STRANGER THINGS Final Season Kicks Off with "The Craziest Cold Open We've Ever Done" — GeekTyrant
That's a big claim, considering what the series opener delivered! The co-creator dropped the update on Instagram, confirming that episodes 1 and 2 are officially complete.
'Chapters One and Two: locked, mixed, scored, colored, DONE,' he wrote, sharing title cards for the episodes, 'The Crawl' and 'The Vanishing of [redacted].'
That second episode title is a direct nod to 'The Vanishing of Will Byers' from Season 1, and Duffer's caption only fuels fan speculation: 'The Vanishing of… (yeah yeah you think you know who blah blah).' Could Will be going MIA again?
Duffer als teased that episode two features 'by far the craziest cold open we've ever done. One of the sequences we're most proud of this season.' So, it sounds like we're in for something intense, and probably pretty traumatic, right out of the gate.
While fans are itching for more details, Duffer is keeping most info under wraps, and in regards to runtimes, noted: 'I would tell you runtimes, but I was told not to. At a later date, I guess.'
That follows some recent viral fake news about every episode being two hours long, with a nearly three-hour finale. So yeah, best to wait for the official word.
Created by Matt and Ross Duffer, Stranger Things has been a genre-defining series for nearly a decade. Now, it all comes to a close in Season 5.
Set in the fall of 1987, this final chapter finds Hawkins under military lockdown, the government hunting down Eleven, and Vecna looming large for one last showdown.
Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 drops on Netflix November 26, Volume 2 hits on Christmas Day, and the grand finale lands on New Year's Eve.
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The cult's whole purpose was to bring people together to become whole, which is what Jamie wants for Tim and Millie. Jamie then slashes Millie's arm across the artery, telling her it will speed things along. Millie gets back to the house as Tim does, and they try their hardest to resist the pull to join together. Tim's prepared to slit his throat to stop the merge and tells her how much he loves her. But by the time they come together, Millie's lost too much blood and dies in his arms. Alison Brie in Together But wait! Millie then wakes up to find herself back in the house, still alive thanks to Tim fusing his arm to hers. Exhausted, but unwilling to be parted from each other, they decide to accept their fate. Tim puts on Millie's favorite album – the Spice Girls' debut. As '2 Become 1' plays, they strip naked and embrace, letting the full fusion happen. The next day, Millie's parents (Tom Considine, Melanie Beddie) arrive for lunch. The door opens to reveal the androgynous person who is the fully integrated Tim and Millie. *** I have kind of a love/hate relationship with indie flicks. Regarding indie horror specifically, for every Hereditary (2018), The Witch (2015) or It Follows (2014), there are dozens more like Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023) or Skinamarink (2022 — many have called it genius, I call it 100 minutes of my life I can't get back). More often than not, indie horror is an absolute field of crap you can spend days sifting through to find the rare gem. RELATED: Sinners Spoiler Review Relationship drama is something else I stay far away from when looking for something to watch, especially if I'm spending theater money. So, needless to say, I went into Together with trepidation. The trailer drew me in, but I was fully prepared to be disappointed and wouldn't have been too surprised if I outright hated it. Thankfully, none of that happened. While it's far from perfect, Together has just enough of what it needs in each genre to make it work. Alison Brie and Dave Franco do a terrific job handling most of the story's heavy lifting. They work hard to make their characters at least somewhat sympathetic, if not likable. And while their codependent relationship gets tiring to watch, by the time it becomes truly annoying, the horror aspect of the story kicks in. While the body horror in Together pays homage to the greats that have come before it, especially David Cronenberg's version of The Fly (1986) and John Carpenter's version of The Thing (1982), it also has its own take that helps it stand out. The stretchy way their Tim and Millie's lips stick to each other, the way Tim swallows Millie's hair, it's harrowing. Props to the visual effects team for creating a unique, especially fleshy look to the gore. Alison Brie and Dave Franco in Together I was especially impressed by the scene where Tim and Millie get pulled toward each other in the hallway. Alison Brie's unnatural contortions as she flips and twists her way along the floor are chilling. But then there's some comedy thrown in as Tim tells Millie to take the medicine. 'Valium?' she says. 'It's called Diazepam now!' he replies, as they're both in agonizing pain. The unexpected humor takes you off guard and makes you laugh despite the situation, which is pretty genius. I have to credit writer/director Michael Shanks for keeping moments like that in the mix to keep both the relationship drama from getting too aggravating and the horror from getting too oppressive. RELATED: Final Destination: Bloodlines Spoiler Review Together does have its issues. As with many other flicks, its last act goes a bit off the rails and loses the focus it managed to maintain in the race to wrap things up. We learn almost nothing about the cult, one of the most intriguing ideas. What little you do find out gets dropped on you at the last minute because they wanted to guard Jamie's identity. It wasn't worth it. And like many other flicks, Together's ending leaves a lot to be desired. The flick doesn't end so much as it just stops, leaving you with no resolution. I mean, Millie's parents are standing there looking at who they think is a stranger. How does that work out? Most of all, there's no answer as to whether Tim and Millie are happier as an integrated being because you don't get to see it. That said, as indie horror flicks go, Together works better than most. Alison Brie and Dave Franco's strong performances draw you into a crazy-scary world where it's physically possible to join with your soulmate. But of course, the real question is: Would you really want to? Written and Directed by: Michael Shanks Release date: Jul 31, 2025 Rating: R Run time: 1hr 42min Distributor: Neon THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Spoiler Review
