New Year’s Eve is always an exciting night, but last year, it took a sick turn of paranormal events when “Stranger Things” released the final episodes of its last season.
Created by the Duffer Brothers, who are widely recognized for their exceptional work in production, the show premiered on Netflix in July 2016. The thriller television series is set in the 1980s in Hawkins, Indiana. The show is built on supernatural discoveries, government conspiracies and a persistent group of kids and adults fighting their own battles, while also combating creatures from the horror dimension, the Upside Down.
The final episodes were released in three parts across December, with the finale coming out on December 31. Set in the fall of 1987, this season focused more on Hawkins, the town’s breaking point and the building threat of the Upside Down.
This season, characters like Eleven, Will, Dustin, Max and Lucas faced the consequences of their past actions as family and friendships were tested under real pressure. Not every choice resulted in growth, but emphasized the importance of unity and connection, just like when the show first premiered.
Driven by a persistent young group of kids searching for their missing friend, Will, the series centered around fear and unpredictability. Though different from this new season, that same fear turned into bravery, and this time came back stronger than before.
Actresses Millie Bobby Brown, who played Eleven, and Sadie Sink, who played Max, gave nothing but their best performances this season. Eleven showed a lot of control and strength despite years of trauma. She grew from barely being able to speak to evolving into a powerful beast set to save her friends from Vecna and protect herself. Max was persistent and experienced growth over the seasons as well. Even with being almost taken by Vecna in season 4, in a state of a coma in season 5 and waking up to Vecna’s fearful mindscape, she snaps back into action and survival.
Personally, season 5 felt a lot darker compared to the other seasons, packed with much more intense emotion. I’m unsure if it’s emotional fear from the decaying textured skin of Vecna or the rapid movements of the demogorgons, but it surely was there. The first 4 episodes were focused on reinvestigating and finding deeper discoveries to save their town and everyone in it. As the ending of season 4 left with Vecna’s threats growing more persistent, Hawkins was in a deeper crisis than ever before. Characters were drawn to focus heavily on answering the questions no one had time to fully discover: What was next for Hawkins? What was Vecna planning? How could they put an end to him? Destined to save all that was left, they struggled internally, driven by anxiety and the unease of Vecna. Some characters were separated or in critical condition, drawing the audience in. Later on, the characters worked to resolve and connect, and my favorite part of the season was the characters showing growth and a deeper level of maturity from those who started the show as just kids.
The next 3 episodes created quite a rift in the story. It transitioned from figuring out what’s going on in the town of Hawkins to focusing on what’s happening in conflicted relationships.
As suspenseful and unexpected as it was to bring back the buildup and fear, emotional development could’ve continued for some characters. In the face of it all, Will (Noah Schnapp) was a prominent character in need of growing. With a deep connection to the Upside Down and Vecna controlling his mind, he felt isolated with the rising pressure of being a gay teen and fighting off a whole dimension. His bond with Vecna thrived on his crashing emotions and weakness. The emotional stress led to a climactic moment of him coming out, pardoning him of his secrets and getting him ready to face his final confrontation with Vecna.
This season flipped between characters, balancing their emotions and navigating unresolved conflicts with one another. Compared to the last volume, they were left to confront the result of their own actions with consequences rather than lessons, weakening personal growth. This pushed them to face their deep-rooted grudges, and from the audience’s perspective, these scenes didn’t hit this time. Due to the ending of the show, this meant that the characters had less time to fix mistakes, working on impulsive decisions based on a lack of development.
But for characters like Eleven, who had to deal with Vecna, she turned her consequential moments into the biggest teaching of the entire show: selflessness. With her final fight between her and Vecna and forced to battle the choice of the Earth or the Upside Down, she chose to sacrifice herself by staying in the dying abyss of the Upside Down for the safety of her friends and the world, closing the dying dimension behind her.
The last episode, “Chapter eight: The Rightside Up,” gave fans the cinematic horror they were looking for. Much more emotionally and visually driven, this last episode conveyed a storyline of resolution and intent. Mixing in all the moments of sadness, loss and grief, it was overcome through its focus on growth, friendship and the purpose of a group of persistent kids. It emphasized the lasting impact of characters like Eleven, Will, Dustin, Max, Lucas, and many more.
All in all, season 5 surely packed a rather emotional rollercoaster of buildups, intensity and resolutions, with each episode release leaving you on a cliffhanger right until the very end. The final episode closed the era of a great show as fans emotionally said farewell to the thriller sci-fi series.
Lasting almost 10 years over the past 5 seasons, Stranger Things has brought suspense, thrill and cinematic growth to nothing but a strange, mouthbreathin’ world.
