Episode Review: Stranger Things 5x7 - "Chapter Seven: The Bridge"

Welcome back to the blog readers. We are approaching the end of the road when it comes to Stranger Things (2016-25). There are two episodes left in the show that has taken over the industry over the last near-decade, and this fifth season has been filled with great character work, great spectacle, and so many more questions to be answered in the final 3 hours and 14 minutes of this show. How would we get ourselves ready for the end of the line with this penultimate episode, titled "Chapter Seven: The Bridge," written by Matt and Ross Duffer, and directed by the Duffer brothers and Shawn Levy? Stick around to find out.

NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.

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Like I said, we are getting so close to the end and I have been so curious as to what the Duffers were cooking up for us in the final 3+ hours of the show. How would we approach the final time we would see these characters, and what would the painting look like? While I still believe that last week's episode is the best episode of the season, I believe by a country mile that this is the best acted episode of the season, possibly one of the best of the entire series. All of the performances are home runs (but especially from Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard, and especially Noah Schnapp) and the story, while a bit of a slow burn, is preparing us for the final showdown.

The first performance I want to talk about is that of Caleb McLaughlin. McLaughlin is someone who never blew up like some of his Stranger Things costars have (by the way, one of them will literally be in Avengers: Doomsday (2026)), but he has been a lowkey star of this series, especially in the fourth season. As Lucas Sinclair, he has brought a warmth to the character that truly only he could have brought. But prepare the tissues, because this episode begins on a tearjerker, and it is all due to McLaughlin's raw and honest emotions after literally not having been able to speak to his girlfriend for a year and a half. A lot of credit needs to go to Sadie Sink in this episode for being able to play off McLaughlin's power and passion, but it is refreshing to see someone play a person that has never lost hope.

Next up, I want to talk about the performance of Finn Wolfhard. The opposite of what I said about his costar a paragraph ago is true for Wolfhard, as he has blown up a bit more. It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019), Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and Frozen Empire (2024), and even co-wrote and co-directed the film Hell of a Summer (2025), he has basically done it all. Wolfhard has become the quiet MVP of this season, taking more of a leadership role, something he does brilliantly this turn around. Whenever he appears on screen, I see a master of their craft getting to flex their acting muscles and prove why Wolfhard was born to play the role of Mike Wheeler. His scene with Cara Buono's Karen Wheeler at the beginning of the episode was all the proof I needed (well, and the climactic conclusion of the episode).

Speaking of the conclusion of this episode, I have spoken about how Noah Schnapp has been turning in some pretty good performances in this season, especially when his character Will Byers is revealed to have powers. Schnapp has done the opposite of Wolfhard and some of his equals: blow up as big as them (and his politics may be a factor in that), but he truly gave the best performance of the entire season in this episode. He plays a scared teenager so incredibly well in this episode that I truly felt for him. And the monologue that he delivers at the end of the episode almost made me choke up and get emotional since I can sort of relate to Will's situation.

Now, we have to talk about the crucial story that we get in this episode. We begin immediately at the end of last week's episode and pick up in the aftermath. Lucas pleads with Max to open her eyes as she struggles to do so, revealing she was able to escape Camazotz and return to her body. The two have a tearful reunion in the presence of Robin, Vickie, and Karen where Max reveals she saw him, and he tells her he never lost hope that she would return to him. She tells him that she did not need Kate Bush to make it out; she only needed him. At this moment, Mike, Eleven, Kali, and Hopper make it to the hospital where El and Hopper reunite with El's best friend. Max then says that Vecna will be angry that she was able to escape and Robin updates the group on what Karen did to save them. Mike asks where Holly is to no avail. At this point, Holly wakes up in an area that clearly is not the Upside Down and is able to escape from the holding that she is in. As she begins to escape, she notices Vecna waking up and she proceeds to run. She continues to run until she trips over an exposed piece of rock. Remembering what Max said about her death and the gates opening, she struggles to, but eventually does lift that exposed rock to reveal a rift. She digs through it and begins to fall from the sky. Meanwhile, Jonathan and Nancy, still trapped in the conference room, are trying to escape but to no avail. After some friendly banter between the two, they hear some booming that turns out to be Steve busting through the wall. The two escape, where they are greeted by Steve and Dustin, where Dustin hugs Nancy. He informs the two of his findings: Holly is not on the other side of the wall, and the "shield generator" is actually exotic matter held together by the lab. Suddenly, Nancy hears Holly screaming.

