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The final season of the “Stranger Things” takes place approximately four years after Will’s original disappearance in season one. Season five had three volumes: Volume 1, four episodes, released on Nov. 26, 2025, Volume 2, three episodes, released on Dec. 25, 2025 and, finally, Volume 3, the final episode, released on Dec. 31, 2025.
After the first two volumes of season five, I was intrigued to see how The Duffer Brothers–the main authors and directors of the show–would wrap up the complicated saga.
Firstly, the cinematography in these episodes were great, along with the rest of the season. One thing that stood out to me was in the last scene of the episode when each character put their Dungeons and Dragons book on the bookshelf and we watched from inside the shelf.
Secondly, acting. To be honest, in this season, the acting hasn’t been as good. I was looking for more raw emotion and dramatics in the acting, as we saw in previous seasons with many characters.
Next, plot holes. The writers did a good job with individual, intimate scenes, but they could’ve wrapped things up better to fill the numerous plot holes. For example: Max graduating after being in a coma for 18 months? Why can everyone breathe in the Upside Down now? Why are the vines in the Upside Down not dangerous anymore?
Another issue to me was the plot armor. Only one main character died in the final episode. There certainly should’ve been more drama and deaths within the group.
Overall, the writing and episode as a whole was good, but things just got sloppy. The episode was entertaining and wholesome, but there are many unanswered questions and I don’t love the “happily ever after” ending.
Considering these aspects, there are certain scenes within the episode that stood out to me more than others. Some of which I appreciated, and some I disliked.
For their final battle against Vecna, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) prepares to enter Henry/Vecna’s mind with Max (Sadie Sink) and Kali (Linnea Berthelsen). In order for this intrusion to happen, Eleven and Hopper (David Harbour) position themselves in the old lab in the Upside Down to use the water tank there. However when Henry/Vecna sees Eleven, Kali and Max, conflict emerges.
Henry/Vecna finds Hopper and floods his mind with hallucinations. Hopper freaks out and tries to shoot Henry/Vecna in order to protect Eleven. When Henry/Vecna disappears, in his place is Eleven, bleeding out. But when Hopper pulls her out of the tank, she has no injuries.
This scene is the most integral part of the episode, mainly because it changes the whole plan. It was also an important scene for Hopper’s character development because while Henry/Vecna was attempting to make him feel guilty about his daughter Sarah’s death and now maybe even Eleven’s, it led him to realize that both situations were out of his control.
Another viable scene is Henry/Vecna chasing the kids through Camazotz. Henry/Vecna entering the cave was an important part because we were finally shown why Henry/Vecna was so afraid of the cave.
Will (Noah Schnapp) going into Henry/Vecna’s mind and seeing the full memory of him becoming evil was an emotional scene. Will telling him that they were both vessels of the Mind Flayer resonated with me. Will still had so much sympathy for him, even after everything he did.
The final attack scene was, of course, a long time coming and very satisfying to watch the Mind Flayer/Vecna die. I loved watching Nancy step up again, like she always does, and help defeat the Mind Flayer/Vecna.
The one thing I didn’t quite understand was how Will felt everything (burning, gunshots, etc) that the Mind Flayer did, but didn’t die with it. I thought it was a great idea to keep Will connected to the pain, but then it was ruined when he stayed alive.
Next, when they return to the real world, we have Eleven’s death scene. I think this was well written. I really liked when Eleven pulled Mike (Finn Wolfhard) into her mind to say goodbye to him, and the montage of memories that came flooding with the song “Purple Rain” by Prince.
The flash forward to when the kids all graduate was both good and bad. The moment that Mike and Hopper have is very important to the storyline. They have always had a love/hate relationship, so I really loved how they were able to connect at the end.
Dustin’s (Gaten Matarazzo) speech was also a great touch. It made me so happy that he got valedictorian, considering he was basically the brains of every plan they had.
The final Dungeons and Dragons section of the episode was a good way to wrap up the show. Throughout their adventures together, they have become their characters in the game (storyteller, wizard, etc.) and it was a full circle moment to watch how much they have changed and developed over the years.
