Stranger Things Season 5 Volume X review: Duffer Brothers get backlash as fans say 'did a straight person write the coming out scene?'

Max waking up from the trance is one of the biggest emotional payoffs of the season. It felt like Hawkins exhaling after holding its breath for too long. One user on X said, “Max walked back into the plot like CPR for the entire fandom. Hawkins needed her more than we knew.” Another tweet read, “Lumax reunion was my villain origin story healed for 60 seconds.” The love for her return outweighed the doubts.

The core trio reaches the rooftop of the narrative arc, metaphorically speaking, when Hawkins becomes fully aware that the threat isn’t stopping. It’s organising. One user on X summed it up in a brutal one-liner: “Vecna isn’t chaos. He’s administration.” That line travelled fast because it felt true for the season’s tone. The show wants you to feel the plan closing in, not just the horror.

Karen Wheeler surprised everyone. She stepped into action sequences that once belonged only to the kids. Her fight scenes aren’t flashy. They’re emotional warfare. One X user wrote, “Karen Wheeler turned grief into claws. Fem-rage icon for infinity.” Another said, “If Hawkins needed a mom, the Upside Down got one first.” Her arc stole screens because it subverted expectations without needing exposition.