Warning: Spoilers ahead.
Season five, Vol. 3 left “Stranger Things” fans disappointed and desperately grasping for a ninth episode after the New Year’s Eve series finale, finding it an unworthy conclusion following a drawn out release schedule and nearly 10 years of buildup.
It’s a given for viewers to have critiques at the wrap-up of a decade-long show that so many grew up with, but the debates go far deeper than fans mourning the show or wishing for spin-offs, leaving many perplexed.
“It was underwhelming. It’s like walking up a mountain to see a beautiful sunrise, but then seeing nothing,” said Gabrielle Cros, a second-year chemistry major at Northeastern. “There was so much buildup between each of the three volumes that you thought that something was going to happen, but by the end, you’re unsatisfied.”
Cros is referring to the three volumes released across major American holidays. Vol. 1 aired on Thanksgiving, Vol. 2 on Christmas Day and the feature-length finale dropped on New Year’s Eve on Netflix and in theatres. Fans on social media felt conflicted over the show “stealing” their holidays and later felt the showrunners introduced many ideas throughout the season that didn’t pan out well, if at all.
“I thought there were a lot of gaps that should have been filled,” said Sigal Judd, a first-year speech-language pathology and audiology major at Northeastern. “Everything went really quickly and yet there were no substantial feelings for the plot goals. I watched it and was like, ‘That was so good!’ and then after, I had a lot of questions.”
Judd specifically mentioned the creators bringing back Eleven’s (Millie Bobby Brown) “sister” from the second season, the, “I don’t believe in coincidences,” line delivered by Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin) and many other details that were built up to have a more significant impact than they did.
Fans were quick to theorize that the plot holes and continuity errors would be smoothed over with a conspiracy they called “Conformity Gate.” Many found that the ending made so little sense that it had to have been the conjuring of the villainous character Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) through the eyes of one of the main characters, Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard).
Fans used this theory to explain away the gaps they saw in the season, such as why Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) said that he and his friends liked “biking to Melvald’s and getting malted milkshakes,” when the “milkshake” spot he mentions is actually a convenience store Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) worked at in season two. Melvald’s was, however, a diner in the Broadway play “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” which takes place in the ‘50s and explores Vecna’s youth as Henry Creel. Putting two and two together, fans figured this was more evidence toward their theory rather than a writing error.
Following the finale, one fan on TikTok noticed something jarring about their “Stranger Things” merchandise flashlight, beaming it on the interior of its packaging to reveal the hidden message “Venca lives!” Discoveries like these only fueled fan speculation, causing some to pay extra attention to marketing stunts like the show’s ‘80s radio station “WSQK ‘The Squawk,’” which was actualized to promote the season and accessible through Global Player. Eventually, listeners found patterns in music and random notes in morse code, but most importantly to their theorizing, heard strange noises that some found made out the words, “Mike, wake up,” corroborating their theory that the character Mike was under “Vecna’s curse.”
“I think the fans pointed out a lot of details,” said John Shaloub, a first-year business administration major at Northeastern. “I liked it, but I do wish there was a ninth episode.”
There never was a ninth episode on the predicted Jan. 7 date, and a lot of the supporting evidence fans found ended up being writers’ room errors.
“I’ll be honest — I wanted it so bad, but I always knew that the Duffer brothers weren’t capable of that,” Cros said. “If something does come up in the future for a sequel, it’s gonna come from the internet’s theories, not from them.”
Fans’ anger was only further fueled by the release of the documentary, “One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5.” Anticipation of a documentary providing fans with a little more of the show they loved turned sour with some of the dialogue the creators shared. Fans were especially upset that the Duffer Brothers hadn’t completed the finale’s script before the season’s production began.
“The fact that they waited so long between seasons, you’d think it would be incredible when they had so much time to write,” Cros said of the documentary, which showed the brothers actively writing while filming. Viewers also observed that the actors themselves were bewildered by the script, paralleling negative fan reactions to moments like the final battle scene, the Jonathan and Nancy (Charlie Heaton and Natalia Dyer) “un-proposal” scene and the ambiguity of Eleven’s death.
Overall, though fans were upset with the show’s end, some could put their anger aside to appreciate “Stranger Things” as a whole body of work.
“I grew up watching the show, so I appreciate the ending, but in terms of good writing: It wasn’t,” Cros said.
Judd agreed. “I felt like the show was with me as I was growing up — it didn’t shape my life, but it was a constant,” she said. “When the show ended, a smaller chapter of my life also ended.”
