TUDUM 2025 Recap

Ashley and Jasmin recap TUDUM 2025 and share their thoughts on the official Season 5 Synopsis, cast list, the new production stills, and the release date announcement!

Stranger Things 5 Date Announcement Teaser Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlYrNC_1Xmk 

Tudum Release Date Article: https://www.netflix.com/tudum/features/stranger-things-season-5-release-date 

ST5 Production Stills: https://www.instagram.com/p/DKXTZNxTiU8/?img_index=3

Want to try Editing with Riverside? Try it out for free at https://riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_5&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=ham 

Please consider leaving us a rating & review!

Theme Music: ⁠Stranger Things Theme Song (Salvation Synthwave Remix) by Neon Nights⁠

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Episode Transcript

(00:01):
It's a ham radio, the Cadillac of ham radio.
Hello everyone, Welcome back to yet another episode of ham radio

(00:23):
as Stranger Things podcast. We've got a great episode for
you today as usual. But first, we have a little
housekeeping to take care of, and I'm going to turn it over to
Jasmine to let you know where you can find us on social media
and where you can listen to the podcast.
Thanks, Ashley. You can find us on Instagram at
Hamradiomedia, all one word on Twitter at Hamthrow, on YouTube

(00:47):
at Hamradiomedia, or using our handle Ham Radio 1983.
We also have a Discord you can join which is linked to the
description of this episode. If you have a fan theory or
question you want to share, you can e-mail us at
[e-mail]. Ashley also has a fanfic on AO3
entire Stranger Things College, which is also LinkedIn the

(01:07):
description. The podcast is available on all
major podcasting platforms including Apple Podcasts,
Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, and much more.
If you like the show, please consider leaving us a rating or
review. We have a lot of totally tubular
stuff coming up, so be sure to follow us on social media to
keep up with the podcast and allof our new content.
Welcome back to another episode of Ham Radio, a Stranger Things

(01:29):
podcast. On today's episode, we will be
recapping Netflix's To Dom event, which was live streamed
on the streaming platform this past Saturday, and we will be
sharing our thoughts on some of the Stranger Things Five content
that was shared after the event.The event including the official
Season 5 synopsis, cast list, our first look at some official

(01:52):
production deals, and their release date announcement.
We will be doing a separate episode to talk about the teaser
trailer itself. So for those of you that were
not able to watch live, the event was held at the Kia Forum
in Los Angeles, CA, USA and was hosted by Sophia Carson of
Purple Hearts and the Lifeless Fame.

(02:12):
The event lasted about two hours.
To be honest, as someone who watched the whole thing live,
the first hour was rather cringey, but the last hour was
pretty good. The first hour included a sneak
peek of the new Knives Out movieWake Up Dead Man with the cast
and director on stage. They did this weird bit with
T-shirt cannons where they'd bring out each cast member and

(02:33):
be like, well, you know, so and so couldn't be here.
And and then someone would go and that's when you're wrong.
Dun Dun Dun would play and then like somebody else would show up
with another T-shirt cannon. Personally, I like the first
Knives Out, the one that came out in theaters.
Couldn't get into the second one, couldn't get past like a
few scenes in came across as very cringy to me.
But if you love it, congratulations.

(02:54):
I I will say the trailer for that one did look pretty good
compared to the last one. And then they did this thing
where all of the largest quick game characters came out and did
like a performance to open the show.
And then the cast came out and they showed the trailer for a
Squid Game season 3 and the castof Outer Bangs, Ginny and

(03:14):
Georgie, My Life with the WalterBoys and Forever were there.
They did this cringey gag with the audience where they did like
entering like fake fan questions.
Like the idea was there were supposed to be questions from
fans, but then it became obviousthat these were things that like
either the cast members had written or that somebody else
had written for them. So it just kind of cringey, in
my opinion. Then the WWE wrestlers were on

(03:37):
stage and they kept saying One Piece all the time.
And then the cast of One Piece came out.
They showed a sneak peek of one of the new characters, so that
was cool. And then the Dallas Cowboy
cheerleaders were briefly seen backstage.
It was weird 'cause they were advertised that they were gonna
be there like on stage, but thenthey were just briefly seen

(03:57):
backstage, like covering for somebody else.
While they did like this gag about spoilers, which was kind
of odd, and they did this reallydumb gag with Lily columns from
Ellie and Paris where she like pitched Netflix executives on
basically changing the names of their iconic shows.
And then her last thing was basically the Prime Minister to

(04:19):
do. And it was kind of weird because
it was like, well, they've done this before.
This isn't a new idea. So I guess that's the whole
stick of the show. But that honestly came across
kind of cringe to me. AJ McLean from Backstreet Boys
was there, and he shared a firstlook at the new show Building
the Band, which was Liam Payne'sfinal project.
It's a show, a contestant's building a band, but they can
hear the person but not see them.

(04:40):
That looked interesting. And then there was also the
teaser for Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein and some of the
cast and the director was on stage.
There's a trailer for Happy Gilmore 2 and then following
that, Caleb, Finn and Noah came out and shared some behind the
scenes footage from seasons one through 4 of Stranger Things.
And the setup was they all come out and they sit in front of

(05:02):
this on a couch in front of thislittle TV and they put in these
tapes to show the behind the scenes footage and everyone like
favorite behind the scenes moment.
And then Millie and Gayton sent in video messages as Millie is
currently filming Noah Holmes 3 in London.
So she wasn't able to be there. It's not clear why Gayton wasn't
there. Maybe he can't talk about his

(05:23):
project yet for whatever reason.And then the last thing was we
all got up to to leave saying hewas getting emotional.
And then there was like, I've got one more tape and they
shared the series of things. 5A date announcement, teaser
trailer. It is a bit weird that the other
cast members weren't on stage because Cara Bono, who plays
Karen Wheeler, posted like footage like from the audience.

(05:43):
And apparently Nell Fisher was in LA doing quote work stuff.
So it's it's kind of odd. It seems like the bunch of the
rest of the cast had was given like tickets like to attend, but
not to be on stage, which was kind of weird because based on
the other shows, they had the main cast plus the director,
whereas this was the only one I caught anyway that only had

(06:04):
three members of the cast. And since two others weren't
able to make it, I I thought that was a little bit weird.
I I get it was a bit they were doing, but I did think there's a
little strange and they emphasized the party a lot when
they were talking on stage. So I think that's going to be in
season 5. Like they phrase it as well.
There's two members of our partythat couldn't be here that kind
of a thing. So I don't know, maybe there was

(06:24):
something else planned that wasn't possible because Millian
Gaten couldn't be there. But yeah, I thought it was a
little bit odd. And then after the teaser
trailer, the cast of Wednesday took the stage and shared a
video showing the 1st 5 minutes of the new season, which
honestly looks really good. The Lady Gaga took the stage and
performed a medley of her songs Zombie Boy, Bloody Mary and

(06:45):
Abracadabra. She, you know, they opened these
gates and she came out of a coffin, ended this whole
Wednesday themed set. It was announced that she will
be guest starring in Part 2 of Season 2 of Wednesday.
And following the event, it was announced that she will be
playing the mysterious and ignomic Rosalynn Rotwood, a
legendary Nevermore teacher who crossed this path with

(07:06):
Wednesday. That's the recap.
Thank you Jasmine for that lovely recap.
I had quite a few Internet connectivity issues for like
almost the first hour of To DoomTo Doom.
So I didn't really get to see a lot of that stuff.
I don't, I don't know if it was because there's so many people
getting on the app or if it was just a combination of that.

