Professional Fangirl- Katelyn Benschoter

When asked what I spent my time doing over winter break, my answer has generally been “not too much, I just hung out at home,” but in reality, my favorite thing I did over break was binge-watching the final season of Stranger Things. The first episode of Stranger Things dropped on July 15th, 2016, and now, almost ten years later, the show has just wrapped up. From the very first season, this show became a pop culture phenomenon. And as someone who is close in age to the cast of the show, I feel as if I have literally grown up alongside the show and the characters. Remembering old seasons gives me nostalgia for life at that time. And I know this is a common feeling amongst fellow Gen-Zers. That being said, there was a lot of anticipation for the show’s final season, and with that anticipation comes pressure. The final season has received a range of reviews and lots of strong opinions by superfans, so let’s unpack the different takes on this season. 

First, a brief recap of the final season. If you, for some reason, have not watched the final season yet, this is your chance to stop reading; there will, in fact, be spoilers. If you continue to read on and have not watched yet, that is your fault. That being said, this season’s main plot point was to finally take down Vecna and all that lives within the upside down (demogorgens, the Mindflayer, etc) for good. The season revolved around preparing and fighting a battle to take Vecna down, which is very fitting for a series finale. In addition to this, some subplots of this season were Will gaining powers, Max trying to escape from Henry’s mind, the return of El’s sister, and the love triangle that revolved around Nancy—my point being this season had a lot of different components and had a lot of loose ends to tie up. This is a demanding task to create a final season that is all about this epic battle, while also tying up five seasons of plot. I think the critique I have heard most often about the final season is the fact that the Duffer Bros could have done a better job at tying up all of the subplots. For example, what happened to Derick’s family, or why did we not see any demogorgons or demobats when they killed Vecna? After the season finale dropped, my social media was flooded with fans pointing out how certain plot points did not get wrapped up or even pointing out potential plot holes. Additionally, with the disappointment in how some storylines were wrapped up, a common complaint was that the final season felt rushed and that the show bit off more than it could chew. While I would say I am generally satisfied with the season finale, there was a lot of new information and plot points introduced, with a lot of the characters just sitting around and talking about the same battle. I would have preferred for some of those scenes to be swapped out with scenes focusing on these subplots. In particular, in the penultimate episode, which is usually the most important episode of a season, there was hardly any action. While the overarching goal of defeating Vecna was achieved and tied up, many fans were disappointed that many subplots were lost within the last season.

Now, to move on to a lighter note, one of the best parts of the final season was Will gaining his powers. Will has obviously been a crucial character to the show since the very first episode. He gets kidnapped and brought to the upside down, and Vecna has been in his mind, and has continued to hold power over him. The point is, he has been through it over the course of the show. It felt good as a fan that, after all this time of Vecna controlling Will, Will got to play a crucial role in taking Vecna down. Will gaining his newfound powers after accepting himself may be a little cheesy, but it was easily one of the coolest scenes of the final season. It felt so satisfying to understand how Vecna has been in his mind all this time, and to get so many answers about how the upside-down works. It once again just felt good to see Will get to finally win. Every season would end conclusively, but Will was still being controlled in some way. He finally got to break free from that. I think fans have agreed that even if they felt this plot point was cheesy, it made so much sense for the show. While on the outside Stranger Things is a show about Dungeons and Dragons and fighting monsters, on the inside it is really about friendship, and growing up. Therefore, a character gaining powers when they accept themselves really does fit quite well. It was a powerful moment, and despite fans’ opinions on the season as whole, this plot point has been notably well received.

Lastly, I could not write an article on the final season of Stranger Things and neglect the thing that everyone has been theorizing over, and that is, of course, Mike’s story about where Eleven is. In the final episode, it appears that Eleven has died. She knows that no matter where she goes, there will always be people after her because of her powers, so she seemingly decides to stay in the upside-down as it is being destroyed. Later, Mike tells the group over a game of Dungeons and Dragons that he thinks she is still out there. He noticed that when she was seemingly using her powers in the last scene, her nose was not bleeding, and it always bleeds when she uses her powers. Additionally, the government had her kryptonite with them, in theory making her powerless and incredibly weak. Therefore, it would have been impossible for her to use her powers in that moment, making Mike’s theory very possible. Many fans were annoyed that the show ended with an ending that is ultimately up to interpretation. I personally enjoyed it, and it totally caught me off guard. 

The real question is, do you believe that Eleven is still out there, or did Mike make up that story to give everyone a little bit of hope? The answer is fans will never know for certain. I like to believe that she is. Mike’s theory felt convincing, and she deserves a happy ending. The final season of Stranger Things left fans with many questions and opinions to debate over, but one thing is certain: this show is sure to be one that is talked about for years to come.