If you haven’t started to watch the new season yet, here’s which previous episodes to rewatch first

A decade ago, when Netflix decided to take a risk with Stranger Things, not even the most optimistic executive could have guessed how enormously successful it was going to be. Sure, the risk was low; a thriller set in the 80s, starring kids, aimed squarely at the people who were that age then, with Stephen King and Steven Spielberg vibes? That’s as good as money in the bank. But to grow into the phenomenon it did, no one could have seen coming.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Stranger Things made Netflix what it is today. It arrived at a time of fierce competition between streaming platforms and set Netflix apart. Even a decade later Stranger Things episodes are consistently ranked among the most viewed content on the platform.

When the much-anticipated Season 5 dropped this week, viewers once more proved their love as Netflix crashed due to the sheer number of people trying to stream the episode.

As we wait for the rest of the season to drop, let’s take a look back at the five best episodes so far.

Holly Jolly (Season 1, Episode 3)

This. This was the turning point for me and many others, the moment where we understood that the series wasn’t just cheap nostalgia pandering but had a soul and a beating heart. Joyce, whose son Will has gone missing, drives everyone insane by insisting that her boy is alive, somewhere. The gang also tries to find out where Will is, as Eleven promises to lead them to him. The episode culminates in Joyce realising that her son is communicating through the Christmas lights, and as she sets them up as an alphabet board, Will spells ‘Right here’ and ‘Run’ as the dreaded Demogorgon approaches. Also, #JusticeForBarb.

The Upside Down (Season 1, Episode 8)

If Holly Jolly set the tone for the season, this one made it into the multi-billion-dollar franchise it is today. Joyce and the town’s sheriff, Hopper, go into the Upside Down to find a barely alive Will and bring him back, while the gang decides to turn their middle school into the battlefield for a showdown with the Demogorgon. Eleven dials up her powers to… well… eleven and saves the day. The episode ends with Hopper leaving out Eleven’s favourite comfort food, a sure sign that she survived.

The Mind Flayer (Season 2, Episode 8)

The Mind Flayer is chaos wrapped in monster guts. As demodogs invade the Hawkins lab, a group of our heroes tries to escape as everything around them turns into carnage. The lovable Bob becomes second breakfast for the monsters, while the gang tries to emotionally hack their mind-controlled friend by reminding him of happier times together. As everything seems to go to hell, Eleven returns from a side plot that no one will ever speak of again, goes full Terminator and slams the door on the apocalypse. By the end, the gang realises they’re not fighting monsters anymore, they’re fighting a war.

Dear Billy (Season 4, Episode 4)

Stranger Things is not just horror and action. There’s also plenty of heart. Nowhere is that better displayed than in Dear Billy. Half the episode is wasted on the Russian prison subplot (hey, nothing is perfect) but the other half details Max’s struggle to come to terms with her possible demise. She is Vecna’s next victim, targeted because she chose to isolate herself from her friends. Feeling there’s no way out, Max writes a bunch of farewell letters, including one to her deceased brother Billy, which she reads at his gravestone. Vecna comes to claim his prize, but the gang learns how music can mess with the monster’s powers and puts a headset playing Running Up That Hill on a catatonic Max. In her final moments, Max chooses life and runs as debris falls around her, finally reuniting with her friends.

The Massacre at Hawkins Lab (Season 4, Episode 7)

This is the episode where Stranger Things says, “Forget everything you thought you knew.” Eleven relives her lab years and discovers that the friendly orderly is much more sinister than he looks. Her suspicions are confirmed when he reveals that he was One, the very first test subject. In true Stranger Things fashion everything goes haywire and blood and gore ensue. What follows is a massacre that turns the lab into a horror museum. Eleven refuses to join him and, after a battle of wills, she blasts him into another dimension. The twist? He mutates into Vecna, instantly rewriting the entire mythology of the show.

Like our picks? What was your favourite episode? Sound off in the comments!