Why the ‘Stranger Things’ series finale failed its own story
By choosing emotional cues and nostalgia over narrative risk, the ‘Stranger Things’ finale fails to deliver meaningful resolution.
By Hal Reed
The Duffer brothers really fumbled the bag with this one. After years of anticipation and months of speculation, the ‘Stranger Things’ series finale arrived with cinematic scenes and emotional urgency. What it failed to deliver was resolution. Despite its extended runtime and heightened stakes, the finale ultimately retreated from its own promises, favoring familiar comfort over the narrative consequences that once defined the series.
Summary
Stranger Things has been on Netflix for the past ten years with a huge fanbase. Going from a hiatus for three years, since the release of the fourth season, to producing the series finale, season five. The show is set in Hawkins, Indiana in the 1980’s. The main plot follows a group of kids that love playing Dungeons & Dragons in the basement of Mike Wheeler’s house.
That is until one of the kids, Will Byers, goes missing. The kids and a shaven head telekinetic girl named Eleven investigate the truth of what happened to him. The duffer brothers created a cool and interesting plot involving the kids defeating these monsters. They included subplots with the older siblings, and the adults.
The first season was the introduction of the whole concept of the upside down world, another dimension, a mimic of their worlds. Defeating the demogorgon, then the demodogs in season two, the big shadowmonster in season three and then onto season four with the creature Vecna.
The events that occurred in the end of season four explain the full character of Vecna, a telekinetic human that was banished to the upside down and became the dimension’s ruler, a spider like-entity. But in the end they could not defeat him, Vecna created four separate gates that would take over their town, Hawkins. Nonetheless season five begins with that story neatly wrapped up like it never happened.
The group hunt to find Vecna’s hiding place, quickly catching parts of his plan when he kidnaps Holly Wheeler, Mike and Nancy Wheeler’s younger sister. His plan is to use her and kids her age to make them into vessels. I wish I could explain what that means but the show never gave the best explanation.
The semi plot twist is that the upside down world turns out to actually be a bridge to a place called Dimension X. This plot line insinuates the upside down wasn’t created by any of the monsters but by scientists. It was set up as if it was a big game changer, which does not that matter
The only scenes I really cared about and felt had an actual emotional connection was the scene between Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson. THE most iconic duo that stemmed over the series and had real character growth. Plus the acting from both Joe Keery and Gaten Matorazza was worth a chef’s kiss considering some of the other acting.
Will’s coming out scene just was not written well. It felt so emotionless and awkward. The most frustrating part is that Robin’s coming out scene was done so well and actually fit in with the story, showing the writers actually know how to do their jobs. In addition, making it only important to the story because Vecna is going to use that secret against him? Or other people’s secret against them? Duffer brothers get your shit together and actually have the script done before filming.
Then Eleven having her own possible story ending of her dying, then oh wait no she actually isn’t. I didn’t talk about them because I could really care less with her character and acting, honestly since season two.
The storyline of taking down Vecna has escalated throughout two seasons and ended in 20 minutes. The runtime for the last episode was nearly two hours and still the ending felt rushed. There was no true ending, even the main character, Mike Wheeler, said so himself; that anybody can write their own endings. The ending had a feel of those adventure books with multiple different outcomes, which would be cool if it still didn’t feel so lazy.
Conformity gate
Conformity gate was a viral theory of an alternate ending of the show. It was a way to cope with all the plot holes throughout the episodes. Yes, the series ended with victory over Vecna, and the whole end of the upside down world or whatever they changed it about. But there were so many mishaps. Conformity is the biggest conspiracy theory of the series. I was a part of it, and it had everybody going insane. I felt like the weird uncle everybody has with a tinfoil hat on their head, that is convinced aliens might come down to suck my brains out.
These plot holes are noticeable throughout season five. Such as the different color of the lever, which was red in the beginning of the season, then cut to later episodes it was gray lever. Another is Holly realizing the merry-go-round is a different color from her memory, which helped her escape being under Vecna’s curse.
This big phenomenon could’ve either been the biggest entertainment plot twist in history or the biggest let down of a fandom, which, spoiler alert, is what happened.
There was the weird scene at graduation where a random person in the background held a blank sign for no reason. Along with another random character in the stands holding a camera with a shirt that has “Duffers” written on it. Not to mention the different color graduation robes; they wore orange, but the school’s color is green. As well as all the graduates sitting the same way with hands positioned similar. Looking closely, the position is a classic look Henry (aka Vecna) does in season four. I can keep going on and on pointing out all different similar plot holes. The most convincing to come with the ongoing comparison with the common game Dungeons & Dragons.
This game has been a common theme and comparison throughout the whole show, so why stop now? In the beginning for season four, before getting introduced to the Vecna’s character, Dustin was in a D&D campaign and had rolled an 11 and was a miss to hit Vecna. At the end of the season, Winona Ryder’s character, Joyce, had the vantage point to hit him with an ax. She hit him 11 times with the ax, essentially ‘ending’ the curse of it all.
If there was a hidden ending, such as, all the main characters begin under Vecna’s curse and the ending they gave us viewers was fake, it would’ve made entertainment history. However, this just turned into possibly the best promotion for a series finale. This could all be intentional, as a promotional play to get fans talking about it forever.
Conclusion
In the end, the disappointment surrounding the finale is not rooted in unmet fan theories or unrealistic expectations. It stems from a growing recognition that the series, once praised for its willingness to unsettle audiences, now hesitates to follow through. The whole time in the last episode, I was thinking the tone of it all was gonna change drastically. Something like this whole sequence is just a dream and really they are all under Vecna’s curse. Yet I was left with emotional songs like “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac and “Purple Rain” by Prince that felt empty when really it should’ve had the power the songs produce. By choosing safety over substance, the finale closes not with impact, but with hesitation leaving viewers unsatisfied.
The only person that deserves a raise on the show is whoever put a backwards hat on Keery’s character Steve Harrington.