Stranger Things is one of Netflix’s flagship shows. Since its launch in 2016, the fantasy-drama has been setting viewership records across four seasons and 34 episodes.
Set in 1983 Indiana, it all kicks off when a young boy vanishes. His friends team up to investigate his disappearance, and in the process uncover secret experiments, supernatural forces, and an alternate dimension you definitely don’t want to find yourself stuck in.
Netflix
With views at an all-time high, audiences are eagerly awaiting Stranger Things season 5. In March 2023, Netflix announced the next season officially entered production on January 8, 2024, with a vague release date of sometime in 2025.
Before then, here are the 5 very best Stranger Things episodes, as rated by fans on IMDB. Don’t miss our list of the top 10 Breaking Bad episodes ranked.
Top 5 Stranger Things episodes ranked
Netflix
IMDb Score: 9.2/10
An emotional gut punch of an episode containing heartfelt sacrifice, gory death, and stellar action scenes. Here, the Demogorgons are on vicious form as they converge on the laboratory and straight up eviscerate everyone inside. Meanwhile, Joyce desperately sedates Will to protect him. But it’s Bob’s surprise curtain call that makes the episode memorable; just when you think Sean Astin’s loveable character is safe, he’s set upon by a pack of rabid Demodogs. Thanks for everything, Bob.
Netflix
IMDb Score: 9.3/10
Fans rated the next episode even higher. The climax to season 2 sees Jonathan, Nancy, and Joyce transport Will to Hopper’s cabin to take on the Mind Flayer where he unleashes a wave of eyeball-melting heat in a spectacular battle to ultimately prevail. Elsewhere in the episode, Eleven harnesses her anger in a frightening display of power to defeat an onslaught of rampaging Demodogs, and by extension, the remaining monsters in Hawkins.
Netflix
IMDb Score: 9.3/10
The Upside Down is a term that has now entered the popular lexicon, and this episode is part of the reason why. However, while Hopper and Joyce venture to this mysterious alternate dimension to rescue Will, the best moment of the episode happens in the real world where Steve joins forces with Jonathan and Nancy in a long-awaited confrontation with the creature that’s been haunting them.
Netflix
IMDb Score: 9.4/10
In Dear Billy, three stories run parallel: Joyce and Murray rescue Jim from Russia; Max confronts Vecna; and Nancy and Robin visit an asylum patient to discover how they survived Vecna’s attack. The episode also introduced Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill to a whole new generation of listeners – following Dear Billy‘s airing the song reached number one in eight countries. Stranger Things’ status as one of Netflix’s most consistent shows is exemplified by this episode from its most recent season being among the best in its history.
Netflix
IMDb Score: 9.6/10
Stranger Things season 4 went from strength to strength, with viewers rating its seventh episode the highest overall. That’s in no small part due to its marriage of spellbinding visuals with intricate storytelling. Here, we learn of Vecna’s tragic origins following the massacre at Hawkins Lab. Elsewhere, Nancy delivers an historic revelation about what transpired in the Creel house, and we get a touching reunion in the Upside Down between Dustin, Max, Lucas, Erica, and the rest of the group. With the show getting better and better, fans are eagerly awaiting Stranger Things season 5, which is set to air sometime in 2025.