(07:29):
And you know, my Internet is terrible.
I mean, Netflix is really is onething I especially on my TV that
I've always had like Internet issues with, like connected
connectivity issues with. But I found like I eventually
just switched to my iPad and it worked for like the rest of the

(07:51):
event, which was good because I got to see the Stranger Things
stuff as it happened live. But yeah, I would be like tuning
into what was like on the Twitterverse, things like that.
And so, yeah, I heard it was very cringe the first hour and
that I didn't really miss much. But still like, you know, I'm, I
wanted to be able to watch all of it.
And also that first hour, I was kind of getting worried because

(08:15):
I didn't know when the Stranger Things stuff would be airing or
the the Wednesday stuff, which is really what I wanted to see.
And I was fearing that like, by the time I got the Internet
situation figured out, it would have been bygone and I wouldn't
have been able to see it live. But anyway, I I did manage to at
least get to see the Lady Gaga concert, which was really great.

(08:40):
But yeah, like what you're talking about with the the
behind the scenes stuff that they showed with the Stranger
Things stuff, I really liked that.
I thought it was really cool to see like the old footage from
back in the day when they were all so young.
And hopefully this means they'veprinted together that
documentary Jasmine and what their their favorite scenes

(09:04):
were. And I definitely will say that I
like Millie's scene. That's one of my favorite 11
scenes that she's ever done. It was very bittersweet,
actually. My heart was pounding out of my
chest when they when the three boys were up there and, you
know, playing all the tapes and stuff.

(09:24):
And I was like, OK, you ever hurry up?
I really like going to get it oror not, you know?
And then I was kind of worried that that was all it was going
to be like just them doing that and then leaving.
And then they started to do that.
And I was like, Oh my gosh, it'sreally going to happen.
And then Finn said, oh, we got one more tape to play.
And I said, oh, thank goodness. And so when they started to play

(09:46):
it, you know, we get our first look at Joyce and Will from
Season 5. And I said, oh, this is it, you
know, And then when they started, you know, I mean, I
know we're going to get more into this when we give our
breakdown of the teaser itself. But for a few seconds there
during the teaser, I was very concerned.

(10:07):
But yeah, I I really enjoyed what all I did get to see from
to them. I saw the law of the red carpet
stuff. And and I'm going to say like,
like seeing Finn, Caleb and Noahthere.
I was like, wow, they're like young men now.
And that's so weird. Even though I did not start

(10:27):
watching the show until season 3, I mean they were still
teenagers back then and they still look a lot different now
than they did then. So it was pretty bittersweet,
you know, seeing them there. But I thought they look good.
I thought they look fantastic. And even though Gayton and
Millie's were pre recorded, I thought they, you know, young

(10:52):
woman, young man and again, justso weird, you know, seeing that.
And yeah, I also, I kind of thought that Karen and Nell
would be on the stage with them.But I mean, I get it.
Like they're like the three, youknow, originals.
And I mean, Karen's been there from season 1.
And so is the character of Holly.

(11:14):
But in terms of if we're talkingabout like screen time and and
all that, I mean, it makes sensewhy the three of them would have
been up there. But yeah, I thought again, I
thought it was a good event overall.
Yeah, I got to admit that when they started rolling the the
teaser trailer and you got Joyceand Will and the voice over and

(11:36):
then they went into the cliffs, I had this moment where I was
like, if this is going to be a clip show, I'm going to be so
mad because I just sat through an hour of cringe.
If all we're doing is a clip show here, I'm going to be
really mad. But they went into the new
footage. I was like, oh, OK, OK, we're
good. We're good.
But yeah, it is weird that they had like the full cast.
Yeah, they had the full cast formost of the other shows.

(12:00):
And I get that certain things has gotten to be such a large
cast that they can't do everybody.
But we just have Sadie up there.Like I I get that million gate
and other commitments. But since they knew they weren't
gonna be able to attend, it is abit weird they didn't grab other
people that were in attendance. That's what it was.
Strange we didn't get anything for Bridgeton.
Like I know we got that clip like the sneak peek on May 14th

(12:21):
and that's great, but they didn't do last year, but the
year before they did, you know, Nicola Cochran was there.
They did all this stuff for it. It was a big deal.
And it was kind of the inverse because you didn't really get
anything for Stranger Things. You just got, you know, Linda
Hamilton's announcement, but that was it.
So I was expecting them to do something for that.

(12:41):
And then and I was telling my mom about this and she was like,
oh, do they do anything for Bridgerton?
I was like, no, they normally do.
So I did think that was a bit odd, especially since we don't
have a release date for Bridgerton.
And I mean, they clearly, they've clearly finished
filming, always enough filming to give us a sneak peek of the
ball. So I I did think that was a

(13:02):
little odd. And I again, I don't know if
it's because they they just had just released that clip from
Season 4 Bridgerton. They felt like, you know, it'd
be too much to do it two weeks later, give more out.
But yeah, I mean, I did. I did think that was very odd.

(13:25):
But also, I thought, I thought, thought I read somewhere that
Tadam was going to last till from 8:00 to 11:00 and it was
only two hours. So I mean, they had a lot that
they did. So I don't know if they felt
like they couldn't cram all of it in.
I don't know. But yeah, like you, you, you

(13:46):
definitely not the only one thatI've heard say that they they
were like, if this is just a clip show, I'm going to be so
mad. Like I've I've heard that I've
been watching a lot of reviews of the teaser on YouTube today
and a lot of them have said that.
So we're all, you know, thinkinglike a hive mind.

(14:09):
So that's good. That's good.
We're all, we're all got our heads in the right place.
Yeah, I was surprised at how soon Stranger Things actually
came on because I was expecting more like 930, but it came, the
stuff came on around 9 and it was shorter than I, I thought it
would be because and I, this is something else.
If you watch it live, you know that like every other person who
got out there was mentioning Stranger Things even though it

(14:31):
had nothing to do what they weretalking about to keep people
watching. So they would tune in for that,
which got kind of annoying. And then it got to be one piece
that kept saying it. It's like, can can you just show
us something and stop saying it every two seconds?
I get that that's the big poll, but that did get a bit annoying.
It was a little bit odd. So they were asking actors and

(14:54):
people for other shows that likehad nothing to do with it.
So that was a little weird. But I am glad that like 2 hours
was reasonable, I think. And they did, they knew that
Stranger Things on Wednesday would be the big draws.
So they spent like the first hour promoting other things to
keep people watching. And then they they delivered on
that. So yeah, I mean, you could
definitely tell they were working out the kinks.
There's some stuff that was announced after the fact.

