Chapter Two: The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler

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"Chapter Two: The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler"
Stranger Things episode
Promotional poster by Butcher Billy
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 2
Directed byThe Duffer Brothers
Written byThe Duffer Brothers
Featured music
Cinematography byCaleb Heymann
Editing by
Original air dateNovember 26, 2025 (2025-11-26)
Running time57 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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"Chapter One: The Crawl" 		Next →
"Chapter Three: The Turnbow Trap"
Stranger Things season 5
List of episodes

"Chapter Two: The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler" is the second episode of the fifth season the American science fiction horror drama television series Stranger Things. The 36th episode overall, the episode was written and directed by series creators The Duffer Brothers, and was released on November 26, 2025, on Netflix as part of volume one of season five.

Set on November 3, 1987, and focuses on the disappearance of Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) following an attack on her home by a demogorgon from the Upside Down. The rest of the episode features the fallout from this event and the remaining characters trying to find a way to rescue her and determine why she was targeted in the first place.

The episode received critical acclaim with praise for the opening scene depicting the demogorgon attack on the Wheeler home, the use of ABBA's "Fernando", and Buono and Fisher's performances.

Plot

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As a Demogorgon crashes through Holly Wheeler's ceiling, she flees to the bathroom where Karen Wheeler is about to take a bath. Karen tries to reassure Holly, but then notices she is bleeding as the lights begin to flicker. Karen and Holly hide underneath the bathwater as the Demogorgon breaks through the bathroom door. Having noticed the lights as well, Ted enters the Wheeler home, shouting for Karen and Holly. The Demogorgon approaches Ted, who attempts hitting the creature with his golf club, and throws him through a wall. Karen and Holly try escaping the house but are cornered by the monster. Karen smashes a wine bottle and begins stabbing the Demogorgon. Having been warned by Will Byers, Nancy Wheeler and Eleven race to the house, where they find an injured and bloodied Karen. With Holly taken by the Demogorgon, Nancy urges Eleven to pursue them, and Eleven rushes through a nearby portal to the Upside Down.

In the Upside Down, Eleven runs into Jim Hopper while tracking the Demogorgon. He is frustrated at her for putting herself at risk when the military is hunting her, but she insists that she followed her instincts and believes that finding Holly will lead them to Vecna. She patches up his wound, and Hopper admits that he is afraid of losing her like he lost his daughter. They find a large, impenetrable wall, which Eleven realizes that the Demogorgon has taken Holly through. Neither is able to break through. In Hawkins, Dr. Kay and her soldiers review CCTV footage from the Wheeler house and see Eleven with Nancy, connecting her to the attack.

At Hawkins Memorial Hospital, Mike Wheeler and Nancy discuss their regrets about not telling their parents the truth sooner. Mike is confused about why Vecna has targeted Holly, but Nancy states that it matches a vision he once showed her of their parents and Holly dead. Lucas Sinclair points out that Holly's abduction is suspiciously close to the anniversary of Will's disappearance. Mike then theorizes that Mr. Whatsit, Holly's imaginary friend, might be real and may know where Holly is. Later, Lucas urges a comatose Max Mayfield to wake up as he believes the final battle for Hawkins has begun with Holly's abduction.

Elsewhere in Hawkins, Steve Harrington tells Jonathan Byers that they should go to the hospital to support Nancy. The two argue about one another's actions since Jonathan has returned from California, with Steve arguing that Nancy is unhappy in her relationship, and Jonathan arguing that Steve is continuously competing with him for Nancy's attention. Jonathan argues that they should prioritize helping Holly. The two cease arguing when an injured Dustin Henderson arrives and is berated by Steve for missing the crawl.

At the WSQK radio station, Will states that his previous vision felt as though he was in the Demogorgon's mind. He tells Joyce Byers that he believes he is still connected to the hive mind. Robin Buckley suggests using Will as a human receiver to locate Vecna and find Holly, but Joyce refuses to put Will at risk. They trick Joyce, so they can sneak out and return to the woods where Will had an earlier vision. Robin asks Will if he saw her with Vickie at the hospital, stating that they are good friends whose relationship may confuse some people. Will assures her that he didn't see anything. Will has a vision at the Hawkins Elementary School playground and realizes that his earlier visions were from Vecna's point of view as he stalked Holly. He believes that he can use the telepathic link to identify Vecna's future targets, the newest being Derek Turnbow. Mike and Nancy sneak into Karen's hospital room, where she reveals that Mr. Whatsit's real name is "Henry," the name of Vecna's human form. In the Mindscape, "Mr. Whatsit"/Henry welcomes Holly into his home, the Creel House.

