STRANGER THINGS: Season 5, Chapter One – “The Crawl”
A gripping final chapter opens — and the content shuts the door.
Should You Watch It?
Here is the decision, plainly. The Duffer brothers have opened their fifth and final season with real skill — this is four-star television by any craft measure, and the episode builds anticipation for what's coming with confidence. If you've followed Hawkins this far, the pull to keep going is strong.
But the content is where this one lands. The episode carries 35 obscenities and profanities — including three misuses of the name of Jesus Christ and three "GD" words — alongside several scenes of scary monster violence, the occult telekinesis woven through the series, and a same-sex couple whose relationship is shown and referenced. That's a great deal to absorb, and it's why our judgment is what it is.
So: this episode is well-made and not for your family — and even discerning adults should think hard before pressing play. Our answer is skip it.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESMore than a year after Season 4, the town of Hawkins sits under military quarantine — and its residents haven't stopped secretly exploring the Upside Down. Mike, Lucas, Will, and Dustin are back in high school; Eleven trains for another fight with the evil Vecna; and Robin, Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan run the town radio station, slipping coded messages to the group over the air.
When they catch wind of an unplanned military trip into that other dimension, they assemble a "crawl" — a mission of their own to hunt Vecna down. Then the plan goes sideways, and everything after is best discovered by watching.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars, and here's what they mean for this episode. The premiere does an excellent job of reintroducing an enormous cast — showing where each character has landed and how they're carrying the weight of Season 4 — and it sets up the season's drama with skill. The anticipation it builds is real.
One honest caveat: this is an episode of exposition more than action. Viewers arriving hungry for the show's signature set-pieces may find "The Crawl" more concerned with laying groundwork than delivering thrills. It's a confident, deliberate opening move rather than a fireworks display — and on its own terms, it works.
The Worldview
At its heart, this episode believes something good. Its characters are devoted to one another — friends and family who support each other, urge one another to be brave, and fight to protect their children. Those bonds are the emotional center of the hour, and Scripture honors exactly that kind of loyalty.
But the show lives in a world of its own powers. Telekinesis and travel between dimensions are woven through the story, and the "Upside Down" — a realm where evil monsters dwell — carries occult and pagan overtones, even if it reads easily as a metaphor for a darker spiritual realm. The episode also presents a same-sex couple, shown kissing and, in conversation, implied to be sexually involved. These are convictions the series holds, and a Christian viewer should weigh them clearly rather than absorb them casually.
The longing underneath it all is worth naming: a group of people who will cross into a world of monsters for the ones they love. That instinct is real, and it points beyond itself — "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). The show can dramatize that love; it cannot ground it. Only the One who laid down His life can.
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
A moral worldview, as all characters are dedicated to their relationships with friends and family. Scenes are devoted to seeing characters support one another, encourage them to be brave, and try to protect their children; occult and pagan elements of telekinesis and references to other dimensions. However, references to an “upside down” dimension can easily be interpreted as a metaphor for another spiritual realm where evil beings dwell; characters discuss the game Dungeons and Dragons
Foul Language
35 obscenities, including 13 “s” words, one “b*stard” uses of the “h” word, the “d” word, and crap, three “GD” words, and 3 “JC” profanities
Violence
Several scenes featuring scary action violence, like characters being attacked by monsters and one character being attacked and beaten up by high school bullies, a military vehicles crashes, a character shoots a monster and is kidnapped by another monster where a tentacle is placed in his mouth in another dimension
Sex
A same-sex couple share kiss; a conversation between two characters alludes that the same sex couple engaged in sexual activity, a couple kiss, a teenage couple hugs,
Nudity
No nudity
Alcohol Use
One character is shown drinking wine to excess
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
A character smokes a cigarette;
Miscellaneous Immorality
One character is bullied by several others.
Talk About It
Four questions for the couch, the commute, or the couple bingeing it together.
The whole group is willing to walk into danger for the people they love. Where does Scripture say that instinct comes from, and how far does real love go?
John 15:13 · 1 John 3:16One character is beaten and bullied by others at school. How does the Bible call us to treat the vulnerable — and to respond when we're the ones mistreated?
Romans 12:17–21 · Proverbs 31:8–9The "Upside Down" imagines a hidden realm where evil dwells. What does Scripture actually teach about unseen spiritual powers, and how should that shape the way we think about stories that dramatize them?
Ephesians 6:12 · 1 John 4:4The show celebrates fierce family and friendship loyalty. What makes loyalty a virtue, and when can loyalty go wrong if it isn't anchored in something higher?
Proverbs 17:17 · Ruth 1:16–17The Final Word
The Duffers have opened their final season with a well-made, confident hour built around something genuinely good — the fierce love of friends and family. But the profanity, the occult imagery, and the same-sex content stack up to more than we can wave past. So our answer stands: skip it. Looking for something the whole house can enjoy instead? Try our latest family-friendly picks.