(15:16):
I think we're supposed to be announced during.
And some of the articles have conflicting information.
So you can definitely tell that.I mean, this is the first time
they've live streamed it on Netflix and they've added new
capabilities in the last year tolive stream events.
And you can really tell they're still working out the kinks and
the bugs. But all things started, I think
it, I think it went well. I think obviously the next time
they do it, it'll be much betterbecause now they've, you know,

(15:37):
they've had a trial run and sometimes you just don't know
things until you, you try them out.
But yeah, overall I, I, you know, I enjoyed the, the
second-half of it. And it's like, Can you imagine
being a cast member of one of those other shows and like
you're at this event and you've been told like you have to like
include like the biggest show onthis platform, like in every

(16:00):
joke that you say because we, wegot to promote that while you're
up there trying to promote your show.
I mean, could you imagine like having to do that?
And like that doesn't say you'reirrelevant at all.
Yeah, there's, there's definitely a hierarchy there and
that was on in in full display during the event for sure.
But you know what, you know, to me, like again, like I enjoyed

(16:24):
when I got to see you from Tadamand all the stranger things
stuff was great. But like whenever you just stop
and and think about, you know, this is the last time we'll ever
see like our first look at new content from a new season of
Stranger Things. And it will be the the last
Tadam event where like the Stranger things show, as it

(16:45):
were, we'll have, you know, be releasing anything or doing
anything on it. I mean, it's just, it's so
harrowing when you you step backand you reflect on that and it's
again, it's just, it's so, yeah,it's kind of sad.
Yeah, well, as they say, I mean,all good things must come to an
end, so yeah. But it is kind of a bittersweet

(17:05):
in a way. Managed to like see the, the
Happy Gilmore stuff and when it like they were first like
introducing all that to the stage.
Like I thought it was going to be a real documentary about a
real golfer. And I was like trying to figure
out like, who are they talking about?
Like, because they were showing like pictures of real golfers

(17:26):
and stuff. And I mean, it's been a long
time since I've seen the Happy Gilmore movie.
And then it came out of the Happy Gilmore 2, which I totally
forgot that was even happening. But I thought that that skit was
was really good. It was really funny.
Yeah, that one was pretty good. Great.
So one of the things that we didget after it was after the Doom

(17:47):
event was over was. Netflix released the official
synopsis for season 5 and according to their website, the
synopsis is his whereabouts and plans unknown.
Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town
under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for 11,

(18:08):
forcing her back into hiding. As the anniversary of Will's
disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread.
The final battle is looming, andwith it, a darkness more
powerful and more deadly than anything they've faced before.
To end this nightmare, they'll need everyone the full party
standing together one time. So when I first saw this being

(18:32):
circulated, I legit thought it was like fan made or you know,
something created by AI but Nope, it's the official
synopsis. And I guess maybe I thought that
because I wasn't expecting them to also, you know, release that

(18:53):
right after to Doom. But like my assumption is right
now is that this is the synopsisfor Volume 1 and maybe volume to
I guess it depends on like how they're going to split up the
volumes. But I'm confident that they will
release another synopsis for theseries finale before it drops.
I mean, they did that for season4.

(19:15):
They released synopsis what we would later learn was for Volume
1, and then right before volume 2 came out, they released one
for that one. So I assume they're going to do
the same thing here as well. But yeah, I felt like it was a
decent synopsis. I mean, it gives just enough to
confirm what's at stake in the final season without giving

(19:38):
anything away. But a lot of this is what we've
kind of already heard about or suspected given how season 4
ended or like just from things we kind of been seen with behind
the scenes. But the main thing that stands
out to me in the synopsis is theline as the anniversary of
Will's disappearance approaches.So I wonder if like the main

(20:00):
action of the season, I mean, weknow it's going to take place in
the fall of 87, but I wonder if the specific dates of the
setting will be like taking place during the week of or
leading up to November 6th. Because if that's the case, like
nothing would excite me more than for.
The final battle to take place on November 6th, literally

(20:22):
bringing everything full circle.Jasmine, what are your thoughts
on? That yeah, I mean, it's not
surprising to me that that's a really important part.
I know we'd speculated that for for the release stage for season
5, it would be in October, November and that, you know,
maybe the second part was released on November 6th.
I am a bit surprised as that they're doing November,

(20:43):
December, because as people havecommented, you know, it seems
more like a Halloween thing, nota Christmas thing.
Although I don't know if they'retrying to do something about the
Christmas lights in Season 1. I don't know.
But yeah, I could see it culminating there.
Although it's surprising that ifthat's the case, they wouldn't
pick that as the release date like they did with previous

(21:05):
seasons. Like Season 3 came out on July
4th and Season 1-2 followed a set schedule.
So that was my thought that, youknow, and Season 4 was supposed
to come out on on March 22nd, what was supposed to be spring
break. So when it got delayed.
So that's what I thought they were doing.
I don't know if the the dates wedid get in November, December

(21:27):
are somehow significant. I would think so because that
was the plan for 3:00 and 4:00. So I'm not sure what
significance they hold. But like you said, I mean this,
this gives us an overview, but it's in line with what we were
thinking. And you know what we saw in the
teaser. So it's in line with all those
things. And I, I think you're right that
they are probably going to release a second one either for

(21:51):
Volume 2 or for the the finale or or both.
And I do think it's interesting that they say they'll need
everyone the full party standingtogether one last time.
Like I said, when the stuff premiered at To Do, they really
emphasized the party and that being like, it sounds like the
original party plus L So clearlyall of them working together is

(22:12):
going to be a really core part of Season 5.
Which I am so excited about. And again, that is it's very
interesting because like Season 1, like Will was in the Upside
down like the entire time. And so it almost felt like he
wasn't even a part of the party,even though like he was, but I
guess because we didn't see him like physically interacting with

(22:35):
them and then the season 1, season 2 as well, like he
because he was possessed and fora bulk of the season.
So yeah, it's definitely going to be very feel like very fun to
watch him actually be with them in the season.
I mean, I'm not sure what's really going to happen with Will
this season, but yeah, I mean, Idefinitely think it's going to

(22:57):
be very fun watching him actually work with them as like
a nice, you know, parallel to like with season 1.
I must admit. Like, you know, I wasn't really
too sure about how I would feel going into it with will be
taking more of a like a central role in season 5.

(23:18):
But just like the two things, like especially that thing at
the end of the the teaser of seeing Noah's acting there is
definitely like sparked a passion and for me going into
season 5 and, and just just gives me kind of a renewed hope
that it's going to be worth it. And it's going to be something

(23:41):
that's just good storytelling and entertaining.
Because I mean, I've it's I don't feel like it's ever been a
secret that will is not one of my favorite characters.
I don't hate him, but he's not he's not definitely not in my
top five, but I've always found what happened to him very
interesting. And it's that him that and the

(24:02):
upside down are two of the biggest mysteries in the show
that they have yet to really explain.
And I'm glad that we've gotten confirmation that those two
things will be addressed and explained in season 5.
So yeah, I'm I'm very excited tosee Will his journey this

(24:23):
season, but also just have the the original party back together
as something I'm I'm very much looking forward.
To Yeah, me too. I'm really excited for Will's
storyline this season. When Season 4 came out and the
Def brothers were interviewed, one of the things they said was
that Will was going to be a hugepart of Season 5.

