Stranger Things Season 5: Netflix reveals the the first five minutes, taking viewers back to Will’s missing night

Stranger Things Season 5: First Five Minutes Released by Netflix

Netflix has unveiled the opening five minutes of Stranger Things Season 5, transporting viewers back to the night Will Byers vanished in 1983 and his ties to the Upside Down.

Return to Hawkins, 1983

The new season starts exactly where the story began, inside the eerie Upside Down. It does not pick up after the Season 4 finale but instead revisits the quiet, haunting place connected to Will’s earliest experiences.

Episode Title and Setting

The episode, titled "The Crawl", is set on November 12, 1983—six days after Will first disappeared, according to Netflix’s Tudum.

Will Byers' Situation

The young Will, played by Noah Schnapp as a 12-year-old, is alone and scared in the Upside Down’s version of Castle Byers. He is visibly exhausted.

Will quietly sings Should I Stay or Should I Go, a song introduced by his brother Jonathan in Season 1, which has been a key emotional theme for Will throughout the series.

Emerging Danger

Strange noises start echoing outside the fort.
Will arms himself with a hunting rifle, reminiscent of earlier episodes.
He climbs a tree for safety, but a creature drags him down to Vecna’s lair.

Emotional and Narrative Significance

This opening sequence vividly reconnects the audience with the origin of the central mystery and deepens Will’s connection to the Upside Down.

“The song, first introduced by his brother Jonathan, has served as emotional grounding for him throughout the series.”

Author’s summary: The first minutes of Stranger Things Season 5 powerfully revisit Will Byers’ disappearance, reigniting the show's haunting origin and emotional core.

Hindustan Times — 2025-11-07