Heavy spoilers for the “Stranger Things” finale ahead.
Trigger Warning: This story mentions suicide. Call or text 988 if you are experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm.
Almost 10 years after the release of its pivotal first season, “Stranger Things” released its much-awaited series finale to Netflix on Dec. 31, following the previous releases of Season 5, Volume 1 on Nov. 26 and Volume 2 on Dec. 25. With a runtime of two hours and 18 minutes, the finale was tasked with finishing several plot lines, concluding every character arc and creating an ending worthy of a globally acclaimed television show in just one episode.
The finale’s plot centers around two main goals: defeating both the evil human-turned-monster Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) and his creator, a spider-like entity dubbed the Mind Flayer, as well as destroying the Upside Down — the alternate dimension under their town of Hawkins — to sever Hawkins from the supernatural once and for all. However, the final episode also weaves in a major subplot about stopping the nefarious Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton) from creating more enhanced individuals like Vecna and main character Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), causing a distraction from the episode’s main goal. The sheer complication of the finale’s plot is the main reason why the final battle feels rushed and lacks stakes compared to the sacrifices and gore of previous seasons. The plot has grown infeasibly intricate, and rather than addressing each storyline properly, the show chooses to breeze past the fight, a lazy decision.
However, what the fight sequence lacks in action, it remedies with strong visuals throughout the episode. Whether the crew is battling the Mind Flayer in its home dimension, fighting the military in the Upside Down or attacking Vecna inside his own head, each setting is masterfully constructed to reflect the current moods of the team, and — especially as the finale is packed with highly supernatural phenomena — make the show appear more realistic. The shadowy home of the Mind Flayer accurately captures the feelings of anxiety and pressure as the main crew hikes across the expansive terrain and dark tunnels of Vecna’s brain are eerie and haunting, connecting to his traumatic flashbacks hidden within them.
While the visuals play a role in setting up the mood of each scene, a strong acting performance from the cast and a surprising amount of plot twists heighten the emotions of the characters during several pivotal moments. This includes Steve Harrington’s (Joe Keery) near-death early in the episode and a moment where the audience believes Jim Hopper (David Harbour) accidentally shot his adopted daughter Eleven. Even a shocking reveal of Vecna’s backstory feels gruesome and heartbreaking, a surprising set of emotions to associate with one of the episode’s leading villains. These emotions all reach their peak when Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) strikes the final blows against a fatally wounded Vecna, each strike of her axe accompanied by a shot of each character and a flashback of the trauma he caused them. Ryder’s determined facial expressions and aggressive body language both perfectly capture Joyce’s intense rage, and all her fear, pain and anger built up since the first season finally make themselves seen through her actions. The scene splicing transports the audience back to every single moment of grief, sacrifice and loss at Vecna’s hands, making it all the more satisfying when Joyce finally decapitates him.
While Vecna’s death appears to be the emotional peak of the finale, the real turning point is Eleven’s tearful sacrifice, the main crew looking at her in horror while she is still in the collapsing Upside Down. Slow-motion shots of the characters desperately clawing at their military captors to reach Eleven are absolutely heartbreaking and each cast member feels immersed in the scene through their expressions of shock. The performances of both David Harbour and Finn Wolfhard exemplify this sentiment. Paired with their cohesive body languages conveying utter desperation and agony, the acting of the scene is top-notch and completely captivating to watch. The montage of Eleven’s relationship with Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) to Prince’s “Purple Rain,” is a nod to their first meeting in the rain, reminding the audience of all they have been through together. This only further cements the scene as emotionally devastating when Eleven inevitably sacrifices herself to stop the cycle of trauma she faced growing up.
Despite being notoriously difficult to license, the inclusion of Prince’s “Purple Rain” and several other notable tracks, such as Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide,” significantly enhance the quality of the scenes by conveying powerful themes of nostalgia and drawing parallels to earlier seasons. For instance, David Bowie’s “Heroes” has also already been played twice in the show during prior character deaths, and Moby’s “When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die” has often been associated with trauma and loss throughout the series. Both songs add deja vu to their respective moments and create an underlying sense of sadness as they are used for the final time.
However, as emotionally impactful as “Purple Rain” is to Eleven’s sacrifice, the execution of the scene is flawed in several aspects. Eleven tells Mike he is the only one who “understood the real her,” when her close relationships with characters — like Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink) — in previous seasons prove otherwise. Additionally, limiting the scene to Mike and Eleven feels absurd seeing as the two share barely any scenes this season and lack buildup to their final goodbye. It would make more sense — and a more heartbreaking farewell — for Eleven to share her tearful goodbye with Hopper, seeing as they share many conversations addressing his fear of losing another daughter and his determination to protect Eleven. Furthermore, Eleven’s goodbye has very little to do with her. The montage centers around her relationship with Mike, and even her death — as the Duffer Brothers put it — is demeaned to represent closure for “the magic of childhood.” Eleven is much more than just a plot device — giving her an ending that reduces her as such is clearly flawed writing.
While the finale is poorly written, its epilogue portion excels in creating a strong sense of nostalgia for the first season by parallelling moments from the first episode of the show, including the very first scene of “Stranger Things” — the original group of main characters playing Dungeons and Dragons together. The very last shot of the series — Mike closing the door of his basement and leaving — perfectly relays the theme of closure through the excellent cinematography of each character shelving their books forever, passing the game onto a new generation of kids and finally closing the door, both literally and metaphorically on their childhood.
Despite the numerous weaknesses throughout the finale, the strengths of the episode refine its quality astronomically, wholly outweighing the writing flaws and plot failures. Each emotional moment packs so much sentiment and pure affection for the show that the audience is able to truly connect with the characters and say goodbye to the show with them. Watching the credits roll for the last time is always the hardest part of a show, but “Stranger Things” excels in delivering an imperfect, but impactful goodbye.
RATING: 4/5