(24:43):
They were really going to focus on his story.
And I felt so validated because there were so many people out
there online saying, well, they said it, but they're not going
to do it. And I never really, I never
really understood that because there were a lot of people for a
lot of plots, specifically aboutthings that Duff Brothers said
in interviews that they said or that came up in season 4.
You know, like the revival of Stancey and all that, where

(25:03):
there was all these people on the Internet being like, well,
they said, but they're not goingto do it.
And I'm like, that's just bad marketing and it's bad writing
to bring this stuff up and then not do do anything with it.
And I just felt so validated because there were so many
people being like, well, they'renot actually going to do
anything with it. And I was like, bullshit, yes,
they are. I wouldn't say that to people,
but that's how I felt. And just to see this, yes, he's

(25:24):
going to be a huge part of this.L obviously is a huge part of
it. And I said previously, I thought
there might be a team up there. What we're getting here is more
what I actually originally envisioned based on the
different Brothers had said, which is that you've got Will
storyline and L storyline running in parallel.
You got George and Hopper supporting them, and they're
running in parallel. And like together, there's

(25:46):
whatever they got to do here hasto be something to do with the
two of them, which made sense tome because it started with them,
right? The series starts with Will
Disappearance escaping the lab, her helping them find Will and
then like, you know, communicating through the void
and then Will comes back, she disappears.
Like that's how this started. So to me, it's it's got to come

(26:07):
back to those two characters andthere's got to be something that
they're doing. Obviously the stories run in
parallel and there's got to be something they come together and
do in order to defeat Vecna. I I mean to be that just has to
be part of it. They keep saying they're
bringing it full circle. That has to be it.
So I'm really excited for his storyline and he's, you know,
when, when he's, you know, screaming and then the teaser

(26:28):
there. I just, I mean, Ashley, you
know, I talked about this after,you know, we called each other
after we watched it live and, and just say, you know, he's
giving. I love what you said.
We're like, you know, he's like giving the performance of his
life here. Like you can tell they're giving
it their all the actors are really throwing themselves into
it. I think this is the first time
where everyone's able to bring their their full selves or full

(26:48):
authentic selves to set. And I think that does really
impact the acting and make for abetter performance.
And like you said, and the firstseason will have been abducted,
the second season he got possessed and the third season
he was really sidelined and thenhe was part of the action in
season 4. But again, the pot he was in
like wasn't the strongest for him and and Mike.

(27:10):
So I'm really excited to see, you know, him have a strong
prominent storyline where it looks like, you know, the acting
is really good and we see Mike is taking is stepping back into
a bigger role again. And you know, I'm just really
excited to see all that play outand and the acting looks so far
with the clips we've gotten looks fantastic.
And I'm just I'm really excited because, you know, Will is one

(27:31):
of my favorite characters. I really enjoy him as a
character in his journey and yeah, I'm just, I'm really
excited about that. Yeah.
And I don't want to talk too much about this right now
because I want to save a lot of my thoughts on this for when we
talk about the teaser trailer when we break that down.
But I'll say, Jasmine, to kind of piggy it back off, your point

(27:53):
about Will and Elle is I believethat those two and the night of
November 6th or definitely a connecting thread.
And that's all I'm going to say about that right now.
Yeah, we'll definitely get into it more when we break down the
teaser trailer in full. Yeah, I agree.
I think that that night and whathappened, especially since in

(28:13):
season 4 we see the Upside Down is frozen on that day is very
important. And I kind of see them as being
2 pieces of a hole or once the lock and once the key.
Kind of there's a reason that Vecna has kept them alive.
You know, we see in Season 4, you know, he tells he wants to
watch and he's going to kill ourfriends.
And we know that he allowed Joyce and Hopper to go all the

(28:35):
way down there and bring him back, whereas that hasn't
happened for any other character.
I mean, the guy for the lab never got past the they got a
few steps in and that was like, whoosh, they were gone.
So to me, now that we know that Vecna was behind it the whole
time, that's his domain. He's in control of everything
that goes on down there. To me, they have been kept alive
for a specific reason. I don't know what that is, but

(28:58):
whatever reason Vecna has kept them alive or not, you know, not
killed them outright. I I think has to be important
and whatever causes upside down,Upside down to get stuck on that
date. I mean, that has to be important
to the, you know, the final conclusion of the story and how
they how they defeat him. So following the event, the cast

(29:20):
list for Season 5 was published.So we had our regular cast
members that we knew were going to be there that were in Season
4. And then as previously
announced, Nell Fisher has been cast to play an older Holly
Wheeler. Jake Connolly will be playing
Derek Turnbow. That's new information.
So that's Turnbow is in the Turnbow trap.
That is one of the episode titles.
And there is a scene in the teacher trailer, which we'll be

(29:41):
breaking down later on, that does seem to indicate that that
team is from part of the turnbowtrap and, and what that's about.
And then Alex Bro will be playing Lieutenant Akers and
Linda Hamilton will be playing Doctor K.
You know, I really wish we wouldhave gotten character
descriptions along with the castlist for these new people, but I

(30:01):
guess for now we'll just have totake what we can get.
But at least we know like who Linda Hamilton and Alex Bro and
Jay Connelly will be playing. So that's a start.
I find Doctor K's name very interesting.
Like is that her first name or is that her last name?
But either way, it reminds me a lot of Keys and ET, the

(30:25):
scientists there. And you know, evidently is she
is a doctor. Now, whether that's of science
or medicine, we'll have to see, though I, I lean towards
scientist, maybe working with military, maybe an independent,
I don't know. But also, you know, like

(30:48):
Jasmine, I know you said this, Ibelieve like after it was
announced, sometime after it wasannounced that Linda Hamilton
would be in this show. And like, I know we talked about
this like some last year, but like you had theorized that, you
know, what if she was like a geologist or something?
And I mean, honestly, that seemsvery likely now, I guess.

(31:11):
And I would love that if if thatwere the case, because again,
like she would be able to study the the upside down.
Yeah, I definitely think there'smore to this character.
And you know, I remember we speculating, is she a military
character? Is she something to do with that
arm they've been filming on so much?
She somehow connected to Murray in some way.

(31:34):
She connected to Brenner of the lab.
And then it seemed like she was going to be military and she
still could be. But it's like, well, she's a
doctor and she isn't medical. Is it psychological?
Is she is a PhD? Is it a combination of those
things? I think more than one thing is,
is possible. And I'm, I'm very interested to

(31:55):
see what her character is like because at first she's just
playing on a military character.I mean, she's good at it, but
that's not really very interesting.
And something I, I really enjoyed about when they've cast
other 80s icons is it's, it's, it's a bit of a different role
if you look at the the other actors that they've cast.
So making her a Doctor I think is a little bit different.

(32:16):
Know what we see her in Terminator.
So hopefully it's more of a combination role where it's not
just strict military because I mean, she's great at it, but
it's like I've been there, done that.
So hopefully it's more of a combination role and it's it
sounds like it's going to be more interesting than that.
So I'm personally excited for that part of the story to be
revealed. Yeah, so am I.

