Upsides & Downsides: A Final Stranger Things Review

By: Maya Doraiswamy

What started as a low-budget passion project rejected by over ten networks ultimately ended as a media-crazed, global phenomenon this past New Year’s. After nearly a decade of Demogorgons and government conspiracies, the fifth and final season of Stranger Things arrived with impossibly high expectations—and left fans feeling a complicated mix of amazed, disappointed, and emotional. So, here’s a slightly excessive breakdown of the finale, my thoughts, and the public opinion.

Volume 2 Recap

Coming off an immense high from Volume 1, I had expectations set incredibly high for the season’s second installment and finale. Episode four, “The Sorcerer," was undoubtedly my favorite episode, considering the fantastic climax it left off on with Will finally gaining powers. Before getting into my thoughts, here’s a brief recap of the occurrences in Volume 2:

• They are unable to save the remaining children, who become Vecna’s “vessels” and awake in what is essentially his mind.

• Holly and Max attempt to “escape camazotz,” resulting in Max finally awaking while Holly is recaptured by Vecna.

• It is revealed that the government is using Kali to restart Brenner’s program, leading to Eleven’s plan to “break the cycle” only by killing herself.

• Jonathan and Nancy break up in an “unproposal” scene.

• A twist arrives with the Upside Down actually being a wormhole between the dimensions of regular Hawkins and The Abyss.

• Will, wanting to take back the power Vecna holds over him, has an emotional coming-out scene with the entire team, ending in them all accepting him and having a group hug.

• The group hatches their final plan to destroy The Upside Down and everything that came with it as we see Vecna’s plan set in motion.

A chart of the average IMDB ratings for each Stranger Things episode

Overall, I do have the strong opinion that Volume 1 was the strongest installment in the entirety of Season 5, to which I would then rank the finale second, and Volume 2 last. I found Volume 1 incredibly exciting and a nearly perfect start to the series’ final season, but, in full honesty, felt that Volume 2 fell a bit flat in its action. There isn’t much I have to say here other than that I liked the Upside Down twist, but otherwise found it more anticlimactic in comparison to the rest of the season.

The Final Battle

Starting off with fellow students’ perspectives, a central issue raised with the season’s finale was the final action sequence in defeating Vecna. Senior Paige Abessinio found it "disappointing," to which fellow senior Camryn Aitken agreed. “I think it could've been a lot more, especially in the fight scene. I mean, they defeated Vecna so quickly and had such few deaths,” she says. Junior James Erhardt shares a similar sentiment, finding it “overall uneventful and very disappointing.” He described the final fight as “anticlimactic,” saying, “I just believe it should have been longer. It had no lasting effects.”

Stranger Things’ final battle took place in the Abyss, with the main sequence of killing Vecna lasting roughly around 5 minutes of screen time. The main issue being raised here was how quick the group was able to defeat Vecna and the Mindflayer, as well as a lack of more overall “stakes” present. I personally have mixed feelings here: I do think there were a lot of ways in which the Duffer Brothers did not live up to their full potential regarding the Vecna/Mindflayer storyline, but I do still find myself with a more positive outlook on the conclusion than most. All in all, I would just say the Duffer Brothers seemed to play things a bit safe in not wanting to upset the fandom (in regards to both the final battle and number of deaths). In some ways, this is not a bad thing. Junior Hudson Brockstedt shares how she “really enjoyed the last episode of Stranger Things.” “I know some people are mad because there are a few plot holes, but I think those are way too niche to really matter to the overall quality of the episode. I could really tell that the Duffer Brothers tried to make an ending that would make people happy. Whether people would like to admit it or not, if they had killed off other people in the show, the fans would be more mad than they are now,” she says. 

I actually do agree with the sentiment that there didn’t need to be more deaths. There were times I felt the stakes could have been portrayed as higher (not just in the finale, but all throughout the show). However, Stranger Things has always felt like a show so attached to this generation’s childhood that it actually felt quite nice to simply get the genuine happy ending in comparison to a devastating death for shock value (this is in exception to El’s ending, for which my criticisms below will remain). Overall, I’d say I appreciate the finale for what it was, but can understand the disappointment regarding the high potential that the final battle scene could have lived up to when we look at the level at which previous seasons were operating. I don’t find the final battle scene bad, but perhaps just disappointing in comparison to all that we had been expecting.

