'Stranger Things 5' Volume 3: The End of an Era

Courtesy of Netflix

On July 15, 2016 Netflix scored a huge home run with the premiere of Stranger Things. The show had everything an audience can love. It had suspense, horror, mystery, great special effects, great characters, romance, etc. The show became a huge pop culture sensation and became Netflix's top show. Seasons went by and the show's quality was the same. Everyone was excited to see how this show would end. On December 31, 2025 we found out how Stranger Things ended.

After a disappointing volume 2, fans were hoping that this last episode tied up all the loose ends the previous volume left us. Before we dive into the specifics, this episode felt like a cinematic experience. This episode looked better than any other episode this season. The effects were on point and it felt very cinematic. The look of the episode made the episode even more important.

SPOILERS AHEAD

The main mission for the group has been to kill Vecna and destroy the Upside Down with everyone coming out alive. We finally get the answers we've been looking for since the start of the season. We find out Henry doesn't go into the cave because of a memory we've seen in the previous episode when he kills the guy in the cave. We find out that Henry gains his powers in that moment and is being controlled by the Mind Flayer all along. We find out the Mind Flayer showed Henry that the world was broken and that is why he wanted to create a whole new world.

Hopper found out Eleven and Kali's plan to end the Upside Down and die along with it. In an emotional scene, Hopper tells El that she has been manipulated by terrible people but there is still hope for a better life. El and Kali's plan doesn't work out because Kali is killed by the military in the Upside Down. Honestly this death didn't have the emotional depth it should have had because of the lack of Kali's development throughout the show. We basically have only seen her a few episodes and honestly she's not that likeable as a character.

The battle between Vecna and Eleven was underwhelming. There should have been more dramatic moments where we think El is going to die. Instead, we got a battle where everyone teams up against Vecna and kills him pretty easily. It was satisfying to see Joyce stab Vecna a million times. But, to have Vecna go down like that was underwhelming. The only thing I can compare it to is The Night King in Game of Thrones. You build up this badass villain for multiple seasons and he just dies like that. There should have been more of a fight. Vecna didn't even kill anyone important in the show. That was the show's biggest problem. It felt like the threats were empty and that there was no chance of a major character dying. Vecna will be remembered as an underwhelming villain because of this.

After defeating Vecna, the military ambushes the group as they leave the Upside Down. El realizes that there is no chance for her to live a normal life. In an emotional moment, El goes into Mike's mind and says goodbye to him. Then, as the C4 is detonated El stays in the Upside Down and vanishes with the Upside Down. The whole group watches El vanish with the Upside Down. Hopper and Mike are the most affected by this and are seen crying. This moment was very emotional and to see Eleven not get a happy ending sucks.

We then jump 18 months into the future. The group is graduating high school. Everyone is there except for Mike. Hopper finds Mike on a bench where a memorial is there for the lives lost due to the Upside Down. Hopper tells Mike to not blame himself fir what happened to Eleven and that he needs to accept what happen and the choice Eleven made. Mike then joins the others for graduation. They have one last Dungeons and Dragons game with the whole group. During the game, we see what everyone has been up to. Steve is a baseball coach and a sex ed teacher at Hawkins High. Jonathan is in New York making a film. Nancy has quit college and is working an internship. Robin is in Massachusetts in college. Lucas and Max are the couple that stayed together. Hopper proposes to Joyce and she says yes. They also talk about moving to Montauk together. Dustin goes off to college and still hangs out with Steve. Will goes off to college as well and finds a boyfriend. Mike becomes a writer and writes stories. But, in that final moment as the game ends, Mike tells a story about how Eleven could still be alive due to trickery. He mentions that Kali was still alive to pull of a trick on the military and that the Eleven we saw vanish with the Upside Down was not the real Eleven. He believes that El escaped and is living a peaceful life where no one can find her. This interpretation sets things up if they ever want to return to the franchise which I can definitely see happening in the future. As the group leaves the game, we see Holly and her friends continue the tradition of Dungeons and Dragons in the Wheeler basement.

The Stranger Things finale delivered a good ending to the show. Even though El's ending is silly, the show delivered on what we have seen in the previous 5 seasons. It delivered good emotional moments with good sci-fi that kept audiences engaged throughout. This show will be remembered as the best show Netflix has ever produced. It will definitely be missed. Hopefully a spin off happens in the future because there's still more to tell especially if Mike's belief that Eleven is still alive is true.

What did you think of the Stranger Things finale? Leave your opinion in the comments below.