Does The First Episode Disappoint?

It is November 27, 2025, it is 2 a.m. in France and Netflix has just released the first 4 episodes of the final season of Stranger Things. If you’re up at this time, it’s because you want to dive into the series as quickly as possible without getting spoiled. But if you read us later, you are surely one of those who have to wait until the evening, and who are impatient at the idea of knowing if this start of the season is worth it. Rather than risk coming across spoilers on the networks, we offer you our immediate impressions, without talking about the scenario.

We were lucky enough to be able to watch the first chapter of season 5 during the preview organized at the Grand Rex, and suffice to say that this session left us with a lot to say. Now that Part 1 is out, the forces of the Upside Down are no longer holding us back from revealing our opinion which, we hope, will change over the next episodes.

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There is no time to lose, and yet…

Stranger Things enters this final stretch with a lot of story elements to complete, but only has eight episodes to do so. Netflix has therefore extended the duration of these chapters as much as possible, enough to delight fans on paper… But you still have to manage to take advantage of this screen time. And unfortunately, the first episode gets lost and procrastinates. We promised to keep the important details of the story quiet, but this first chapter takes care of that for itself, since it doesn’t tell much.

After three years away from our screens, the series must obviously reintroduce the context of the events. But was there really a need to dedicate most of this first hour to things we already knew? Although it is pleasant to find all these characters in a context of calm before the storm, this episode drowns in lengths for only a few minutes of pleasure and revelations. Normally, this introduction would have had its little effect, but this almost nonchalant pace is not reassuring for a final season.

Especially since the residents of Hawkins have other Demogorgons to deal with. The few surprises that come to save us from boredom suggest something very heavy but therefore add an additional layer of problems to be resolved in the remaining seven episodes. Season 5 begins in full stress, not because the storyline is getting carried away, but because the series allows itself a few detours even though it no longer has the luxury of doing so. To find out if the sequel corrects these defects in structure and rhythm, find our review of Stranger Things 5 – Partie 1 later in the day.

How long does it take to binge watch part one?

To get through the first four episodes of Stranger Thingsyou will have to offer 4 hours and 31 minutes of your time to the Upside Down. The duration of the next chapters is not yet known, but here are the details regarding the episodes published this morning:

Episode 1: 1h08
Episode 2: 54 minutes
Episode 3: 1h06
Episode 4: 1h23