(32:36):
And it could also, this also could totally just be a
placeholder name like they did with Peter Ballard.
Remember him from the 2019, you know, new characters reveal and
then later after like season 1 or sorry, season 4 come out, the
stranger writers account on Twitter came out and said like,

(32:56):
yeah, that was a fake name. So it could totally be that and
her name could be something elseentirely.
I mean, I would hope that wouldn't be the case, but I mean
it's it certainly is possible. Oh, I hadn't thought about that.
Like, I remember that happening,but oh, I hadn't thought.
You're right. They could be, could be

(33:17):
something totally different. Or I mean, I guess not totally
different because what they did for Jamie, what it was related,
He wasn't orderly, but there wasobviously so much more to it
than that. And that wasn't his real name.
So I feel like her being a doctor has to be a part of it
somehow because it was like a kernel of truth.
I mean, I think the way they phrased it was he's an orderly.

(33:37):
Will he find the strength to stand up to the horrors he sees
every day? And it made it kind of sound
like it was orderly, like a mental hospital type situation.
And then, you know, he does stand up, but it's, umm, there's
a lot more to it than that. He's not the innocent guy he's
made out to be, which is, of course, all part of the plot.
So I don't know if maybe we're going to get a description, but
I mean, that could also be fake.I mean, I guess there's going to

(34:00):
got to be a kernel of truth in there somewhere.
So I think maybe her being a doctor is real, but there there
could be a lot more to it. Or you know, that that's a very
good point. They'd want to keep it under
wraps. So even if we do get a
description of her character, there'll be a kernel of truth in
there. But it could turn out a bunch of
it could be not real or not the full story, definitely.

(34:22):
Yeah, no, he was the horror. He didn't just stand up to it.
He was the horror. I mean, I feel like it's a very
good way to describe Henry slashfact now.
He was the horror. He is the horror, not a it isn't
bystander here. He he is the horror.
So on On the Sunday following the To Doom event, the Stranger

(34:42):
Things Instagram account posted eight production steals of the
new season, and all but one of them is from the new footage
that was shown in the Season 5 teaser that was released at
Doom. So from the carousel still #111
and Hopper and what appears to be some sort of lab, I've also

(35:05):
heard like military base. But anyway, this this image is
actually not from the teaser. So like you and I were, we were
kind of talking off mic that maybe they released this
because, you know, the only likeactual footage that we got of 11
and Hopper in season 5. You can't really tell like if

(35:30):
Hopper's even in that. And so maybe they or they just
felt like this was a better justa better image.
But in the still, an El's nose appears to be bleeding,
indicating that she has either just used her powers or is in
the process of using them and isstaring straight ahead as though

(35:51):
she's looking at looking at something or someone.
And Hopper is behind her with a gun aiming in the same
direction. So clearly they're in defense
mode here. I would suspect that this this
image of this scene is connecteddirectly to what happens in the

(36:13):
scene that was shown, a clip of the scene that was shown in the
teaser, because it looks like they're in the same, in the same
place. So that would be my guess.
And if I had to really guess, and this is just based on what
we saw in the behind the scenes teaser that was released last
year, that this is when like we saw like that Alex Bros

(36:36):
character, Lieutenant Akers seemto be like coming to what looks
like a similar place. And so I would suspect that
that's who like he's trying to enter into where they are.

(36:57):
That would just be my guess, butwhat say you?
Yeah, I definitely think that's likely.
And I'd love it if this was something like, you know, he's
trying to get in and they kind of meet in the middle.
We can see him maybe a gun and we've got a scope on it and he's
trying to infiltrate whatever this is.
If they've clearly tried or attacked whatever this thing is

(37:18):
and meet in the middle, realizedthey're facing a common enemy
here. I'm hoping that we know the
military is putting the town under lockdown and they're
searching for Al. I'm hoping that for these two
characters, for Doctor K and theLieutenant anchors, I hope
eventually there is conflict on meat in the middle moment.
Because something you and I bothreally disliked about the

(37:38):
military plot in Season 4 was that we were supposed to buy
that these guys were like taughtmilitary brass.
And yet they were dumb as rocks.And we got a whole season of our
heroes having to run away from these guys and avoid them
because they were just so convinced that she was the
villain and we're just being real stupid.
So I'm hoping there's, you know,a kind of a meet in the middle

(37:58):
moment here, because we've been done that.
And as you pointed out to me, they, the Duff brothers, make a
point of not doing the same plottwice unless it's a continuation
of something they've already been doing.
So I I would think they wouldn'tdo that again.
Also, it wasn't particularly Welsh received as a storyline.
So I'm, I'm hopeful that, you know, the military plot this
season is it's running in parallel to what our heroes are

(38:21):
doing, because I'd, I'd be fine with that, but something they'll
get more of the military interfering all the time and
just being stupid. So I'm hoping that whatever
they're facing here, they can meet in the middle and realize
that they're, you know, El is not the villain.
They are on the same side, so ifit is part of that same scene,
I'm hoping it's something like that.
Some other things I like about this this photo.

(38:43):
It's cool to see hoppers new look here.
Honestly, it's growing on me. I wasn't crazy about what we saw
in the behind the scenes, but I feel like it does look cooler
like in context makes more sense.
And now that we see more about the military aspect of the
season, I think their outfits and their their appearance is
making more sense and I like else look a lot more here that I
did the behind the scenes. I wasn't crazy about this look,

(39:04):
but I like it better here. And it seems to be more of a
warmth thing. And what I'm wondering is, OK,
this is the fall. But also we know the Upside Down
is really cold, right? We know it's cold and kind of
slimy. I guess.
We don't know what the temperature is, but we know it's
like slimy down there and it's not pleasant.
And since we know it's been taking over Hawkins, like we see

(39:25):
that the end of Season 4, I'm kind of wondering if maybe that
explains some of the outfit choices that we've seen them in.
Because maybe they're just cold,like it's fall plus the Upside
Down. Maybe they're just like really
chilly. Like maybe what they're trying
to show us here is that it's affected the climate.
And so that's why we see what appears to be Elle wearing
sweatpants and then like shorts and AT shirt over top of that

(39:46):
and then a bandana. And Hopper's got multiple layers
here. He's got beanie.
He's got like a sweater. We've got fingerless gloves.
We've got a jacket. We've got like then like a
satchel. So they're everyone's very
layered here. So part of it's obviously
tactical, but I, I think maybe it's more of a what they're
trying to convey about the climate, which if that's what
they're going from, is someone who lives in the colder climate,

(40:08):
we all wear weird stuff to keep warm.
So if that's what they're doing here.
I can get on board with that. That makes more sense to me now
than I did in the behind the scenes.
Out of context. It's just like, Jesus, where do
they put them in? But it's making more sense to me
now. And I really love seeing Ellen
Hopper team up like we saw them at the end of Season 2 and then

(40:31):
you're talking the the mall and stuff in Season 3.
So I, I really love seeing them team up and you know, 1 of
Hopper's issues we see in seasons 2 and threes, he doesn't
want Elle using her powers because he doesn't want to
acknowledge how much danger she's in.
And you know, he, he wants to protect her after what happened
to Sarah, he blames himself. So it's cool to see him get to a

(40:52):
point where he's accepted that this is who she is and rather
than trying to fight it, they'reworking together using those
powers to their advantage. So I'm also really excited for
that because I feel like it's a lot of growth for Hopper based
on where we saw him in seasons 2:00 and 3:00.
And we saw the beginning of that, the end of season 4 when
they reunite and you know, she'stalking about the, the door and