Following the title card, Murray and Erica were successfully able to convince Mr. Clarke to assist them with developing a telemetry tracker. Their method involves using a bunch of balloons. This method is not working, and the three begin to argue until Murray suggests they "cut their losses," leading Clarke to have a revelation: they do not have enough height and he cuts the balloons, being able to get a signal, leading Erica and Murray to do the same thing. Meanwhile, at Hopper's cabin, Joyce informs Will of the good news with Max, but Will is not very happy. He tells his mother that none of this would have happened if he was strong enough to fight back. He never stood a chance against Vecna and that is why he was chosen. He tells her about being responsible for controlling the vines and building the tunnels. Joyce tells him that none of this is his fault and that this is not over because Vecna lost one of his "vessels" and she knows where the others are. He breaks down and tells her that she is wrong and that this is all his fault. Back in the hospital, Max tells the group that she could not see where Holly would wake up, but it had to be in the Upside Down. That is why she told her to go to her house. Erica comes over the radio and Lucas steps away, telling her that this is not a good time. The others discuss how they are going to get Holly out, before Lucas interrupts them claiming Erica found Dustin. Everyone leaves the hospital as the military arrives. Karen tries to leave with them, but Vickie tells her she needs to stay at the hospital to recover. Karen tells Vickie she is out of her mind if she thinks she will sit by when her daughter needs her. Mike is able to tell his mother that Vickie is right, and that this group is going to save Holly because they saved Will all those years ago.

Everyone minus Karen meets up with Erica, Murray, and Clarke at Hawkins Lab. Clarke claims he was able to trilaterate Dustin's position to where they are now, but Dustin is not here. Lucas lambasts Erica for not telling Clarke about the Upside Down, leading the group to tell him everything. Murray then claims that he has Dustin, leading Lucas to radio him and learn Dustin found Holly. Mike grabs the radio and tells them to go to his house because that is where Holly should be, not able to hear them. The connection goes dark, leading them to shift their focus to the plated rifts. Despite Clarke claiming that he has a spectrum analyzer back at the school, El uses her powers to knock out a security camera, and then struggles to lift one of the plates to expose the rift. The entire gang, minus Max, makes their way into the Upside Down and reunites with Dustin, Steve, Jonathan, and Nancy. Mike reunites with his older sister, but Holly is nowhere to be found. Turns out, it was Holly that was screaming, but when the group made it up to the roof, she was suspended in the air but pulled back up through the rift at the top of the sky. Nancy suspects that it was Vecna that pulled her back up. Her theory is correct as we then see Vecna drag an unconscious Holly back into whatever spire-looking thing he has all the kids in and reconnects her back into her tendril area. He tells her that this will all be over soon.

Elsewhere, Lieutenant Colonel Jack Sullivan, revealed to have survived Vecna's attack in the fourth episode, discusses the "demon" that they encountered with Dr. Kay and Robert Akers. Bullets did nothing, and he was able to divert fire. This was not an attack, this was a massacre. Akers asks Kay if there is anything else that can appear out of the rifts because they are light on men. She says that reinforcements on the way. He counters that they have no idea what they are up against. She counters that this is a search, and for him to kill anything that stands in his way. She claims that everything that has happened in this town is because of Eleven, and if he had done his job, she would not have to repeat herself. At this time, Akers learns about the rift breach at the lab. Meanwhile, everybody has made their way back to the radio station, where Will has reunited with Max. Lucas gives her a tour of the station and assures her when he notices that she is upset that they will get Holly back. She comments that Holly is all alone in there and was sure she could have made it out. Lucas tells her that she was in Vecna's mind and when she says she should have stayed there, he tells her that she had to try and that she can help them beat him. She does not even know where Holly is being kept. Dustin interrupts the two and claims he finally knows where Holly is, but getting to that location is going to be a challenge.

Dustin informs the entire crew, which features Clarke and Vickie, that after perusing Brenner's 1983 notes, he has determined that the Upside Down is actually a bridge made up of exotic matter that connects two dimensions: the real world and a dimension that he coins "the Abyss." The group speculates that this is the dimension where Vecna was banished to all those years ago by Eleven, and where the Demogorgons and the Mind Flayer all are from. Not only that, but this is where Vecna could have been whenever the group has conducted their crawls. When Hopper asks why Vecna would be taking children to this Abyss, Max cuts in and explains what Holly told her: the children are going to be used to "move worlds." In theory, his plan is to use the children as conduits to merge the real world and the Abyss into one, with Will claiming the reason he took these twelve children is the same reason he was taken four years ago to the day. Lucas then chimes in when the group speculates how long this will take and brings up his theory that this will be the night that this happens. Meanwhile, back in Camazotz, Henry takes Holly back to the Creel house and puts her back in bed while covering her up. One of the children interrupts and asks if everything will be okay. He tells the remaining eleven children that Max is a monster that is trying to trick Holly, claiming she told her that he was kidnapping them as opposed to rescuing them, and that he wanted to end the world as opposed to saving it. When Derek mentions that they all should just go home, the kids turn on him and vow to try to bring her back from the dark to help them. As the kids chant "back to the light," Henry smiles sinisterly. At this time, Akers makes it to the rift breach and deduces that Eleven has been her, saying she has been getting reckless and that they are going into the Upside Down, thinking she is there.

