Cleo Brann and Sally-Ann Marshall take on the Duffer Brothers
Image: Megan Crombie
After 10 long years the ‘Stranger Things’ finale has finally been released but instead of going out with a bang, the much-loved show has disappointed fans internationally with its spectacularly underwhelming ending. Many have expressed feelings of betrayal at the ending as it didn’t feel faithful to the show, to the characters or to its themes. A large part of the fans’ distaste towards the ending is due to the way in which the final fight and character arcs were handled – in particular the way the character ‘Will Byers’ was written – and inconclusive plot points leaving questions unanswered.
The Duffer Brothers, the creators and directors of the series, expressed in the documentary One Last Adventure that, “you see these shows that people love and adore and the ending falters and they just discard the rest of the show.” The irony of this is that their audience felt that the ending that they wrote ‘faltered.’
A major complaint that fans have with the show is with the ending to the character arc of ‘Eleven’ played by Millie Bobbie Bongiovi. ‘Eleven’ or ‘El’ begins as a socially removed child used as a lab experiment and her story is about healing and independence. However, her story ends with her seeing no other way to escape and ‘break the cycle’ of abuse, resulting in her ending her own life. Ross Duffer stated in the documentary that “the whole episode has to build towards ‘Eleven’s going to kill herself’”, showing conclusively that it was always the plan to kill off Eleven. In addition to this Matt Duffer said that he, “always thought that she represents magic. And so she has to leave.” This is a very negative and harmful outlook on moving on from trauma; it suggests that Eleven cannot ‘break the cycle’ without her death.
There are also some problems with her screen time during the final season. Eleven is overshadowed by other characters like new girl Holly as well as older characters like Will. This season, Will obtains almost identical powers to Eleven, essentially being a replacement for her. This could be read as being quite sexist as they sideline a female character, essentially ‘fridging’ her.
However, Will also has his fair share of problems in season 5, most notably with queer-baiting and the reduction of his character to just his sexuality. Will’s emotional arc has been building throughout the whole show, but the actual coming out scene leaves much to be desired. The scene arrives abruptly after Will being shown a vision from Vecna of his worst fear, which is implied to be his loved ones not accepting him. Many people wish the audience could also have seen this vision to highlight and deepen Will’s internalised homophobia, leading to a more emotionally impactful scene. The scene, although intended to be intense and emotionally ripe, has an underlining stiffness almost like the writers were checking off a box rather than letting Will’s character naturally express their sexual identity. Fans also felt that his unreciprocated feelings send a negative message about queer love for the sake of being ‘realistic.’
Matt Duffer openly admits, “We went into production without having a finished script for the finale.” Despite this, they claimed they knew how it was going to end and what plot points they wanted to hit. This revelation outraged fans as the Duffer brothers had 10 whole years to write the show, especially with the lengthy gaps in between seasons. This caused a myriad of problems such as chaotic production timelines, plot holes and rushed story decisions.
Another major problem was the final battle. With the build up of 10 years and 5 seasons, it disappointed fans as it comes off as functional and clichéd rather than the exciting climax of the entire show. Many of the characters of the show appear and disappear without clear transitions which suggests that the script was being tweaked during the filming. This is outright confirmed in the documentary: “We are shooting episode eight which isn’t even completely written yet… so we don’t even fully know what’s going on,” said Montana Manisalco, a member of the production team. Additionally, the resolution happens unbelievably quickly, making it more of an anticlimax. Every protagonist lives after the fight with Vecna, which feels cheap and lacks intensity.
The documentary also reveals the struggle that the set designers and art team faced due to the missing final script. Lampton commented that, “We’re going to have to base it on conversations with them.” There seems to be a disconnect between the writers and set team that caused the finale to have some continuity problems. Nevertheless, the team made the absolute best of what they had to work with and still delivered a high-quality set for the finale despite the limitations.
The writers were likely under pressure from Netflix to finish the finale. They never expected the show to become as popular as it did and weren’t prepared for this scale of production. As a result, the final product feels more corporate, lacking in the genuine emotion and passion it had in the earlier seasons. Matt Duffer has even stated in the documentary, “Ross and I had no interest in writing at all; we wanted to direct.”
Stranger Things is a show that meant so much to so many people. The negative backlash that the show received in its finale is likely coming from a place of love rather than hate. Fans, writers, and actors grew up alongside this show but there is a feeling of injustice in its conclusion because of the deep emotional connections everyone has with the characters.
