Holy demogorgons, the wait is finally over and Netflix just pulled the ultimate move. On Thursday, November 6, 2025, exactly 42 years to the day that Will Byers disappeared in the show’s universe, the streaming giant dropped the first five minutes of Stranger Things Season 5 and fans across the globe are collectively losing their minds. This isn’t just any opening scene, it’s a full circle moment that takes us back to November 12, 1983, six days after Will vanished, showing us what actually happened to him in the Upside Down. And the reveal is absolutely chilling. The episode titled “The Crawl” opens with 12-year-old Will Byers alone in Castle Byers singing “Should I Stay or Should I Go” before a Demogorgon hunts him down, drags him to Vecna’s lair, and we finally learn the terrifying truth: Vecna has been connected to Will since the very beginning. That creepy line “At long last we can begin. You and I, we are going to do such beautiful things together, William” explains everything about Will’s mysterious connection to the Upside Down that’s spanned eight years and four seasons. With Volume 1 dropping November 26, Volume 2 on Christmas Day, and the series finale on New Year’s Eve, this opening scene proves the Duffer Brothers are ending this story exactly where it began.
The Release That Nobody Saw Coming
Thursday night November 6 started as just another evening for millions of Stranger Things fans anxiously awaiting the final season. Then Netflix casually dropped a nuclear bomb disguised as a YouTube video. During the TUDUM global fan event livestreamed from TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, the streaming service premiered the opening five minutes of Season 5 to the assembled crowd before making it available worldwide immediately after. The timing wasn’t accidental, November 6 represents the in-universe date when Will Byers vanished from Hawkins, Indiana, setting the entire eight-year saga in motion.
The decision to release such an extended preview breaks from Netflix’s usual strategy of keeping everything under wraps until premiere day. But with less than three weeks until Volume 1 drops November 26, the platform is in full promotional assault mode, and what better way to generate hype than giving fans actual footage instead of just another trailer filled with quick cuts and cryptic hints? The YouTube video racked up millions of views within hours as fans dissected every frame, every word, every horrifying detail of what Will experienced during those missing days.
This isn’t just fan service or clever marketing. It’s the Duffer Brothers making a statement about how seriously they’re taking this final season. By opening with the past instead of picking up immediately after Season 4’s cliffhanger, they’re promising a conclusion that honors where this story started while delivering the epic ending everyone’s waited years to see.
Share this with your friend who’s been rewatching Season 1 on repeat!
What Actually Happens in Those Five Minutes
The episode opens deep in the Upside Down’s twisted forest where a terrified 12-year-old Will Byers huddles inside the Upside Down version of Castle Byers, the fort he built in his backyard. Noah Schnapp returns to play the younger version of his character, and he looks exactly as exhausted, disoriented, and frightened as you’d expect someone trapped in a nightmare dimension would be. He’s softly singing “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by The Clash, the song his brother Jonathan introduced him to in Season 1’s very first episode. That song represented comfort and connection to home, and Will clings to it as the only thing keeping him sane.
Then that eerie cracking sound shatters the temporary peace. Will bolts upright, recognizing danger before he sees it. A Demogorgon lurks just outside, and the creature’s about to attack. Will grabs a gun (where he got it remains unclear) and fires, but bullets do nothing to these monsters. He runs through the hellish forest in pure panic, desperate to escape the predator hunting him. In a moment of quick thinking, he climbs a tree, hoping the Demogorgon can’t follow. But these creatures are more agile than they look.
The chase sequence is genuinely terrifying, shot with the same care and intensity that made Season 1’s horror elements so effective. Will attempts jumping to another tree branch to create distance, but he slips and plummets hard to the ground below. The fall knocks him unconscious, leaving him completely vulnerable. The Demogorgon doesn’t kill him though. Instead, it drags Will’s limp body through the forest to a clearing where something far worse awaits.
Vecna emerges from the shadows, and even viewers who watched all of Season 4 will feel their skin crawl seeing Jamie Campbell Bower in full horrifying makeup. The villain’s tentacle-like vines grab Will and press him against a wall. Vecna leans in close to the helpless child, and what he says next recontextualizes everything: “At long last, we can begin.” He pauses, letting that sink in, before adding: “You and I, we are going to do such beautiful things together, William.”
A tentacle then covers Will’s mouth, ending the scene on that nightmarish note. Those two sentences explain why Will has maintained a connection to the Upside Down throughout the entire series. Why he could sense the Mind Flayer in Season 2. Why Vecna’s presence affects him in Season 4. Vecna didn’t randomly choose Will, he specifically targeted him as part of a long-term plan that’s been unfolding since 1983.
