The finale of Stranger Things has caused divided opinions, which made me think.
Considering that most viewers are devoted fans, why wasn’t the reaction more unified? Is it simply a matter of personal taste? A subjective reading of the story? A sentimental preference? Or does our response to the ending have less to do with television and more to do with the world we’re currently living in? If you haven’t watched the series, I have to urge you to stop reading here, as there will be spoilers.
The Duffer Brothers
Firstly, I must say that season five felt like it was made for the fans. The Duffer Brothers know how deeply we care about these characters, especially Steve. So, instead of committing to killing off our favourite characters, they chose to repeatedly pull back at the very last moment. Even when a main character dies, the show seems determined to soften the blow, offering ambiguity for those who don’t want to leave the series feeling devastated.
In my personal opinion, in my heart (and you can call me bleak or somber for it), I don’t believe that the ending was ambiguous at all. I believe Eleven did die, and Mike’s story was a way of coping with it. He created a version of events he wanted to believe in and offered his friends a way to cope with the loss as well. Some viewers, however, have chosen a more optimistic take, clinging on to the idea that it wasn’t merely a story he made up but a very logical explanation for how she survived, living in the land of three waterfalls.
But within the realm of Stranger Things, that optimism feels hard to accept. This is a world where survival is never guaranteed, where monsters are relentless, and where the stakes have only grown higher. This is also the end of the show. How plausible is it that everyone survives?
Throughout the season, there are several near-death experiences that feel strangely glossed over. Eleven, Hopper and Kali escape a massive tear in reality that sucks everything toward it (and we don’t even get to see how). Nancy and Jonathan accept their fate in a room with no escape, confessing their true feelings, only to suddenly realise they can escape at the last possible second (I have to admit, I did love that scene, if only they hadn’t miraculously survived). Would these moments have played out the same way in earlier seasons?
Dangling Death
In a strange way, the finale dangles death in front of us like a carrot, promising emotional devastation but never quite delivering. The death of a beloved character, painful as it is, can also be cathartic. Mourning a character can help us mourn the end of a story we love. For me, these repeated last-minute survivals cheapened that process, and it left me feeling unsatisfied.
However, not everyone shares this opinion. Many viewers actually enjoyed, and found comfort in, the fact that everyone lived. So why is it that some of us crave tragedy, while others crave reassurance?
Perhaps it has something to do with the current state of the world. When real life feels overwhelming, fictional hope can feel necessary. Maybe people want to avoid death even in a fictional world, using these stories as an escape from reality rather than another source of emotional exhaustion.
It could also be that the ending to one of the biggest series of our time was always going to be sentimental. In that sense, even Stranger Things, which is known to be a little scary and dark, offers us something gentler: prolonged rooftop conversations about the future, childhood lingering just a little longer, and sentimental goodbyes that ease us into the end.
There is also a wholesome scene where Steve falls and we all think he has died (they knew what they were doing), only for us to realise that, of all people, Jonathan is the one who saved him. Watching their reconciliation and seeing them finally put their bickering aside was rather cute, I admit.
This is why the finale is almost impossible to rate objectively. Let’s be honest: those who watched it are devoted fans, which makes it difficult to judge purely in terms of cinematography or narrative structure. Instead, you end up rating it based on how it makes you feel, whether it gave you comfort, whether it hurt in the “right” way, and whether it allowed you to say goodbye gently.
Ultimately, season five isn’t trying to be brutal or revolutionary. It’s trying to be sentimental. It’s the end of an era, and endings are sad enough without extra loss. For some, that choice feels earned. For others, like me, it feels like something was held back.
