A Brutally Honest Review of the Stranger Things Finale

SPOILERS AHEAD: I think we can all agree that the last season of Stranger Things was anything but a cinematic masterpiece. After we seniors had been waiting all of high school for a new season, the result we received was extremely underwhelming. I, along with many others, feel borderline betrayed by the Duffer Brothers--years of anticipation, all for a faulty finale with endless plot holes.

The first order of business I’d like to elaborate on is the substandard writing. Numerous characters, most notably Robin and Will, were dramatically degraded. While they both had nice character arcs regarding their queerness, it is impossible not to notice how simplified they both became in this season. Robin, as opposed to the smart and witty character we were first introduced to, now seems like a failed death fodder, who constantly makes bland jokes. Furthermore, Will had no true character development. He seems like the same person as he was in seasons three and four, only now he does not have an unwilling secret to keep.

This season also had a pattern for introducing a large shock, then not following through on it, essentially abandoning it. We can see this in Karen and Ted’s attack by a demogorgon at the beginning of the first volume, in Kali’s flashback to the pregnant women in the laboratory, and numerous other times. While I can agree that some of the plot holes found in the show can be rather nitpicky, like Max's graduation or whether or not Suzie and Dustin are still together, there are still substantial questions that remain unanswered after the finale. 

I am also terribly angered by the wormhole plot that was established. With the episodes of the show running well past 60 minutes, I don’t think it is presumptuous to want more than 10 to elaborate on the topic. Wormholes are, in fact, entirely theoretical, yet I do believe that every scientist would agree that wormholes do not have walls as seen in the show, much less with Vecna-style vines and tentacles every which way. No one should expect to be able to drive a car right through a wormhole, as Steve did, much less with breathable air on the other side. I never expected Stranger Things to take a very scientific approach to their fictional show; however, given the highly established esteem of the show, I do believe the Duffer Brothers could have taken a bit more time to research wormholes before bringing them into their show.

To make matters worse, this season was so unbelievably terrible that a large portion of the fanbase has been deluded into thinking that a surprise episode will be released. I believe that Conformity Gate is the fan’s mode of coping with the lackluster ending.

If you want my honest opinion, the show should have ended at season three. Looking beyond that season, it feels as though the Duffers attempted to over-complexify the show: they introduced us to Vecna and eventually the wormhole, but without substantial explanation regarding those developments, it was impossible to give Stranger Things fans an outstanding finale.