After 5 seasons, 42 episodes and nearly 10 years of filming, the Netflix Original Stranger Things came to an end on Christmas Eve, 2025. Since then, many opinions regarding the final episode of this science fiction/coming of age show have been circulating throughout the media. Some say it was one of the best episodes in television history, while others regard this episode as “lowkey trash”. So, where should you stand? Well, it depends. If you were hoping for a simple answer, you better buckle up, because this article could make or break the way that you see Hawkins, the Abyss, and everything in between.
Eleven’s death fakeout
This scene was, by far, the most emotional for its audience. Here, Hopper is found standing in Hawkins lab as El is immersed in a sensory deprivation tank, on her way to search for Vecna through his memories. Vecna sees her coming and attempts to stop this by targeting El’s number one confidant, her chosen father, Hopper. Vecna invades Hopper’s mind, creating realistic images showing his dead daughter, Sarah, and warning him that the same fate awaits for Eleven. Panic overwhelms him, and he fires his gun at his hallucination of Vecna. His bullets shatter the tank, and Eleven’s blood begins to mix profusely with the spilling water. Hopper frantically pulls her out, revealing that she wasn’t dead, not even scratched, and it was just an illusion created by Vecna to get her out of his memories.
For all viewers, this moment yanks at the heart strings, as the mission almost failed and Hopper stood face to face with his fear of killing his daughter again. So many scenes, especially in seasons 4 and 5, depicted Hopper’s experience with living with the burden of his daughter’s death. The Duffer Brothers did a fantastic job keeping viewers at the edge of their seat, and served as an action-packed scene to explore Hopper’s past, while also tapping into how exactly Vecna preys on his victims: through their trauma.
Rockin’ Records
The Duffer Brothers nailed it with the music this episode, and honestly, across the whole season for that matter. Every track was nothing short of iconic. In early episodes, classics such as “Upside Down”, by Diana Ross, “Fernando” by ABBA, and “Mr. Sandman” by the Chordettes were used. These were all songs that were extremely popular in the 20th century and remain popular today, but the show has also made a significant effort to revive interest in some oldies as well. For example, “I Think We’re Alone Now” by Tiffany, now at number 29 in the UK, has made its first return to the charts since 1988 due to its feature in episode 3. The best musical choice, though, occurred in the finale: “Purple Rain” by Prince, because what other song would have accompanied one of the most gut wrenching points in the series; Mike and Eleven’s final moment together. It was perfect. Absolutely perfect. And of course, it would not have been a proper ending without “Heroes” by David Bowie officially closing the show during the credits. Peter Gabriel’s rendition of this song was a staple back in season 3, and ever since then, fans have been craving its return. Consequently, The Duffer Brothers and their crew brought it back again in an extremely tasteful way that had all viewers drowning in nostalgia and bittersweet tears. I applaud this franchise for its emotionally resonant use of music and sharing the vibes and electricity of the 80’s with future generations. No notes.
Vecna’s ending
To be honest, Vecna’s death required more airtime. It’s not that viewers lacked the complete faith that this group of courageous teenagers would be able to fight off this interdimensional being–but in a matter of 10 minutes? It’s contentious. Especially for an episode that was over 2 hours long, many viewers would have loved a longer, more intense fight sequence. However, for the screen time that it was given, the Duffer brothers did a phenomenal job in producing it. Between the group’s strategic use of nuclear weapons, and Eleven’s wicked jump from the ground of the Abyss all of the way into the heart of the Mind Flayer, the scene was action packed and left me gripping my seat in fear. The standout moment, though, was when Joyce finished Vecna off with her axe. It is important to note that during this, she swung her weapon a total of 11 times, most likely a nod to Eleven herself, ultimately defeating Vecna and symbolizing how she defied the notion that all people with these powers are monsters.
Do you believe?
To finish this review off, it was extremely difficult to gauge an opinion on one of the most significant “choose your own adventure” elements of the show: is Eleven alive? She appears to perish alongside the Upside Down, but in the last scene of the final episode, Mike explains to Lucas, Dustin, Will, and Max that Eleven’s death was all an illusion made by her sister, Kali. Even more intriguing, a full scene of Eleven hiking through the mountains is displayed to the audience, where she finally reaches those aspired 3 waterfalls that were discussed by Mike and Eleven. Mike admits that this is all a theory, but he chooses to believe, and so does the rest of the gang. So, the real question now becomes: do you believe?
After all of this time, her powers, her meaning, her story–it’s hard to imagine that it can just vanish. On the other hand, many viewers do not share this belief. A fellow Stranger Things enthusiast, Cole Lurie, argues otherwise, stating, “I believe that Eleven is dead because Kali could not create the illusion of Eleven’s death since she was long gone even before the final battle”.
Lurie raises a compelling point; in Mike’s theory, Kali, Eleven’s sister, creates the image that Eleven is dead with her powers, but what powers are there to have if Kali died previously in the episode? Either way, a common opinion within the community is wishing the ending had been more concrete. Leaving such a pivotal moment up for interpretation did not feel entirely Stranger Things-esque. That being said, it seems that the Duffer Brothers made a stylistic choice to give the viewers freedom regarding how the story ends, leaving Stranger Things a topic up for discussion for many years even after the closing of the show.