It’s officially January, and after two long years of waiting on its final season, “Stranger Things” has finally come to an end. What once felt like an endless cycle of theories, excitement and anticipation, is now over. For many OG fans, including myself, who grew up watching the show, expectations for the finale were obviously incredibly high — eventually resulting in one of the most controversial endings in Netflix’s history. Between all the production rumours and character endings, Season 5 has ultimately left fans more divided than ever.
When Season Four aired, “Stranger Things” felt bigger than ever. From the first episode to the very last, fans became addicted, glued to our screens watching the story unfold. I would treat it like a sacred tradition to watch one episode each night with my family. I would go to bed struggling to fall asleep, eager to see what would happen next. At the same time, the fandom reached an all time high, with social media overflowing with glowing reviews, wild theories, and mind blowing fan art. Pop-up events and merchandise releases made the show absolutely impossible to escape, and everywhere you looked, people were talking about it. Whether you were scrolling on TikTok, or sitting in class — people constantly raved about “Stranger Things.” The excitement was unreal. Fans loved every second of Season 4, which is exactly what made the wait for Season 5 feel literally endless.
On Nov. 26, 2025, Volume 1 of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things was officially released. This day marked the peak of fan theories and character “ships.” Social media, especially TikTok, was flooded with thoughtful debates over what would unfold in Volume 2, with different groups rooting for very different outcomes. Some viewers hoped for major character deaths, while others wanted a happy ending for everyone — some shipped “Mileven,” while others shipped “Byler.”
Despite the disagreements on what should happen next, the show’s speculation still remained positive. Fans wholeheartedly believed that the Duffer Brothers were building toward something major for the upcoming Volume 2 and the grand series finale. Despite all the debates and different opinions, the “Stranger Things” fandom created a sense of shared excitement and community around the show.
The belief of a shocking and unexpected ending was fueled by multiple interviews in which the Duffer Brothers would repeatedly hype up the finale and Volume 2, basically warning us viewers that nobody was ready for what was to come. Controversy quickly rose when Matt Duffer stated, “I’ve seen a lot of theories, none of them have gotten the ending right.”
Fans enjoyed Volume 1 and the anticipation for Volume 2 before the snowball of criticism began to take over.
Volume 2 was released on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, which the Duffer Brothers had described as what would be a “dark christmas” for viewers. After watching, many fans disagreed. Instead, they reported feeling disappointed, believing that too much had been left out or unaddressed. People quickly became skeptical of how the brothers would fit everything they missed in just a two-hour finale. And, spoiler, after the longest time of waiting on it and the impossible expectations after the hype of Season 4, fans weren’t too impressed.
Much of the criticism surrounding the finale focused on unanswered questions, unclear writing and an ending many fans felt was too simple. Viewers pointed out what eventually became “mysteries,” such as Will’s connection to Vecna and why he wasn’t affected in the finale, what was under Lucas’ bed in Season 4, how Max was able to graduate after being in a coma for the majority of high school, and who opened the door in Season 1 — a moment the Duffer Brothers had previously stated would be addressed in the finale but never was.
Fans were also left very confused by certain character moments, including Nancy and Jonathan’s breakup, referred to as an “unproposal.” Many viewers had found it very unclear that the couple had actually split as the Duffer Brothers even had to go online to clarify it.
After many years of detailed and well thought out fan theories, many viewers voiced feeling deeply disappointed by how straightforward and bland the ending turned out to be. Fans argued that the reason nobody predicted it was simply because no one expected the ending of such a big show to be so simple and tasteless.
Meanwhile, after “Stranger Things” wrapped, some fans refused to accept the finale as a true ending, which started something called the “Conformity Gate” theory. The theory quickly gained popularity across social media and became, in my opinion, one of the most talked about theories of all time, with many convinced that there would be an additional episode to make more sense of the finale. Obviously, this major theory ended up being false, but it got so big that it eventually reached the cast of “Stranger Things,” with some people such as Charlie Heaton hearing and laughing about it.
However, on Jan. 12, 2026, “One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5,” a behind the scenes documentary, was released on Netflix. This is where fans learned that the Duffer Brothers went into production of the finale with an unfinished script, which left fans absolutely enraged! Allegedly, multiple ChatGPT tabs can be seen on the Duffer’s computers as they were trying to come up with a script. Unfortunately, the documentary raised serious questions about the production process behind Season 5.
Beyond the controversy behind the scenes, the finale also divided fans over the fates of main characters, particularly Eleven. Her storyline concluded in an open ended death, ultimately leaving her fate unclear. Some viewers criticized this as lazy or unfinished writing, while others, however, found it very symbolic and creative.
Another controversial choice was the conclusion of the Will and Mike storyline, often referred to by fans as “Byler.” Although Will has been in love with Mike almost his whole life, the finale gave Will a random epilogue boyfriend. This made some supporters feel as if the popular ship “Byler” was rushed or handled poorly. Many argued that the couple’s storyline had been teased early on (Seasons 1-4) but was then neglected, eventually becoming “queerbait” since Mike never came out.
Although the season became extremely infamous, I, along with many others, absolutely loved the fact that Joyce Byers—Will’s mom, was ultimately the person to defeat Vecna. I thought this couldn’t have played out any better, since Joyce was the one who suffered the most when Vecna took Will, which was how everything began. Because of this, I felt that Vecna’s “goodbye” scene was pure perfection.
You either loved or hated the finale. And though most fans would disagree, I personally loved it. I believe that all the crazy theories and extreme expectations have led people to disappointment. I also believe that no matter how the finale played out, it wasn’t going to make everyone happy. With such a big and beloved show like “Stranger Things,” you can’t satisfy every single fan. The Duffer Brothers and cast were all very clearly satisfied with how the show concluded and, so was I. If I had to sum up the finale in just one word it would for sure be: “bittersweet.”