Don’t miss out on understanding the full significance before everyone spoils it!
Why This Changes Everything We Thought We Knew
For eight years, fans assumed Will’s kidnapping was somewhat random, that he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when the Demogorgon grabbed him. The show never explicitly said Vecna was involved in Season 1 beyond creating the Upside Down and the creatures within it. This opening scene destroys that assumption, revealing Vecna personally selected Will for reasons we don’t fully understand yet but clearly involve long-term plans.
That line “at long last we can begin” suggests Vecna had been waiting for this specific moment. Why Will? What makes him special compared to other potential victims? The phrase “beautiful things together” carries ominous implications about Vecna’s intentions. Is Will meant to be a vessel? A puppet? A partner in whatever apocalyptic schemes Vecna’s planning? The tentacle covering his mouth might represent the beginning of possession or connection that’s haunted Will throughout the series.
This also reframes Will’s rescue in Season 1. Joyce and Hopper found him alive in the Upside Down library, but Vecna clearly let them take him. The villain could’ve killed Will anytime but chose not to, suggesting Will serves a purpose beyond simple murder. Every seizure, every vision, every “now memory” Will experienced in Season 2 suddenly feels more sinister knowing Vecna deliberately implanted that connection.
The Duffer Brothers promised Season 5 would bring everything full circle, and this opening delivers on that promise immediately. By showing us the missing piece from Season 1, they’re establishing that the endgame was set in motion from the first episode. Will isn’t just another victim, he’s the key to understanding Vecna’s ultimate plan for Hawkins and potentially the entire world.
The Song That Keeps Coming Back
“Should I Stay or Should I Go” appearing in the opening scene isn’t random nostalgia bait. The Clash song has been Will’s emotional anchor throughout Stranger Things, representing his connection to Jonathan and home. In Season 1 Episode 1, Jonathan plays it for Will while their mother argues with their deadbeat father on the phone, giving the boys a momentary escape from family dysfunction. The song becomes associated with brotherly love and protection.
When Will sings it in the Upside Down, he’s trying to comfort himself with memories of safety. But the song’s lyrics take on new meaning in this context: “Should I stay or should I go now? If I go there will be trouble. If I stay it will be double.” Will’s trapped in a dimension where both staying and leaving mean danger. The song also parallels how Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” saved Max from Vecna in Season 4, suggesting music has power in the Upside Down beyond simple nostalgia.
The Duffers are masters at using music to deepen emotional resonance, and bringing back this specific song for the final season’s opening shows their commitment to honoring what made Season 1 special while expanding the mythology in surprising directions.
What Happens Next and When You Can Watch
The full first episode titled “The Crawl” and three additional episodes hit Netflix on November 26, 2025 as Volume 1. Volume 2 with three more episodes drops Christmas Day December 25. And the series finale, the episode everyone’s been waiting eight years to see, premieres New Year’s Eve December 31. That staggered release strategy keeps audiences engaged through the holidays while building anticipation for each new batch.
The main storyline picks up in fall 1987, 18 months after Season 4’s events. Hawkins bears visible scars from the Rifts opening, with a military quarantine imposed on the town. The government’s intensified search for Eleven forces her deeper into hiding. As the anniversary of Will’s original disappearance approaches, familiar dread settles over Hawkins again. The gang reunites with one singular mission: find Vecna and end this nightmare permanently. But the villain’s location and intentions remain mysterious, setting up what promises to be the most intense season yet.
The opening scene’s flashback structure suggests Season 5 will weave between past and present, filling in missing pieces while advancing toward the final confrontation. Expect more reveals about Vecna’s history, the Upside Down’s origins, and character arcs reaching emotional conclusions that’ll destroy viewers emotionally in the best possible way.
Your Theories Start Now
What do you think Vecna meant by “beautiful things together”? Why did he specifically choose Will over any other potential victim in Hawkins? How will this revelation affect the final battle? Drop your wildest theories in the comments because the next three weeks of speculation before Volume 1 drops will be intense.
Share this breakdown with anyone who’s been avoiding spoilers because this opening scene is too significant to miss. Follow for continued coverage as we count down to November 26 and dissect every episode as they release. Because after eight years of mystery, Stranger Things is finally answering the question that started it all: what really happened to Will Byers in the Upside Down? And the answer is somehow more terrifying than anyone imagined.
