4, Episode 7: "The Massacre at Hawkins Lab": As Hopper braces to battle a monster, Dustin dissects Vecna’s motives and decodes a message from beyond. El
finds strength in a distant memory.

This episode reveals significant
details about the origins of Vecna
and the Upside Down's history.

Season 4, Episode 9: "The Piggyback": With selfless hearts and a clash of metal, heroes fight from every corner of the battlefield to save Hawkins and the world itself. The season-4 finale provides the most direct setup for the final season's events and conclusions.

“Season 2 is when we really started to
build out the mythology and started to dive into everything, and how this was going to be an ongoing [series]. That’s where we started to really plant the seeds for the mythology, and I think probably that’s why that is as relevant as it is,” Matt tells THR. “Season 4 is also highly relevant — ‘Massacre at Hawkins Lab’ is a good one.”

Ross adds, Season 2 unveils some of the Upside Down mythology and starts giving some answers, and, of course, all the stuff with Henry and Eleven continues to resonate throughout Season 5.
Those are some good ones to revisit.”

When the rest of #StrangerThings
Season 5 will stream on Netflix.

https://youtu.be/Igby6-0R3bI?si=G-rLAeDeoPUQGN0l

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gWvLIpZp_T8,

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib9AmJTujH4, Think Thessaalhydra.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_kT80BGbd3g

Episode 5: "Chapter 5: Shock Jock" - (Xmas) December 25, 8pm

Now PRIOR TO Watching the
Final 3-Episodes, Backtrack &
Rewatch Season-1, Episodes 2, 3,
6-8 & Season-2, Episodes 1-3.

OBVIOUSLY Stranger Things Season 2
Episode 2 Pays Homage to Ghostbusters;
foreshadowing Finn Wolfhard being Cast in Afterlife and Later Frozen Empire. But
Episode 3 ALSO Pays Homage to Gremlins,
Due to Dustin Bringing Home A
Tadpole-like Slug he Named Dartanian,
that Will Had Previously Coughed-Up.

"You're spot on with Ghostbusters homage in Stranger Things S2E2 (Halloween costumes) and its real-world foreshadowing for Finn Wolfhard; the Gremlins parallel in S2E3 with Dustin's pet slug Dart (D'Artagnan) is also a recognized fan theory and show parallel, as Dart's growth and eventual danger mirrors Mogwai rules, solidifying the show's heavy 80s horror-comedy homage.

Ghostbusters Homage (S2E2: "Trick or Treat, Freak") The Scene: The boys dress as Ghostbusters for Halloween, complete with homemade gear, referencing the 1984 movie that defined the era.

The Foreshadowing: This served as an
unintentional nod to Wolfhard's later
Casting as #TrevorSpengler in
Ghostbusters: #Afterlife (2021) and
Ghostbusters: #FrozenEmpire (2024),
a connection recognized
by fans and the creators.
Gremlins Homage (S2E3: "The Pollywog")
The Parallel: Dustin finds a slug-like creature (Dart) that Will coughed up, names it D'Artagnan, and keeps it, like Billy Peltzer receives a Mogwai.

The Connection: Dart grows, becomes destructive, and eventually transforms into a mini-Demogorgon, mirroring the chaos unleashed when Gremlins break the rules (no sunlight, no water, no feeding after midnight).

Bob Newby Refrencing "Mr.Baldo" to Will Byers (in the Car) is yet ANOTHER Homage to #StephenKing's Pennywize; Yet ANOTHER Horror Film Finn Wolfhard Wound-Up Being Cast.

"You are correct; the story Bob Newby tells Will Byers about "Mr. Baldo" in Season 2 Episode 3 is widely interpreted by fans and critics as a direct homage to #StephenKing's IT and Villain Pennywise. Several specific details in the scene support this connection:

Location: Bob reveals he is
originally from Maine, the
exact setting for King's novel.

Timeline: Bob would have been a child in the late 1950s, which aligns with the time Pennywise was active in Kings original novel's timeline.

Description: Bob's description of "Mr. Baldo" includes the clown having a "fat white glove", Strang Voice and offering a balloon, which are all signature characteristics of Pennywise.

Conquering Fear: Bob explains he overcame his fear by standing up to the clown and telling him to "Go Away," which is how #TheLosersClub defeats Pennywise in the story.

Shared Actor: As you again noted, Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler in Stranger Things, also starred as Richie Tozier in the 2017 and 2019 film adaptations of It. The Duffer Brothers have confirmed the various King references were totally intentional.

Why These References Matter 80's
Authenticity: The Duffer Brothers
intentionally peppered Season 2 with iconic 1984 films (#Gremlins,
#TheKarateKid, The #Terminator,
Ghostbusters) to capture the period's cinematic feel and genre tropes.

Episode 6: "Chapter 6: Escape from
Camazotz" - (Xmas) December 25, 8pm.

Episode 7: "Chapter 7: The Bridge"
Airs on (Xmas) December 25, 8pm.

The FINAL Epsisode Consising of Familiar Characters/Cast Members;

Episode 8 (Volume 2): "Chapter 8: The Rightside Up" - Airs on (New Years) December 31, 8pm.

https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/stranger-things-5-finale-in-theaters & on:
https://www.st5finale.com States
hat tthe FINAL 2-Hr Episode Played
at 8pm ET on Jan.1st 2026 (NewYears) in MANY (625) #AMC, Regal & #Cinemark
#Theatres Across US, #UK, #Canada, #India, #Austrailia, Spain, #Poland, Brazil.

FYI: "DungeonMaster-Musik;
#Dimension-X (#Twitter) IS A LIE!!"

"One Last Adventure: The Making of
Stanger Things Season 5" WILL BE
Unleashed Upon US on Jan. 12th.

Then there's an Animated Series
coming sometime this year Called
"Stranger Things: Tales of ’85."
The show will take place in between
Seasons 2 and 3 of XmasOriginal Series,
following characters: Eleven,
Hopper, Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson,
Will Byers, Lucas Sinclair and Max Mayfield
(played by new Voice actors) as they work to Unravel the
Mysteries of the Upside Down.