(41:13):
I leftover 3 inches. He's like, it's OK, it's OK.
So I I really love seeing the the continuation of that, that
growth with his character. Yeah, I wasn't too sure at the
beginning if I would have liked his look for Season 5 either,
but I kind of had in the back ofmy mind went even behind the
scenes pictures. But on screen it will look

(41:35):
different. And I I'm really I'm glad to say
that this teaser has confirmed that for me.
They, I think it, the look looksreally good for him.
And so for just as a side note, before I continue reading all
the other stills, I just want tolet you guys know that stills
numbers 2 through 8. These were all stills that were

(41:55):
taken from the teaser. So the again, the only one that
wasn't was the first one, but the remaining seven were taken
from the Season 5 teaser. But still #2 is Lucas at Max's
bedside in the hospital? Which indicates she's still in a
coma a year later. So I'm guessing we're going to
see her in like Mindscape or void scenes because, you know,

(42:18):
they must be, you know, saying anything is just an incredible
actress. They must be doing something
with her. But the fact that the plan for
season 5 clearly changed after so much time had passed because
of the strikes and everything, where I I think the original
plan was for everything to wrap up in 1986, whereas they've
pushed it ahead a year now because the actors have age and

(42:40):
that's just is what it is. I don't think the original plan
was for her to be in a coma for a year and a half, but here we
are. Something I did notice is that
her Max's arms and legs aren't cast anymore.
So it looks like her limbs have healed and they've cleaned up
her face. So it does seem that her
physical body has healed by thispoint that it's, it's more of a

(43:01):
mind thing really. Vecna has her stuck somewhere or
she's hiding from Vecna. So it appears that her plot is
going to take place on another plane this season.
And I would assume that at the end of the season, we're going
to see the the conclusion for that because as the synopsis
says, their goal is to find and,and destroy Vecna.
So once they've done that, the end of the season, I presume

(43:22):
she's going to to wake up and then that's going to be a part
of that. But I mean, I have to say at
least her body is healed by thispoint.
That's nice to see. So in still #3, Dustin and Steve
are in the Upside Down. We don't yet know the location,
but it looks like either HawkinsNational Lab or maybe the radio

(43:43):
station. But what is clear is they are
looking up at something with somewhat perplexed looks on
their faces. And Dustin also appears to have
a bloody lip and a bruised up, bruised up face.
Yeah, a lot of the cast looks banged up.
And this like people comment that Mike also looks like he's
been injured. And we know that Dustin gets

(44:04):
beat up at some point by the guys on the basketball team.
So a lot of people getting beat up.
And we don't know when the quarantine starts.
I mean, we all went through COVID being cooped up for so
long. People can only take so much if
they're just taking their frustrations out on each other
or if this is monsters or, you know, bad guys or I'm just like

(44:24):
falling or injured in the process of doing something.
So be curious to see what that looks like this season because
normally it's just Steve that's getting beat up.
The rest of the cast is spared. And what's interesting is I
don't know if we've gotten any, any footage of or stills of
Steve being getting beat up or like his face being all bashed

(44:47):
up. Have we actually?
I don't think so. Yeah, I mean, you know what's
going to happen because that's arunning.
That's a running joke every season.
But yeah, that's interesting. Everyone else's face is bashed
up, but it is right now. Some things I noticed in this
scene is that Steve appears to be holding what looks like a
bayonet in his hand. It's it looks like there's a
knife on the end of it. Could be a scope which is new

(45:09):
for who. He normally just has the nail
bad and that's that's it. I'm still hoping the nail bat
makes a comeback in season 5. I missed that thing.
I would have liked to have seen it in season 3.
So I'm hoping it makes a comeback one last time.
And I'm wondering if this is part of the same scene where
Steve, Dustin, Nancy, and Jonathan drive it upside down or
the 1:00 where they're standing next to the glowing red light.

(45:30):
A Dustin's outfit looks similar to the one where we see next to
the growing red light. So it could be one of those
scenes. It's kind of hard to tell what
was Steve's outfit because of how dark it is and we see we
he's been beat up. So we don't know if that's
somehow related to the basketball guys or something
else entirely. It would not come with the
timeline is here. So I'm really curious to see

(45:51):
where where in the timeline thisthis scene fits in.
In the fourth still, Mike is standing in front of some new
kid characters, shielding them from something.
The Joyce is behind them lookinglike she's holding Will or
hugging him, like almost looks like she's kind of holding him
up. But whatever it is that they're
looking at, it's Mike looks terrified and the kids look

(46:15):
amazed. Yeah, You know what I just
noticed? I'm looking at this again and
there's another person in this shot.
There's like what appears to be a military guy who's like passed
out on the floor behind them. So it looks like he's either
dead or unconscious. So I don't know if he's been
attacked by something or they'vetaken him out, but I just
noticed that there's a guy in like camo military gear who's

(46:37):
like on the floor behind them. I hadn't noticed that either
until you literally just broughtthat.
Up. Yeah, I, I hadn't noticed it
till right now, but like, they're clearly at some kind of
military base based on the background.
And this guy tried to stand up to whatever it was and he got
taken out. But yeah, Will looks like he's
collapsed and Joyce is like holding slash kind of hugging,
dragging him. And we do see that scene of Will

(47:00):
screaming in the teasers. I don't know if he's telling
them to to run and then collapses because it seems very
strangled to me. And I saw people online point
out that Mike's face looks bruised on his his one cheek.
So he's been injured somehow. And then you can see the new
character of Derek is behind Mike on his right, and he's
looks like completely terrified.And I feel like they're in

(47:23):
between like, befuddled and like, confused and terrified.
This has to be like a monster orsomething for the Upside Down
because they've clearly never seen something like this before.
And then there's a girl on Mike's left who guessing based
on their ages, I would assume that Derek and this other girl

(47:45):
are Erica's friends because theylook like they'd be around the
same age as her. And then there's a younger girl
kind of half in the frame besideDerek on the right, and she
looks younger. So I'm guessing this is a friend
of Holly's or perhaps a sibling of one of these kids.
So I'm, I'm wondering if maybe the plot here, as we've
speculated that Holly and Erica go missing at some point and

(48:09):
that these are their friends. They've come looking for them
the way that everyone came looking for Will in season 1 and
that while they don't want thesekids in danger, they know
they're not going to stop looking the way they wouldn't
stop looking for Will. When everyone else gave up, the
party kept looking and his family kept looking.
So I'm wondering if that's what this is.
I I will say one of my immediatereactions.
I said this to you on the phone.Ashley is OK.

