It won’t be a sprint to the finish line at Hawkins. In the lead-up to the premiere of Stranger Things 5 Vol. 2, comprising three episodes, series co-creator Ross Duffer has announced the runtimes for the final four episodes, which range from 66 to 128 minutes.
The reveal comes after the first four episodes aired on Netflix on 26 November, with Episode 5, titled “Shock Jock”, clocking in at one hour and eight minutes. Episode 6 (“Escape from Camazotz”) will run for one hour and 15 minutes, followed by Episode 7 (“The Bridge”) at one hour and six minutes long. The finale, “The Rightside Up”, is the longest, closing things out with two hours and eight minutes, aligning with earlier confirmation from the other co-creator, Matt Duffer.
In contrast to previous leaks and a report from Puck News that the entire season would range from 90 to 120 minutes long, the last episodes are more consistent and close in terms of length. Famously, the finale of Season 4 ran for a chunky two hours and 22 minutes — the longest in a season that saw a 70-minute minimum for each episode, with the final three boasting movie-length runtimes. For comparison, the first four episodes of Stranger Things 5 clocked in at 68 minutes, 54 minutes, 66 minutes, and 83 minutes (in that order).
Vol. 2 will return on Christmas, a few days before the grand finale concludes the sci-fi hit once and for all on New Year’s Eve. The entire season is directed and written by the Duffer Brothers, with Paul Dichter, Curtis Gwinn, Caitlin Schneiderhan and Kate Trefry serving as co-writers, and Frank Darabont and Shawn Levy as co-directors.
The descriptions for each of the upcoming episodes are as follows (via Ross’ Instagram post):
- Shock Jock” picks up right after the Vol. 1 finale, “Sorcerer,” and that writer Frank Darabont has turned out something “far darker and far scarier” than his last Stranger Things episode, “Turnbow Trap.”
- “Escape From Camazotz” sees Shawn Levy returning as director: “It’s the biggest episode of the three — and the performances make us cry every time we watch it.”
- “The Bridge” is co-directed by Levy with the Duffer Brothers, and this one they didn’t want to share too much, but that “aside from the finale, it’s probably the most emotional chapter of the season.” Adding, “It’s gonna be a long six-day wait for the finale…”
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