Production

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Writing

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The episode was written and directed by series creators The Duffer Brothers. It marked their seventeenth writing credits, and their sixteenth directing credits.[1][2] The episode's title is a reference to "The Vanishing of Will Byers", the first episode of the series.[3] Nell Fisher, who portrays Holly, expressed that she was "honored" when finding out during the table read that the episode was titled after her character, and noted that she met with Anniston and Tinsley Price, the twins who originally played Holly in previous seasons, in preparation for taking over the role.[4] Matt Duffer stated that they had wanted to do an attack on the Wheeler residence since season 1.[5]

Filming

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Cara Buono smiling
The episode opens with a battle between Karen Wheeler, portrayed by Cara Buono, and a demogorgon.

Cara Buono, who portrays Karen Wheeler, expressed that she was surprised and pleased to learn that she would get a "badass mom" moment in the season, after previously accepting that Karen would remain a "comedic, quintessential, slightly exaggeratedly clueless '80s mom". Buono spoke "at length" with the stunt and costume teams prior to her action scenes, and studied the storyboards and previz of the fight to prepare, noting that the Duffers had "a very clear vision of the choreography of it all." She and Fisher spent a day timing how long they could hold their breaths and figuring out the logistics of the bathtub with the crew. The demogorgon fight was originally meant to be filmed in May, but was moved up to March 2024.[6]

Music

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The episode features "Fernando" by ABBA, "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush, and "Mr. Sandman" by The Chordettes. Music supervisor Nora Felder stated that "Fernando", which was used to soundtrack Karen Wheeler's fight with the demogorgon, was not the original song choice for the opening scenes, but that she felt it became the perfect option once it proved impossible to secure the rights to another song.[7]

In the week following the debut of volume one, almost every song featured on the soundtrack experienced a massive surge in popularity. Billboard reported that "Fernando" more than doubled in streams, with an increasing of 206% to a total of 615,000, that "Mr. Sandman" increase by 173% (to a total of 564,000 streams), and "Running Up That Hill" saw an increase of 110%, to a total of 2.7 million streams, and re-entered the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart at number 15.[8] "Running Up That Hill" also returned to the top 40 in Bush's native UK, re-entering the singles chart at number 37.[9]

Release

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"The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler" was released on November 26, 2025, on Netflix, alongside the three other episodes comprising Stranger Things season 5 volume 1. The episode's full title was initially listed as just "The Vanishing of..." so as not to spoil the reveal of which character was missing.[10][11]

Reception

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In a positive review, Tara Bennett of IGN felt the episode was an improvement on the season premiere, stating that the Duffers "get their mojo back", and praised the show's return to its horror roots.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Matt Duffer – WGA Directory". Writers Guild of America West. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  2. ^ "Ross Duffer – WGA Directory". Writers Guild of America West. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  3. ^ McCluskey, Megan (November 27, 2025). "What That Surprise Episode Title Reveal Means for Stranger Things Season 5". Time.
  4. ^ Woltmann, Suzy (December 2, 2025). "'Stranger Things' Newcomer Nell Fisher on Season 5, Sadie Sink's Mentorship, and Getting Stuck in Upside Down Goo". Backstage.
  5. ^ Gomez, Dessi (November 26, 2025). "The Duffer Brothers Finally "Let The Cat Out Of The Bag" With A Nightmarish 'Stranger Things' Season 5 Episode 2 Cold Open". Deadline.
  6. ^ Hadadi, Roxana (November 26, 2025). "Stranger Things's Cara Buono Embraced Karen Wheeler's Ripley Moment". Vulture.
  7. ^ Griffin, Louise (December 2, 2025). "Stranger Things season 5 soundtrack: Full list of songs in volume 1". Radio Times.
  8. ^ Unterberger, Andrew (December 3, 2025). "'Stranger Things' Songs From ABBA, Diana Ross, Kate Bush (Again) and More All Up Double or Triple Following Season Five Premiere". Billboard.
  9. ^ Persad, Max (December 5, 2025). "Kylie's XMAS climbs high as Laufey's Winter Wonderland reaches a new peak". Official Charts Company.
  10. ^ Bankhurst, Adam (June 1, 2025). "Stranger Things Season 5 Release Dates Revealed Alongside New Teaser Trailer". IGN. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
  11. ^ Foutch, Haleigh (November 26, 2025). "'Stranger Things' Season 5 Release Schedule: Here's When New Episodes Drop". TheWrap.
  12. ^ Bennett, Tara (November 27, 2025). "Stranger Things: Season 5, Vol. 1 Spoiler Review". IGN.
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