Eleven’s Ending

After killing Vecna and setting their bomb to destroy the Upside Down, the group gets caught in the military base on their way to safety. During this, we see the final scene before the epilogue: Eleven is shown to remain in the Upside Down, saying goodbye to Mike in the Void before it all explodes (and her supposedly with it). On this, senior Camryn Aitken continued in sharing her thoughts: “I hated how El was kind of reduced to just her relationship with Mike in the montage.” I do agree with the opinion that El deserved more scenes with the other party members (I particularly missed the dynamic between her and Max), so to have that final montage be only of her and Mike felt a bit stripping of her character. Quite frankly, though, I think I’m a bit biased as I’ve never been a huge fan of their relationship (I’ve always felt them to be too codependent and prefer El having her “found family” without this aspect). 

Later on, it is revealed that Mike believes in an alternative storyline—one where, thanks to Kali, it was all an illusion for El to escape and live out the rest of her life in peace. The Duffer Brothers have confirmed her ending remains purposefully ambiguous, and up to the viewer to interpret whether they “believe” or not. As they explain in an IMDB interview, “there are two roads that Eleven could take. There’s this darker, more pessimistic one or the optimistic, hopeful one. Mike is the optimist of the group and has chosen to believe in that story.”

In some ways, this was an interesting ending that can be interpreted as her finally being able to decide for herself. In not even knowing her true decision, we are essentially forced into this ambiguity that is meant to give her character the agency she has long been denied. I will, however, give the following criticism: while I understand the arc conclusion they were going for here, it definitely still feels like they managed to give all but the most traumatized character a happy ending. In some ways, this was maybe what had to happen, considering the reality of needing to “break the cycle.” I see the goal with this all, but it did feel narratively unsatisfying to get the happy ending for everyone but her essentially (some could say she found her peace in the waterfall scene, but I still find that version of her life more of a sad ending). I will, however, give them the benefit of the doubt that they found a way to mediate the harsh truth of her situation while still attempting to satisfy her arc towards independence and the ongoing fan debate of whether or not her character should die.

Plot Holes

Another reason the season has received such backlash is due to the numerous plot holes fans have pointed out. Once again, there are many aspects to these criticisms with which I have to agree. Plot holes are admittedly a big pet peeve of mine, so there were a few main ones that irked me:

El’s Death: I’ve noticed that neither ending of Eleven’s seems to work within the logistics they’ve created (if she were an illusion, Kali wouldn’t have been able to sustain it after the building’s explosions; if she really died, her projecting to Mike should have been impossible). Perhaps this is meant to add to the ambiguity of her ending, but I felt it worth mentioning.

The Abyss: This is more of just a general complaint, but setting up the Mindflayer as this eerie final villain (with a preference for the cold) to simply end up in an honestly boring, empty desert environment wasn’t my favorite choice. I liked the twist with the Upside Down, but I think part of why the final battle felt less climactic was having a scene that lacks the amazing cinematography we get with the Upside Down itself (in some ways, I would have almost found the battle taking place in the crumbling realm of the Upside Down to be better).

Character Dynamics: There were a variety of different interactions between characters that either felt off or didn’t make sense at the time, which includes the lack of surprise from both Mr. Clark and Max towards Hopper being alive (a small detail, but even just a line acknowledging this would have been nice). I enjoyed Max and Will seeming closer, but, as I mentioned before, felt like the close connection Max and El previously had formed was missing. In having such a large cast, I find it hard to feel like every character gets enough detail and screen time put into building their arc and relationships, but the Duffer Brothers do an okay job of navigating this for the most part.

Vecna’s Backstory: Henry Creel, the past identity of the villain Vecna, has a complicated story behind his origin, having killed his family after harnessing his powers and being abducted into the government program as a young child. From this season, we learn more about how he knew (or was in the same class) as Joyce and the other adults, yet this is never really explained, as he was seemingly taken before ever even entering high school. This seems to just be something they trapped themselves in with making the Stranger Things play canon, but again, felt important to bring up here.

