Before assessing the misgivings of Stranger Things Season 5, it’s crucial to understand one thing. Despite its flawed conclusion, Stranger Things was an indisputable cultural phenomenon. Whether you enjoyed the final season of Netflix’s decade-spanning original series is irrelevant, at least in the eyes of the streaming service. Reportedly earning as much as $30 million between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day at the box office, the series finale boasted incredible anticipation. Households around the world eagerly awaited the Hawkins gang’s ultimate confrontation with Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), putting aside holiday celebrations in favor of streaming or heading to theaters to indulge in the feature-length finale.
Yet, it seems like the majority of fans (at least online) left the Upside Down with extreme disappointment, an emotion that was already lingering throughout the fifth season. Perhaps expectations were raised too high, a consequence of the absurd 3-year gap between seasons. However, it’s easy to see why audiences were left so dishevelled. Series creators Matt and Ross Duffer emerged from the ashes of the finale, answering an abundance of questions in the press, digging themselves a grave in the process. Stranger Things 5 was mired with problems, but which were most significant in its demise?
A Bloated Cast Spread Thin
Many discussions about Stranger Things Season 5 revolved around its inflated cast. Characters lacked interconnectivity, yet were equally void of singular arcs, instead forced to serve repetitive, one-note narratives. Robin (Maya Hawke) delivered cheesy exposition, while Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Mike Wheeler’s (Finn Wolfhard) relationship felt somewhat sidelined until the very end. Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin) continued to stay by Max Mayfield’s (Sadie Sink) side as she was in a coma, playing Kate Bush‘s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” on loop. Occasionally, viewers were rewarded with heartfelt pairings. Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) and Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) wrestled with grief. Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer) and Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton) reckoned with their fleeting romance.
Finally, Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) and his mother Joyce (Winona Ryder) strengthened their bond the hard way: by revisiting past trauma and coming clean. However, most of these plotlines rehashed emotional beats that had already been explored. Previous told tales of belonging and overcoming tragedy — themes that simply had no time to breathe in this jam-packed conclusion. Stuffing a swath of characters like Vickie Dunne (Amybeth McNulty), Mr. Clarke (Randy Havens), Kali/Eight (Linnea Berthelsen), Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman), and Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton) into the last stretch of the story demonstrates a frustrating misunderstanding of Stranger Things‘ secret sauce: the core group.
Fans who hoped for a reunion of the original Hawkins gang found only dissatisfaction. Interactions craving intimacy were forced to accommodate a loitering supporting cast that had overstayed their welcome, purely contributing simplified exposition and cheap laughs. It’s a direct result of Netflix’s second screen practice, in which the streamer instructs its showrunners to write scripts that are “helpful” for subscribers who are watching while also on their phones or engaged in tasks like cooking or laundry. This led to overly inclusive dialogue that lacked substance. Hell, the survival of Karen and Ted Wheeler epitomizes these issues and the Duffer Brothers’ indecisiveness.
An Absence of Stakes
The bloated cast inadvertently highlights the Duffer Brothers’ slapdash approach and their inability to follow through on consequences. Throughout the Netflix show’s run, only the newly introduced characters suffered unexpected demises each season: Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), Bob Newby (Sean Astin), and the affable Russian Scientist, Dr. Alexei (Alec Utgoff). Stranger Things Season 5 offered very few moments when the main team felt genuinely in danger, limiting the edge-of-your-seat thrills of past seasons. The final confrontation with military forces before the epilogue proves this: the heroes are captured and, at last, face dire ramifications. Yet, nothing happens beyond Eleven’s formulaic sacrifice. Their capture is never mentioned again, and they walk away free and unscathed.
Following Game of Thrones‘ controversial ending, creative duo David Benioff and D.B. Weiss received vitriolic online attacks from the fandom. Originally poised to write and produce a Star Wars trilogy, along with an HBO series about an alternate version of the United States where the Civil War ended differently, titled Confederate, Benioff and Weiss have since kept a low profile following the disastrous GOT finale. The Duffer Brothers have put themselves in a similar situation, having recently signed a massive deal with Paramount to create movies and TV for the studio’s new regime. But, in trying to play it safe, they faltered just as much. Now, fans will watch their next projects with even more scrutiny than before.
Inconsistencies and Off-Screen Resolutions
Previously, the Duffer Brothers admitted to an error in Season 4 when failing to acknowledge Will’s birthday. Labelled “Birthdaygate” by fans, the event became a playful continuity error but also showcased their first signs of idleness. Take the fourth season’s finale: Hawkins is split apart, the incoming onslaught generates tons of excitement, only to be resolved off-screen. A stratospheric calamity hurriedly forgotten, fruitlessly introduced, and laughably patched with metal sheets — illustrating a writing competence equivalent to “it was all a dream.”
