After nine years of being our favorite TV show, “Stranger Things” comes to an end. On December 31st, the finale of season 5 was released and left many fans feeling emotional and nostalgic.
“Stranger Things” has had a large fan base that grows with each season. Season 1 intrigued viewers and kept them hooked; the arrival of each new season excited them. I haven’t always been a “Stranger Things” fan, but with the commotion surrounding the release of season 4 in 2022, I suspected it was a show worth watching. And it was. Now it’s one of my comfort shows that I often rewatch.
Since season 1 was released in 2016, the show has won many awards, including Top 10 TV Programs of the Year at the AFI Awards (2016 and 2017), Show of the Year at the MTV Movie & TV Awards (2017), and Favorite TV Show at the Kids’ Choice Awards (2018). The show has been praised highly for years, and the support of season 5 is no different.
Season 5 of “Stranger Things” has been in production since 2022 and began filming in 2024. The anticipation grew as eager fans waited for the episodes. The season was released in three parts: Volume 1 (Episodes 1-4) was released on November 26, Volume 2 (Episodes 5-7) on December 25, and the Finale (Episode 8) on December 31. The month-long gap between Volume 1 and Volume 2 left many fans with time to make predictions.
Many fans analyzed the first four episodes, sharing their predictions for the rest of the season. Some theories were more far-fetched than others, offering major plot twists and character betrayals. One of the biggest theories I saw was that one of the main characters in the show, Will Byers, was actually the villain (Vecna), or helping him. This stemmed from the connection Will has had to Vecna throughout the series. However, it would be nearly impossible for this to be true due to the fact that the series revolved around Vecna emotionally controlling Will and harming him.
When Season 5 Volume 2 was released, many people felt as though the episodes were merely filler, including too many subplots. It was revealed that over two hours of footage were cut, which explains the disconnects. However, I didn’t feel that it was poorly written, as other fans did. I thought the three episodes offered a lot of important information to the main plot, making me excited to see the last episode.
As December 31st approached, anticipation grew, and fans were prepared for an emotional ride. The finale episode wrapped up each character’s storyline with an epilogue set 18 months later. However, the ending for one main character remains unknown, providing the viewer with the chance to assume their fate. The show concluded with the series finale “The Rightside Up,” even though it was slightly controversial with fans who picked apart the episode, finding little mistakes.
This led to “Conformity Gate,” the theory that the finale was not really the last episode, but a fake finale written by the writers – the Duffer Brothers – depicting an illusion created by the villain to hide the truth. Fans pointed out inconsistencies, such as the incorrect graduation year in the graduation scene, leading them to wonder if Vecna’s story was truly over and if more would be revealed in “Episode 9.” However, Episode 9 was never released, as it was only just a fan theory. Personally, I believed this theory, as I noticed the same inconsistencies; however, like other fans, I’ve had to accept the fact that this is the true ending of “Stranger Things.”
The end of this series feels like the end of an era. Running since 2016, “Stranger Things” is a show many young people grew up watching, a show people became familiar with. The end of the series brings the end of watching our favorite characters on screen, and laughing and crying along with them, as they went through their own changes. As we say goodbye to Hawkins and the Upside Down, we must say goodbye to the show that shaped many of our lives.