In my opinion, plot holes aren't necessarily something that ruins a show—it’s more so an indicator of the quality of work and detail put into the show’s backstory. Stranger Things has always been a nice mix of ambitious world-building with relatively easy concepts to follow, but, honestly, I just don’t think this has ever been a strong suit of the Duffer Brothers. Plus, in some ways, plot holes are just something that needs to be accepted when you have this kind of show that’s of the sci-fi genre, but not meant to be incredibly complex in its lore. I've heard a lot about things like the time skip that ignores the military activity, which is a valid plot hole, but, honestly, I'd still rather have that jump than watch 20 minutes of the military unpacking and leaving. So I’d say that, while they definitely bother me, I’d defend at least a good portion of the plot holes I’ve seen online so far. The Duffer Brothers also answer some of these in an Collider interview, but I ironically think there are better explanations for a few than what they provide.

Relationships

When it comes to the show’s romantic pairings, there have been numerous and controversial opinions on how and which characters should have ended up together. Here are the most prominent ones present in the finale:

Mike and Eleven: I’d say I have the strongest opinion about these two. After Volume 1, I was admittedly intrigued as to how Mike and Will’s relationship could have potentially developed, but my dislike of Mike and El has less to do with that than it does their character arcs. In full honesty, I’ve just always seen their relationship as something that’s become a toxic, unhealthy mess of codependency. I don’t have much to say on their ending that isn’t covered in my thoughts on El’s ending itself, but I’m definitely not a fan of them.

Nancy and Jonathan: This seems to be a controversial take, but I actually liked their “unproposal” scene and how they played out their relationship. I appreciate their acknowledgement of the two ultimately being overly trauma-bonded. They did well in portraying them as no longer right for one another, but still two people who care deeply about each other. Also, I was very much done with Nancy’s prolonged love triangle, so it was nice to have that finally be over (Nancy’s character is without a doubt one of my favorites).

Lucas and Max: As, in my opinion, the most unproblematic, adorable, and overall best couple, I’m just immensely glad to finally see their happy ending (love it—no notes). The same here applies to Hopper and Joyce for me, who get engaged after having their long-awaited date at Enzo’s.

The Epilogue

Rather unusually, almost the entirety of the remaining half of the episode focused on an epilogue for the characters. Junior Hudson Brockstedt further shared how she thoroughly enjoyed the finale’s second half: “My favorite part of the episode was the epilogue. I wish more shows had scenes like that instead of just ending abruptly. I love that I got to see what everyone was doing after the world almost ended.”

I honestly loved the epilogue as well. I know many find the valedictorian speech sappy, but I felt it was a cute nod to the aspect of the show that, quite frankly, has always embraced a bit of weirdness or “cringyness.” The concluding scene in the basement was, to me, perfect—the emotion that comes with the parallels to the very first episode, the “passing of the baton” to new generations, and the overall closure given to each of their arcs was beautiful. I appreciate having so much time dedicated to a true epilogue and closing of each of their chapters, and would love to see this type of conclusion given in more shows.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, I, for one, feel a bit torn over my thoughts on the finale. While yes, there are undoubtedly criticisms to be made, my ultimate opinion on the season and its finale largely remains more positive than not. To me, it just didn’t compare to how amazing the previous seasons have been, as well as the high expectations I had after Volume 1. There was absolutely some wasted potential overall, but I think they did a decent job of navigating the final season of a series that has become incredibly big in its cast and complex in its storyline to largely produce something that satisfies the important aspects.

I still strongly believe that the finale has some critiques without being fully deserving of the backlash and criticism it received within the media. In the end, I think it was a sweet culmination that was more so about concluding the emotional aspects of the show we’ve long been attached to than it was about having a very action-packed sequence (this is understandably not the preference for some, but I personally don’t mind). While imperfect, I see the finale as ultimately succeeding in where it matters most, honoring the parts that made Stranger Things worth caring about in the first place.

Poll!

What were your thoughts on the finale?

• 0%I loved it!
• 0%It was good but not great
• 0%I just found it okay
• 0%It was horrible.