(48:30):
So we've got Todd Beaches, all these new characters.
Where's Will's love interest? Man, I've been holding out hope
for that one. And it's like, OK, he can fight
monsters and find love too. Everyone else in the cast gets
to do that, like, like all the other characters get to do that.
Like where's his love pages? Like where's his love story?
Like justice for Will man. Well, we must also keep in mind

(48:52):
that there were two characters that I will not name here that
we're not in this teaser, but wewill talk about that when we
break the teaser down. So I guess that is the answer in
which you seek I. Mean, I'm still hopeful.
I mean, I think it'd be kind of a a sad or kind of a lame ending
to have stretched his coming outfor Four Seasons and then have

(49:15):
it just be, well, he was in lovewith his best friend and his
best friend was in love with hissister and will wound up alone
or some lame crap where it's like right at the end or he
shows him the epilogue with a boyfriend or a partner or
something. I don't know.
I'm hoping for more than that. And especially since Will is
going to be a prominent part of the season, I'd like to see he's
coming out and I'd like to see him meet somebody.

(49:37):
Maybe he's a kid of someone who's there as part of the
military efforts or the relief efforts.
Because it's got to be somebody new to the environment.
Just based on your reputation asa zombie boy, a nerd, part of
party and everyone thinks his friends are in a cult, I feel
like he'd have a hard time finding love with somebody who

(49:59):
knew who he was already. Like, I feel like it's got to be
an outsider. So we'll talk about that more
when we break it down. But yeah, that was that was one
of my key reactions. I think what telling about this
trailer is what's there, but butalso who who's not there, what
we don't see. I think it's just as just as
telling. Sometimes it's it's not always
what is being shown. Sometimes you got to be able to

(50:24):
read between the lines, you knowwhat I'm saying?
And then after that and still #5we have an iconic shot of Joyce
holding an axe, standing in front of what I believe is a
door in the distance. She is flanked by Robin, Will,

(50:44):
and what looks to be Erica. And they all look like they're
inside of the barn. That we've seen a lot in the
behind the scenes. Then the new character Derek is
kind of standing above Will and maybe Erica in like the loft.
I don't know. I don't know why he's standing
there, but still a cool shot. Yeah, I really love this shot.

(51:07):
I love that they're coming back to, you know, Joyce and her
trusty acts. And the corduroy jacket from
from Season 1 has has returned. We saw it earlier in footage.
But love this for Joyce. Something I loved about her
character was like her plot in Season 1 and her, you know, that
iconic shot of her with the axe in the living room or her
fighting for her son. And she's like, I don't care.
This whole town thinks I'm crazy.

(51:28):
I'm getting my son back. And she clearly has brought this
kind of determination to whatever they're doing here.
And I love that. And I think this is a really
interesting shot, especially since you can see Derek standing
above them to me. But this what this must be is
the turnbow trap. And since we know that's Derek's
last name, I think he's up there.
We saw that behind the scenes shot of my hog jumping into like

(51:50):
what looked like like a Bale of hay on the on the floor.
I'm guessing that they're expecting something to come
through this door and that he islike the turnbow trap is this is
they're setting Derek up to be part of the trap.
And then once whatever this is comes through the door, they're
going to attack it and he's up there kind of his baby.
They've got him up there and I'mguessing maybe there's a
trapdoor or something that will release him so he falls and it

(52:13):
can't get him. When we first heard that, I
thought maybe it referred to something that was part of the
DND campaign or Turnbow was likea name for something.
I didn't think it was going to be a person.
So I'm interested to see if thisis Vecner, whoever, whatever is
after this character that we're only meeting for the first time
this season. That seems kind of important for
somebody we've never heard of and never seen before.

(52:36):
So I'm really curious as to, youknow, how that occurs and how a
character we've just met could be that important that they're
setting up some kind of a trap, if that's what this is.
And then still number six, we have a close up image of Will
standing in an unknown an unknown location.
He appears to be in great distress and his right cheek

(52:59):
appears to be kind of puffy likehe's been beat up.
Or maybe that's just the way like Noah's face is like what
he's like moving his face there.But if you I noticed when I was
putting together these notes, but I noticed that if you zoom
in closely to his eyes, you can make out what looks to be like

(53:20):
black veins in the corneas of his eyes.
Yeah, I noticed that too. When you can see that when you
when you zoom in. So it's possible he was injured
or this is him. Like he's straining a lot like
this clip from the teaser. Presumably this is from the part
where he's screaming at them to run and it's very like a
strangled. Yeah.
Like obviously something is happening to him.
It's not like a this is not him a normal yell for him.

(53:41):
This is something has has happened to something that's
like preventing him and he's freaking out trying to get
everyone outside of danger. And this could also be part of
the this scene from earlier where he's collapsed and Joyce
is holding him. So I'm like love the acting so
far, this love the visuals. We're getting really excited to

(54:01):
see what this season is is bringing, bringing for Will.
Absolutely. Then still #7 again, one of my
favorite. This is one of my favorite parts
from not only this carousel but the teaser.
We have Karen and Holly and Karen also looks very distressed
and is holding or hugging an even more distressed Holly and

(54:27):
what appears to be a location inside the Wheeler home.
Yeah, I, I also find this one super intriguing.
I went back and look at the behind the scenes teaser we got
and Holly appears to be wearing the same outfit we saw her in.
And that's the one where she's in her bedroom.
She gets up on the floor and sees the lights are flickering
and, you know, goes downstairs to the kitchen and we see her

(54:47):
looking scared in the kitchen. Now in the kitchen shot she
looks drenched, like she's just had a shower, whereas in this
one their hair does not appear to be wet, but she is wearing
the same. So this does all appear to be
part of the same sequence. And to me, this felt like a real
parallel to the scene in Season 4 where Karen is holding Holly
as the earthquake happens and, you know, trying to shield her

(55:12):
from, you know, the the falling debris and then the shaking and
everything what's happening. And I think that this scene is
very previously very similar where, you know, she's trying to
protect her from whatever is is coming at them.
And it's like, it's not like this is exactly really new.
I mean, throughout the seasons of the show, like most of what
we see Karen and Holly is Karen holding Holly like a lot like

(55:37):
this. So it's just so interesting to
see this. Obviously now this is not appear
to be a happy moment like the other times.
But yeah, I'm I'm definitely interested in in seeing these
two this season. And then the last still that we
that we got is also one of my favorites.
We got a very interesting visualof what I assume to be a new

(55:58):
part of the Upside Down we've never seen before.
In this image we see what appears to be two people,
speculation is 11 and Hopper or 11 and Mike, standing in front
of a massive upside down vine covered wall.
They are holding flashlights, shining them on the wall as
though they're looking for something plastered on the wall

(56:21):
or some very nasty looking mucusplugs.
It's like the best way I know how to describe it, but they
look very nasty. But where the people are shining
their flashlights does appear tobe the center and it looks
almost like a gate in and out ofitself or at least like it an
eye shape mucus thing. Anyway, it's it's nasty.

(56:44):
It's. Nasty man.
Yeah, whenever they're shining their light out, there should be
the opening, whoever that this wall thing is.
And you're right, it could be a gate.
I don't know. It kind of reminds me of when
Elle went through like the mucusy stuff to get back into
the school at the beginning of season 2.
It looks like a an upgraded version of that.
But man, the upside down has really grown like in just from

(57:08):
1-2 to 4. But this is his next level and
we know they do a lot of stuff practically.
So I would imagine they probablydid part of this practically and
then replicated it or they did maybe the close-ups practically
and a greens game. But however they did this, I
mean, it looks nasty, but also very interesting that I mean,
this is what the upside down hasgrown to.

