Spanning almost 10 years for fans, *Stranger Things* has dominated Netflix. The popular series centered around Hawkins, Indiana, and the eerie Upside Down world that the kids of this small town had to confront. In the 2+ hour finale, fans were gifted an… okay goodbye.
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### Deaths in Stranger Things: A Recap
Since Season 1, it was clear that characters would die and get hurt on the show. Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) was safe by the end of the series, but others were not so lucky. Barb (Shannon Purser) was an early casualty. Following her, we said goodbye to Bob (Sean Astin), Billy (Dacre Montgomery), and, of course, Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn).
All those losses set the tone for a series finale that felt more like a dream than a definitive final moment.
> **Spoiler Alert:** Spoilers for the entire series of *Stranger Things* lie ahead. Read on and fear Vecna.
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### Vecna: The Big Bad
Introduced in Season 4, Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) quickly became the “big bad” of the entire series. Prior to this, the nature of the Upside Down and Eleven’s (Millie Bobby Brown) powers were shrouded in mystery. Season 4 began laying the groundwork, which led to an ending that tried to answer many questions—but not entirely.
Vecna’s powers originated from a mysterious rock given to him by a man in a cave, implying that these dark abilities can transfer between people. This was a bit confusing, as Henry Creel (The First Shadow) didn’t seem to need such an artifact, at least according to earlier lore. But hey, I’m not the Duffer Brothers.
Ultimately, the 2+ hour finale led to a somewhat easy defeat of Vecna, a tense moment teasing Steve Harrington’s (Joe Keery) near death, and a mostly happy ending for the characters.
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### Emotional Moments and Pacing Issues
There were definitely moments where fans could get emotional — such as Eleven and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) saying goodbye to Prince’s “Purple Rain.” At the same time, the finale felt rushed.
How is that possible?
Starting with Season 4, *Stranger Things* episodes began stretching longer and longer. Some were nearly feature-film length, and this finale was even longer. So how could it feel both rushed and dragged out?
We wrapped up Vecna’s storyline, maybe said goodbye to Eleven, and still had over 40 minutes left. I appreciated seeing where all my favorite characters ended up after Hawkins:
– The Byers boys in New York with Joyce (Winona Ryder)
– Jim Hopper (David Harbour) nearby in Montauk
– Nancy (Natalie Dyer) working in Boston
– Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) nodding to Eddie at his graduation
– Max (Sadie Sink) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) as the one couple left standing
Those 30 minutes were great.
Watching Mike witness the next generation take over his Dungeons & Dragons game, with Holly (Nell Fisher) as the Dungeon Master, was emotional, beautiful, and one of my favorite moments.
But the other hour and a half? That’s where I had issues.
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### The Finale’s Main Conflict: Stab Vecna?
So, the big conclusion boiled down to stabbing Vecna, pretending Eleven is dead again, and the military disappearing.
Honestly, a lot of the military subplot flew over my head. What exactly was Linda Hamilton’s character’s entire deal? They wanted the power of the Upside Down, but completely ignored Vecna?
I personally didn’t want any of our core characters to die. As an online fan pointed out, if *The Goonies* came out today, people would likely want someone to drown, given the current reaction to everyone surviving in *Stranger Things*.
But in retrospect, the final chapter felt a bit lackluster.
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*Featured image: Netflix*
https://www.themarysue.com/stranger-things-season-5-finale-review/