The series finale of Stranger Things aired this New Year’s Eve, marking the end of the decade-running, groundbreaking series. To many teens who grew up with the show, as well as its countless other fans across all age groups, the ending was highly anticipated. So did it hold up and stick the landing, or did it let down the fans and leave a sour taste in the mouth like the infamous ending of “Game of Thrones.”
The answer, for myself and for many fans, was that “it was alright.” There was nothing about the ending that was particularly awful, but there was also nothing about it that really made it stand out as stellar. The final episode is essentially divided into two parts, the first being the crew finally defeating the series’ villains and the 2nd being the epilogue that gives closure to the characters. Unfortunately, the disparity in quality between these two parts was quite large, with the first being a lackluster, overblown fight, filled with plot holes and oversights. Many fans were disappointed about the lack of deaths, feeling that the Duffer Brothers played it too safe and didn’t take any risks. I personally believe they did this simply so that they wouldn’t accidentally “ruin” the show like so many others (Dexter and Lost, to name a few). Honestly, this decision is probably why people viewed the ending as favorable as they did. While the reviews weren’t glowing, there was technically nothing about the ending that destroyed the lore or characters. The lack of Demigorgons in the final fight, the plot hole of the military not arresting the main characters despite their numerous crimes, and other noticeable but relatively small flaws ultimately don’t ruin anything.
Fortunately, what stands out the most about the final episode was the wonderfully done epilogue, which perfectly ties up the character arcs and sends them away with a poignant ending, with the main characters passing their torch to a new generation. While it wasn’t perfect, it did stick the landing and was certainly entertaining, a better finale date than most. 7/10.
