Lowest critic score ever on Rotten Tomatoes

Stranger Things Season 5 debuts with the lowest Rotten Tomatoes critical score in the series’ history. Expectations for the final season of the hit Netflix series have been incredibly high, especially more than three years after the series’ release. Stranger Things season 4 finale in 2022.

After the first four episodes of Season 5 debuted, the new season debuted with an 85% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. Compared to Season 1’s 97%, Season 2’s 94%, and Seasons 3 and 4’s 89%, this is the lowest score in the series, but by only 4%.

The 85% debut is based on 47 reviews and will likely fluctuate as more are added, after Episodes 5-7 are released on December 25 and after the series finale is released on December 31.

As for Season 5’s audience score, it is 90%, the same as Season 2, and higher than Season 3’s 86% and Season 4’s 89%. The audience score will likely fluctuate as more Netflix subscribers watch the first batch of new episodes and after the final episodes are released in late December.

In ScreenRantIt is Stranger Things season 5, volume 1 review, Kara Hedash praises “the Duffer Brothers for taking risks instead of playing it safe as Stranger Things nears the end.” She also notes that “The scope of Stranger Things has become so large, with its world-building and additional lore, that these divided narratives make the series too convoluted.”

Samantha Nelson’s review of Polygon points out that it is “refreshing” for the characters to be reunited in Hawkins after many of them were separated in season 4, and for the story to be better because of this change.

NPR‘s Eric Deggans credits the Duffers with maintaining a brisk pace that keeps the story engaging as it bounces between characters. The series does this well enough that “Many may not realize how much these new dangers sound like old stories.”

On the more critical side, VarietyAlison Herman’s review discusses how bad these episodes seem to be “stretched thin” as the series expands its scope more than ever, while “refusing to enrich his characters as they age.”

Even if the critical reception is slightly less positive than in previous Stranger Things seasons, it is unlikely to have a negative effect on the series. As the 90% audience score indicates, general audiences are still tuning in and liking what they see, and the new season is virtually guaranteed to have record audiences after years of anticipation.

It is also difficult to fully assess the quality of Stranger Things season 5 based on only half of the episodes. The ultimate fate of the characters, how the show’s biggest mysteries will be resolved, and whether the conclusion is satisfying will be what ultimately defines the strength of Season 5.