Photo: Netflix

Nearly a decade has gone by since we first set foot in the small, charming town of Hawkins, Indiana, in the fall of 1983. Much has happened since the vanishing of a twelve-year-old boy, including a government quarantine, a top-secret Russian spy mission, teenagers with superpowers, and an invasion of alien creatures from another dimension. This is the world of Stranger Things, after all. (Intro)

After more than three years of waiting, Netflix finally released the final installment of its beloved ’80s saga. This was the longest gap between seasons we have seen so far, even topping the break between seasons 3 and 4 marked by COVID. Naturally, expectations were high. Netflix even premiered the season in more than 600 cinemas across North America and Europe, something they almost never do. Did Netflix and the Duffer brothers deliver a finale worthy of the wait? Well…, kinda.

What’s the hurry?

The final season opens in November 1987, 18 months after season four concluded and exactly four years from the events of the first season. Considering the three-year wait for this season, the real-life gap between the two final seasons is almost the same as the entire canonical span of the show. This fact is quite absurd, as Stranger Things became popular because of its compelling story that pitted a party of bike-riding Dungeons & Dragons nerds against evil adults who mess around with forces they don’t understand.

The actors got older, and the story had to adapt. This meant not wasting time on “useless” exposition and going straight into the action. Because of the big time jump, the characters don’t get time to reflect on this change; instead, we jump straight back in as if nothing happened. This leads to one of the biggest problems of season 5: pacing. The story is all over the place, with some episodes feeling slow and rambling, while others leave little time for storytelling and plot development. The battles against Vecna and the Demogorgons get repetitive, and there are simply too many characters to keep up with.

Remember the party from season one? The paladin (Mike), wizard (Will), ranger (Lucas), and bard (Dustin), who later added a mage (Eleven) and a rogue (Max)? Well, now it’s more like the Avengers got together to fight off extra-dimensional evil. Previously, each season had a certain “vibe,” but season 5 gave the audience little time to appreciate the changing cultural landscape of the late ’80s, which led to the season losing some of that classic nostalgia we associate with the show.

There were moments when the episodes dragged on for what felt like eternity. The Fellowship of the Ring-style meetings, “couples therapy” sessions, and talks between characters who had never interacted before totally threw the pacing off. The fact that the final boss fight against Vecna and the Mind Flayer was shorter than Holly and Max’s shenanigans in Henry’s mind is frankly mind-blowing. Somehow, the whole season feels too fast and too slow at the same time.

Stakes, where are the stakes?

Season 4 left off on a cliffhanger, showing a burning Hawkins as the Upside Down came crashing into our world. We return 18 months later to find the city in a military quarantine, only to find everything almost the same as before. The boys are still getting weird looks at school, and Eleven is in hiding, training to fight Vecna. None of the citizens seem phased by the actual ground breaking beneath them or the dozens of people dying.

As for last season’s main villain? He clearly went on holiday, leaving the rift unsupervised. It feels like all urgency is gone as personal issues take center stage. There is very little feeling of tension, and the show has mostly stopped being scary. What happened to Stranger Things having, well, “strange things”? Also, remember when the Upside Down used to be poisonous? Well, now the military has a base there and everyone seems to be going in and out like it’s recess.

There are weird writing decisions throughout. Max and Holly running away from Vecna? Let’s have a ten-minute talking scene. While the performances of Sadie Sink, Nell Fisher and Jamie Campbell Bower were brilliant, the scene doesn’t make much sense in the bigger context. Similarly, Will’s coming-out scene, a pivotal moment for the character, received hate from some fans calling it “woke,” to which one can only ask: where have you been the last four seasons? However, the problem isn’t the scene itself, but the writing around it. It felt like it missed the emotional impact it should have had because the script no longer knows when to stop talking. The writing this season often feels messy and overexplained. Characters repeatedly spell out emotions and motivations that the audience already understands. Where has the classic “show, don’t tell“ gone?

The good bits

It’s easy to get overly critical, but at the end of the day, this was one of the biggest television moments of the decade. Was season 5 so bad? No, of course not. One of the hallmarks of the show is its character development. The fan-favorite duo of Dustin and Steve didn’t fail to deliver, bringing one of the most emotional moments in the series in the Upside Down lab.

Will finally got some love and a long-awaited twist to his character arc. Mike also became a great final piece of the finale, the Dungeon Master became the chronicler, holding onto the past while looking to the future. The acting performances also deserve a shoutout. Jamie Campbell Bower delivered an amazingly convincing villainous performance, while Sadie Sink and Nell Fisher kept their lengthy storyline lively. The addition of Jake Connelly’s “Delightful Dereck” was also a stroke of genius and exactly what the show needed.

Visually and technically, the season is impressive. The finale offers several striking visuals, and the production value, sets, costumes, CGI, and cinematography, were all top-notch. The easter eggs and homages to classics like Jurassic Park, IT, or Rambo only lift the overall value of the series.

Despite all the criticisms listed above, it is difficult to deny the emotional pull of the final moments. The extended epilogue allows the characters to breathe and lets them exist without constant peril. It gives us time to sit with who they have become and process their journey. For a show that has always been a comfort watch for many, that gentleness matters. It is here that the finale finds its heart.

This was never going to be a perfect ending. The expectations were simply too high. Stranger Things became a generational event, and no finale could truly satisfy every hope placed upon it. What it delivers instead is something warmer and safer. Not the epic blockbuster ending some may have wanted, but a sincere cathartic final goodbye.

Final words

At its core, Stranger Things has always been a story about friendship and family. A story about kids and adults who survive not because they are the strongest, but because they stand together. The Duffers never lose sight of that. Even when the plotting falters, the emotional impact remains strong. Watching these characters imagine their futures, say goodbye, and hold onto their bond is genuinely moving.

Stranger Things Season 5 is flawed, indulgent, and occasionally frustrating, but it is also sincere, emotional, and deeply aware of what it meant to so many viewers. This is what the show should be remembered for. The Duffer brothers managed to create a once-in-a-generation coming-of-age tale that made us fall in love with “the party” while paying homage to the 1980s pop culture world for a whole new generation.

In the end, Stranger Things did what it always did best: it reminded us why we stayed. We didn’t stay for the monsters or the lore, but for the people. We stayed for the feeling of growing up together and the simple comfort of familiar faces standing side by side one last time. That is why Stranger Things will undoubtedly go down as a cult classic, and that is why we love it.

Rating: 7/10