Hopper is trying to come up with a plan to get all the kids out of the Abyss an settles on this: break into the military base and steal their helicopter, fly it up into the rift, and get the children. When most of the group points out the obvious flaws in Hopper's plan, they all begin arguing until Steve realizes something. He quiets the group and then begins talking. He claims they do not need magic beans and that they instead have a beanstalk: the radio tower. He argues that he should let the worlds combine until the Abyss is touching the top of the radio tower and that they can climb it to get to the Abyss. There is one major flaw with his plan: Vecna is too far for Eleven to be able to reach into his mind, but Nancy reminds everyone that the Upside Down is still frozen in time, meaning everything (including Brenner's "bath") should be there. Max tells her that if she makes it into Vecna's mind, she can walk her through it. Kali believes that she should be there as well. Dustin, who was smiling throughout Steve's plan announcement, adds on that they should add a time bomb to the exotic matter to collapse the bridge and ensure that the two worlds can never merge again. Back in Camazotz, Holly wakes up in a startle but is calmed down by her best friend Mary. Holly tries to ask where Henry is, but the kids will not tell her. She tries to tell them that Henry is not who he says he is. She breaks down, begging them to believe her. She asks Derek to corroborate her story, but remembering Henry's threat to him and his family, sides with the other children. Holly begins to sucker the kids in by saying she believed Max and that she feels stupid, and they assure her that it was not her fault. She then takes the CD player and smacks one of the kids in the face with it and runs off. She only makes it to the stairs before they catch her, rip off her necklace, and push her down the stairs, knocking her out.

Hopper, before going into the tunnels, talks to Joyce about his distrust of Kali and how he will kill her if she double-crosses her before she says that she could help. She asks what happened to them in the Upside Down and Hopper replies that he thinks El does not believe in him anymore. She asks him if he believes that to be true, to which he says he does not. She then asks him if he told her that, and he says she thinks she is invincible. He also says that he cannot lose her, and she tells him it is just one last crawl. Vickie asks Will and Max if this plan will work, and Max replies that it has to. She wishes that she was not stuck in a wheelchair. Will asks her how she survived in the dream world, and she tells him it was luck. She then mentions the cave and how he was scared to even go in the cave. She reminds him that underneath everything, he is still human, and that everyone is afraid of something. The rest of the gang is preparing for potentially their final journey into the Upside Down, where Steve pulls Dustin aside and apologizes for what he said to him earlier. He admits that Eddie did save Dustin's life and cannot imagine how hard it has been to live with that. He says he could not be there for Dustin because he got angry, and says he missed his best friend. Dustin replies with the same answer and the two hug. As all of this is happening, Erica and Clarke are tracking the gate opening and trying to copy the gate's signal, which they succeed at. While Murray has trouble starting his truck, Kali and Eleven enter each other's minds and talk about ending this once and for all. Kali tries to convince El that she will never truly escape if the military is looking for her, and says the only way to truly end this is to stay behind in the Upside Down when the connection is severed.

Will pulls Joyce to the side and tells her what Vecna had showed him when he was stuck in his mind. Joyce tells him that none of what he showed him is real. Will counters and says that what Vecna showed him is from his own mind. Despite that, Max reminded him that Vecna is still afraid, which means he can beat him. In order for him to do that, he must tell Joyce the truth regarding everything, even his secrets. Before he can finish, Mike interrupts them and says that Hopper is fifteen minutes out. Will tells Mike that he should hear what he has to say, as should everyone. Once everyone is gathered (minus Erica, Clarke, and Hopper), Will begins to admit, although very nervously, that he is different. He then specifies that he did not want to be different, he wanted to be just like his friends, and he likes all the same things that they do. He then admits with a stutter that he does not like girls in the way that his friends do, and was afraid to tell anyone because he was afraid. He claims that he had a crush on someone that was not like him, calling him his Tammy, and reveals that it was never about them but about him figuring himself out. He tells them Vecna showed him what would happen if he admitted this to his friends and that some of them were worried about him, and he was worried that there was something wrong with him. At this point, he has broken down crying and Joyce tells him that that stuff will never happen and he will never lose her, leading Jonathan to say the same and get up to hug him. Lucas, Dustin, Mike, Eleven, and Robin (who does not get up to hug him) follow suit. Max then tells him that he has to hug her and he does. He then tells Eleven that he is ready and he wants to be there with her.

That night, the party puts their plan into effect. Erica and Clarke are in the watchtower waiting for the signal to open the gate, while Murray is driving Joyce, Eleven, Kali, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, and Robin into the base. The first gate is opened, leading one guard to realize something is going on. They are able to open the second gate, leading the military to be on their tail. Hopper goes from one of the stores and begins firing on the soldiers in the MAC-Z, and Nancy rises from the top of the truck and does the same. This draws the attention of Kay, who fires on the truck. The truck is able to make it to the gate, where Hopper gets in the truck and Eleven stares down Kay as the truck drives in. The group strengthen their resolve and mentally prepare for the fight ahead, and Eleven seems to be in agreement with Kali's plan. Meanwhile, in Camazotz, Henry lights candles at the dinner table and tells the children that it is time. They grab each other's hands (with Holly's hands being grabbed) and he begins to use his powers and channels it through them, with all their eyes rolled in the back of their heads and their heads in the air as the clock chimes and the episode ends.

In conclusion, the penultimate episode of Stranger Things proves why this cast is one of the best on television with some of the best character work of the entire series. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.