I have been watching Stranger Things since the first season came out when I was in third grade.
I watched the series finale with my family and friends, and I loved the experience. It’s a memory I hold dearly.
However, I do have a few problems with the finale, specifically, the final battle was boring and way too short.
The Duffer brothers have a problem with killing off main characters, so I was not on edge during the final battle, whatsoever.
Additionally, there were many story lines that the creators wrapped up too late, resulting in the ending feeling rushed.
For instance, I wish they had revealed that Vecna worked for the Mindflayer earlier, (even in the seventh episode), so they could spend more time developing that storyline; it also could’ve had a higher effect on the storyline altogether.
Eleven’s speech to Mike before her death also felt underwhelming; I’ve seen many people say they hadn’t realized they were still dating until their kiss. If they wanted the viewer’s last moments of her being with Mike, then they should’ve had some focus on their relationship and how it’s developed since season four, where their relationship was very rough. However, I didn’t like that her last moments were focused on her relationship.I wish they had done more with Eleven’s platonic relationships and shown that everyone cared for her. It felt like the creators forgot the relationships Eleven had with the others, like Max, who was her first female friend and helped her character a lot in season three.
I also have problems with stuff built up in earlier seasons and volume one leading to nothing…like Vecna’s powers.
I really liked the scene in the Upside-Down where Vecna is making Hopper hallucinate; it put me on edge, reminded viewers of Hopper’s fears, etc.
However, I wish we had seen Vecna utilizing these powers more– Will mentions it, but it’s only hinted at what he saw.
The demogorgans, demobats, and demodogs were nowhere to be seen in the finale, and they were one of my favorite things about the show, so I wish we had gotten more from them.
Even with all my complaints, I really enjoyed the epilogue part of the episode. Seeing my favorite characters and characters I grew up with, graduating made me very emotional. The music choices in these scenes, and in the finale altogether, were amazing and made me cry even more. I like how they ended the series, like how they started it; the D&D scene was beautiful and emotional, and I don’t think they could’ve ended the series any better.
I’m sad that it’s over, and I don’t think I’ll be this attached to a show ever again.
I really liked the ending. I think it is satisfying. While I acknowledge the writing is not perfect this season, nothing can ever be flawless, and I think from a holistic perspective, the writers did their job.
I will concede that not every detail was entirely thought out, but I think the overall storylines made sense. The dialogue between this season struck me as over-simplified which was disappointing. I did not enjoy the conversation between Jonathon, Nancy, Robin, and Steve because for some reason it really cringed me out–they seemed too adult to me. Among other things, the explanation of Dr. Brenner’s replacement, Dr. Kay was also very rushed, and her background is unclear.
I was fully expecting so many people to die, but the only losses were Eleven/Jane and Vecna/Henry/001/Mr. Whatsit. Despite this, I personally had a very emotional reaction to the episode because of all of the character’s connections and especially Hopper and Eleven’s bond. At the end of the day, that is what the show is all about: relationships, trust, and the mystery of friendship. So, it makes sense for the core group to remain living because otherwise, they are broken forever and their connection across five seasons spanning their childhood and graduation, becomes meaningless.
What they did with Eleven’s story is the most clever part of the ending, in my opinion. I like that the viewers can choose to believe if she sacrificed herself or found a way out because the story is left in the audience’s hands. Either way, it is a major loss for the characters and viewers which brings the emotional pay-off I think people were looking for. I like that the story went back to her since she is the start of it all. Personally, I think she did sacrifice herself and that Mike’s story is just a story for them all to cope without her.
I also appreciate the development of Henry’s backstory and him being a Darth Vader-like character for this series. I knew that the Mindflayer had flayed him because of the play The First Shadow, but I was expecting that Henry was trying to find a way out of the Mindflayer’s hold, not that he joined it. This element was really interesting to me because Henry’s redeemability then becomes more questionable. He weaponized his fear just like Darth Vader instead of trying to fight back. Aside from that, I think Jamie Campbell Bower’s delivery really sold the story this time around.
I can kind of look past all of the cheesiness and cliche lines, knowing that the show was supposed to be an homage to the 80s and is made up of countless references to classic 80s media where everything (for the most part) had a cheesy happy ending. Plus, the music was perfect.
I think the tendency to critique the ending maybe comes from a place of disappointment with the fact that the show is actually over and people just don’t want to realize that.
I hope, regardless of its controversial ending, that people will consider the series in its entirety and recognize its overall impact rather than pick apart one episode or one season because I don’t want the ingeniousness of the characters and story to get lost in debate.
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