(57:30):
I mean, this is a lot for our heroes to to handle that.
I mean that that that's pretty. That's pretty big.
I mean, they talk about the mother gain season 4, but that
looks like the mother of that's a gate.
That's a mother of mother gates.Yeah.
And I will say I think the quality of the season just so
far looks amazing. The practical and special
effects. We do see a little bit in this
teaser and then the stills look amazing and you can tell they've

(57:52):
put a lot of time and money intomaking it look really cool and
interesting. And I mean, that part of it has
always been really cool visually.
That's always been something this show is really strong in.
But this just looks like next level and and honestly, compared
to season 4, I'd prefer that something where they put the
time and the energy in the budget into everyone's in
Hawkins. They make it look as cool as

(58:12):
possible, whereas in I feel likein for the budget kind of got
stretched where they were tryingto make every single set.
They were in every single place,the cool, authentic and
different. I commend them for trying
something new. I think did feel like they kind
of did stretch things. So this is cool to see.
OK, We're just really concentrating in this one area
to make it look as as cool as possible.
Yeah, for sure. I I just love how crisp this

(58:35):
footage was. And it's really weird because
I've been started re watching the show recently and now it's
like it's going to be hard for me to be able to look at the
even like even season 4. But you know, certainly the
first three seasons the same again, just based on like these,

(58:55):
these clips from this teaser. Yeah, the quality looks really
high and this everything looks very high res and this is just
the preliminary stuff. So I'm sure the visuals for the
final version are going to be stunning and also kind of gross.
That's the final gate, like stunning, but gross probably at
times based on what we're seeinghere.
So as part of the teaser, we gotthe release date announcement.

(59:18):
So volume one will be dropping on November 26, 2025.
Volume to we'll be driving on December 25th, that's Christmas
of 2025. And the finale will premiere on
December 31st at 2025 on the episodes, we'll be premiering at
5:00 PM PST time. And the latest information from

(59:40):
Todom is that 4 episodes will bereleased on the November date, 3
episodes on Christmas, and the finale episode will be on New
Year's Eve Release dates finally.
Call your families and tell themthat you will not be seeing them
over this holiday season, but that you love them.
Just do it now. Just do it now and don't wait.

(01:00:02):
And I know you and I were talking because Canaan, American
Thanksgiving is different, but we were talking earlier about
how all three of these dates fall on like American
Thanksgiving, Christmas, and NewYear's.
It's kind of weird. I know people watch with their
families, but think of my own family, not circadian.
Like the November date doesn't affect us, but so now I got to
take time out of Christmas with my family to to watch this.

(01:00:26):
For anyone whose families don't watch, it is kind of weird.
And people have said we're expecting October, November, not
November, December. It's not really a Christmas
thing. It's more of a Halloween thing.
And but they are Wednesday beingAugust, September, are they?
I'm kind of starting to wonder, are they dropping something else
in October that they want to reserve the date for?
Because this this stuff is very kind of Halloween themed and

(01:00:47):
it's weird. They're not dropping anything in
October and it's not really a Christmas or New Year's or I
mean, it doesn't bring to my mind Thanksgiving either.
So I mean, unless they're tryingto do something with the
Christmas lights. But I mean, if they're maybe
bringing it back to that or I don't know, they're just trying
to increase numbers. So I think people will watch
with their their families that Idon't know actually.

(01:01:08):
What are your? Thoughts on that?
I mean, honestly, I think it's because they want, and by they,
I mean the Duffers want enough time to properly edit and do the
special effects for it and maybenot run into the same issues

(01:01:32):
that they had with Season 4. That's the best, my best guess.
To me, that's what kind of makesthe most sense at this point.
And also because Part 2 of Wednesday comes out in September
and maybe Netflix wants to have a good buffer in between the
two. But yeah, I, I honestly believe

(01:01:52):
it's, it's it's really to do with giving them enough time in
post production. I think, you know, was the case
with Volume 2 and, and the finale.
I think the same thing because Imean, the Duffers have they said

(01:02:13):
like earlier this year that theythey filmed like 8 blockbuster
movies and I believe it. So I mean, you know, I feel like
we're we, we have a lot. And so yeah, I feel like that.
And also they maybe Netflix justliterally wanted to end the year

(01:02:34):
with a bang. And why not have the final
season of your most popular showdrop at the literal, literally
the end of the year? And plus, I feel like maybe
Netflix knows like people will make time to watch Stranger
Things. And I think they they know that.

(01:02:55):
And so I don't think they have any fears of the repercussions
because they know that people are going to watch it.
I think too, like, I like the times that they included.
And so like for me, because I don't like on Christmas Day, I
don't usually go anywhere. And so, you know, I've spent
time with my mom and my grandma earlier that day and then have

(01:03:18):
the rest of the the day to chilland then I can watch it at 8:00
PM my time. I mean, I know now everyone's,
you know, that's not the case for everyone.
But I think if it were like if the times were off, like if say
if they were going to release itlike they normally do, like 3:00

(01:03:39):
AM, I would be more concerned. But I feel like with the times
that they're going to release them, I do think they they did
take extra steps to accommodate for the holidays for people.
Yeah, that, that's fair. Although my experience in the
past of like something supposed to be dropping a certain time,
you know, reloading and reloading and reloading, trying

(01:04:00):
to get it to come up has always been annoying.
So because you got to wait to like then five O 1 kind of a
thing. But yeah, I mean, does come out
for us, it would be, you know, 8:00 PM.
So it's coming out in the evenings.
I guess the idea is you spend Christmas morning and afternoon
with your family and then in theevening you can you can TuneIn

(01:04:20):
expect to get a lot of, you know, back and forth phone calls
with my friends about like, did you did you see this?
Oh my gosh, did you see it yet? Because we did that for the
second-half of four, because we watched part volume 1 together
that my friend was on vacation. And so for for Volume 2.
And so we want to talking on thephone and doing it that way.
At least we'll all be together for the November date and then

(01:04:42):
for New Year's. So go out with a bang, I guess
been emotional New Year's. RIP to the ratings for all the
New Year's programs that go on that night.
I was about to say like Ryan Seacrest, I love you man, but
I'm sorry but I think I'm going to have to forgo the ball drop
this year and cause the upside down is where it's at.

(01:05:04):
I can already hear the jokes nowfrom the, you know, from the
Dick Clark New Year's Eve special of all the other ones
being like those of you who aren't tuning in to watch
Stranger Things tonight. Yeah, exactly.
I know. I also feel like attendance
might be down to because normally everyone congregates
where they're doing ball the ball drop in different places

(01:05:25):
around the world, but I feel like a lot of people are going
to stay home and watch rather than go out.
Yeah, or it might be something that can keep you up until like
midnight and then once it's off,then you can go watch the ball
drop. And it's like you watch have a
very emotional moment watching the finale and then you can go

(01:05:45):
watch the ball drop and watch fireworks.
Yay. So it's a good, I feel like a
good spectrum there. Emotional moments, a lot of
highs and lows, and that's our show.
If you like what you heard today, be sure to subscribe and
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episode of Ham Radio, a StrangerThings podcast.
Please join us next time. Same dial, same time.

(01:06:07):
Over and out.