Netflix executives didn’t force such rash creative decisions; these ideas originated from the Duffers, making their backtracking all the more confusing. New and established worldbuilding elements were entirely lost in this shake-up. Why did Joyce and Hopper (David Harbour) never talk about knowing Henry Creel/Vecna in high school? Why did the WSQK tower dial change color? Why did the Mindflayer not demonstrate any psionic powers in the Dimension X battle? Questions arose from this confusion, inspiring fans to create online petitions, convinced that something was missing. Perhaps an episode, a volume, or a deleted scene?
The Rise of Conformity Gate
Stranger Things Season 5 was, and continues to be, relentlessly picked apart by diehard fans, spawning wild theories that such mistakes couldn’t possibly be anything other than a deliberate misdirection. Bizarre factors, like Demogorgons and Demobats being absent from the Upside Down/The Abyss, initially seemed too purposeful to ignore. Season 4 reveals that the dangerous vines are connected to the hivemind, too, a rule that also becomes disregarded. Seemingly important pieces of lore kept being called into question, mapping out a larger, incomplete puzzle.
Frenzied speculation infected social media under the guise of the viral “Conformity Gate” fan theory, which claimed a secret ninth episode would be released on January 7, 2026 (Netflix servers even crashed that day). One revolutionary twist posited that everyone, including the audience, was under Vecna’s curse. Those mistakes, inaccuracies, and goofs were actually the result of a dreamscape ending imposed on the heroes, hiding the terrifying reality of Vecna’s victory. Film sets curiously changing color, hand positions suggesting Mindflayer possession, actors staring into the camera, verging on fourth-wall breaks, and so forth. Of course, Conformity Gate was nothing more than a hilarious coping mechanism for those left unhappy with the show’s ending.
Sure, #ConformityGate was unique in its own way. Inconsistencies and contradictions take their toll on viewers, though. Stranger Things 5 was bogged down by irregularities and questions it never answered. An unfortunate testament to the Duffer Brothers’ make-it-up-as-you-go approach, errors not part of an innovational masterplan, but simply amateurish blunders.
High Expectations, Long Productions, and Unfinished Scripts
Netflix was facing an uphill battle to deliver excellence, especially given the long-standing jokes about Stranger Things‘ production cycle. Years passed between seasons, with the young cast aging well past their on-screen counterparts, mildly breaking the show’s illusion of 1980’s nostalgia. Suffering from success, Netflix had developed a devoted subscriber base with unattainable expectations between seasons. A writers’ room backed into a creative corner, unable to fend off its own audience.
To counter this, the press tour for Stranger Things Season 5 teased bloodthirsty intentions and unpredictable twists. These empty promises haunted each Volume, leaving viewers wondering whether this was even referring to the same series. To make matters worse, Netflix’s recently released Stranger Things making-of documentary revealed that the show’s conclusion was far from finalized when filming began! In the end, Stranger Things 5 became overencumbered by this drawn-out, 344-day-long production.
When the Magic Fades Away
Confusion should never be confused with predictability. Eleven’s half-baked sacrifice, Steve’s cheap fake-out death, the Mindflayer’s underwhelming demise… television should keep you guessing at every episode. The absence of a long-term plan left Stranger Things unable to match the imagination fans conjured. Leaning into ambiguity and offering explanations in post-finale interviews became increasingly frustrating, leaving people who invested a decade of their lives feeling like they wasted valuable time.
Courtesy of Netflix
To top it all off, rewatches of earlier seasons demonstrated how visually unappealing the Netflix series had become. The shift from a brooding, small-town supernatural horror mystery set in the ’80s to an accessible blockbuster tarnished the show’s illustrious reputation. Inventive scenarios, like Joyce’s miraculous Morse code communication via Christmas lights from Season 1, devolved from powerful imagery that invoked emotion to bland Dimension X palettes indistinguishable from Super Bowl commercials, flat and void of personality.
The streaming world, now vast and grand with an array of quality content, truthfully no longer needed the creative essence of Stranger Things. In lieu of the Duffer Brothers’ efforts, Netflix’s biggest and most pristine original series kept going, not to keep raising the bar for its captivating storytelling, but purely for financial reward. No amount of planned spin-offs will be able to wash that taste off.
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