Summary
This article contains spoilers for seasons 1-4 of Stranger Things.Is there a more highly anticipated series finale than the end ofNetflix’sStranger Things? Ever sincethe hit show premiered on the streaming service in 2016, fans have loved the story of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) showing up in Hawkins, Indiana. After she becomes friends with Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo), and Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), Eleven and the other well-written characters discover the true evil hidden underneath this seemingly innocent small town. As Eleven and the others get older and let others into their friend group, they discover more about who they are and also become stronger and tougher.
SinceStranger Thingsseason 4 featured an epic villain, several battles, and the return of Hopper (David Harbour), there is even more excitement surroundingStranger Thingsseason 5. But will season 5 really be as good as everyone hopes it will be? There are some indications thatStranger Thingsmight not deliver a satisfying and memorable finale.
Why Stranger Things Season 5 Might Have A Disappointing Series Finale
There are a few reasons whyStranger Thingsseason 5 might not end the series properly.Stranger Thingsseason 5 needs a happy ending, not a cliffhanger, and theseries finale might not be able to top the end of season 4.
Sincethere might be a time jump inStranger Thingsseason 5, which is a good idea sincethe actors will be much older, it’s possible that there will be another time jump at the very end of the series to explain where the characters have ended up. Back in June 2022, Ross Duffer explained to TVLine:
“I’m sure we will do a time jump. Ideally, we’d have shot [seasons four and five] back to back, but there was just no feasible way to do that. So these are all discussions we’re going to have with our writers when we start the room up.”
This time jump will hopefully allow Will, Eleven, and the rest of their friends to finally experience peace and happiness after what they have been through. It would be a terrible idea forStranger Thingsto end with a cliffhanger. While that narrative device is fun (although frustrating) for season finales, it’s disappointing in a series finale when fans want to make sure their favorite characters will be alright. While it’s hard to please everyone with a series finale, a lot of people are hoping that theStranger Thingsconclusion will feel flawless.
There’s also the concern that theStranger Thingsseries finale won’t match the season 4 finale. According toThe Hollywood Reporter,season 5 ofStranger Thingswill feature Vecna(Jamie Campbell Bower). While this is exciting sinceVecna picks his victims in a terrifying manner, and he’s one of the best villains on the TV series, it’s hard to imagine that he will have the same effect in season 5.
Although it makes sense to include the same villain since he’s visually horrifying and memorable, it would have also been interesting to feature someone new. Of course, it’s possible that season 5 ofStranger Thingswill still have some surprises up its sleeve, and fans will have to wait to see if Vecna has anyone else working with him.
AlthoughEddie Munson (Joseph Campbell) needed more season 4 scenes, his battle against Vecna and subsequent death are some of the most emotional and well-crafted scenes of the entire series. While other characters will fight Vecna in season 5 ofStranger Things, it’s hard to imagine that it will feel just as thrilling.
What Details Are Confirmed About Stranger Things Season 5
According toNetflix.com/Tudum,Stranger Thingswent back into production in January 2024. As the publication explained, the same actors that fans know and love are coming back, and Linda Hamilton will also play a character in season 5.
Since fans know that theStranger Thingsseason 5 premiere is called “The Crawl,“there has been a lot of discussion about what that could mean for the characters. Unfortunately, this is no information about what storylines could occur in the final season of the hit Netflix series. Fans will have to wait untilStranger Thingsseason 5 airs in 2025to find out.
At the WGFestival in 2022, Ross Duffer explained that he and his brother were inspired by some ideas for an earlier season when mapping outStranger Thingsseason 5. He said:
“The success of Season 1 freaked us out and then we knew we needed to build up this bigger world, that this was going to be ongoing… For Season 5, we’re pulling from a lot of those big Season 2 ideas… A lot of our big ending stuff has pulled from stuff that we thought was going to be in Season 2.”
