MOVIE NEWS – The first four episodes of Stranger Things’ final season have just dropped, and even for a series that has always enjoyed sky-high popularity, Season 5’s “Chapter Four: Sorcerer” has pulled off something special by climbing to the very top of the show’s IMDb rankings. In just a couple of days, this Millie Bobby Brown-led episode has already earned more than 20,000 user ratings, making it the best-scored chapter in the series so far – with the real test still to come as more people binge the season over the holidays.

Stranger Things has kicked off its farewell run with four new chapters, but it is “Chapter Four: Sorcerer” that has really caught fire among fans. The episode currently stands as the highest-rated installment of the entire show on IMDb, despite only being available for a very short time and already surpassing 20,000 votes. Since these episodes landed right before a holiday break, many viewers are only just now pressing play, which means the already impressive score could yet rise further – or settle a little lower – as more opinions come in.

According to IMDb, the current ranking for this opening batch of Season 5 episodes is as follows:

• “Chapter Four: Sorcerer”
• “Chapter Three: The Turnbow Trap”
• “Chapter Two: The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler”
• “Chapter One: The Crawl”

Looking at Stranger Things as a whole, the all-time top five episodes now break down like this:

• Season 5 – “Chapter Four: Sorcerer”
• Season 4 – “Chapter Seven: The Massacre at Hawkins Lab”
• Season 4 – “Chapter Four: Dear Billy”
• Season 1 – “Chapter Eight: The Upside Down”
• Season 2 – “Chapter Nine: The Gate”

Only one episode from Season 3 has managed to crack the overall top ten: “Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt,” which sits at number seven. What probably will not surprise longtime fans is that the lowest-rated chapter comes from Season 2: “Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister.” In that divisive episode, Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven leaves Hawkins, Indiana behind for a while and connects with other teens who share telekinetic abilities and carry the same legacy of experimentation.

For many viewers, “The Lost Sister” derailed the momentum of Season 2 by pulling the story away from Hawkins just as the tension was building, and the backlash has been severe. Around 15.5% of users have given the episode a 1 out of 10, and the show’s huge popularity has fueled theories that it functioned less as a natural continuation and more as a backdoor pilot designed to introduce characters who could headline future spin-offs.

What Else Can Fans Expect From The Future Of Stranger Things?

The final season of Stranger Things is still far from over. The next three episodes are scheduled to arrive on Christmas Day, December 25, with the big series finale set to land on Netflix on December 31. So while the main story is heading toward its conclusion, this does not mean the franchise is about to disappear.

Stranger Things has already expanded beyond the core series into comic books and a live stage production, and an animated show, Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, is on the way for 2026, set between the events of Seasons 2 and 3. On top of that, creators Matt and Ross Duffer recently confirmed that a new live-action spin-off centered on one of the existing characters is moving forward. They have yet to reveal which character will take the spotlight, but it is clear that the world of Stranger Things will continue long after the final credits roll on Season 5.

Source: MovieWeb