Stranger Things cast finally admits their “worst season”

The Stranger Things cast Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, and Finn Wolfhard, finally came clean about what they believe is the worst season of the franchise.

And they did it right in the middle of a Vanity Fair Hot Seat interview, with Volume 1 of Stranger Things Season 5 freshly released and emotions running higher than usual.

The wheel spun, the camera landed on Millie Bobby Brown, and suddenly the whole cast looked like they’d been thrown into the Upside Down without flashlights. Millie didn’t hesitate long.

Stranger Things Season 1 was at the top of her list — no surprise there, nostalgia always hits hard for them. Stranger Things Season 5 came next, mostly because she thinks the production value has basically turned into a full-blown blockbuster.

Then she worked her way down the ladder: Stranger Things Season 3, then Stranger Things Season 4… and way down at the bottom, Stranger Things Season 2. And she didn’t sugarcoat why.

Season 2 was a blur for her, not a bad experience, just the one that didn’t stick. And yes, she basically acknowledged what fans have said for years: that infamous Episode 7 didn’t help its reputation.

But not everyone agreed with the “Season 2 is the worst” verdict. Noah Schnapp and Gaten Matarazzo jumped in pretty quickly, insisting that Stranger Things Season 2 gets unfairly dragged. They’ve always had this protective energy about it, like older siblings defending the oddball cousin everyone teases.

Still, the general vibe in the room said it out loud without saying it: Season 2 is the show’s awkward middle child, the one fans fight about the most, the one the cast remembers the least, and the one that somehow refuses to stop being controversial.

Volume 1 of Stranger Things Season 5 is already streaming, with Volume 2 dropping December 25, 2025, and the final episode, the real goodbye, landing on December 31. After that, no more rankings. No more season debates. Just whatever comes after the biggest Netflix show of its generation finally flips the lights off in Hawkins for good.