Amid the finale of Stranger Things, longtime viewers and lovers of the show had a lot to say about the series finale. I was one of those viewers who had been keeping up with the show since its original release, and so I have developed a deep love for the show over the 10 years it has existed. With this in mind, I felt very strongly about how the show ended.
Character Arcs
I felt like a lot of the characters´ stories felt unfinished or inconclusive. Many fans felt like the characters were miswritten and acted in ways that did not correlate with the writing of the past seasons. One prominent example is Mike Wheeler. Mike was always seen as the leader; they called him the heart of the group. Ironically, a big struggle his character dealt with was the ability to express his feelings for El. He had a hard time in season 4 saying he loved her, as seen in the ¨From Mike¨ scene where El reads out all her letters from him and he fails to sign ¨Love Mike ¨everytime (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIH2jh86C2E ). Towards the end of season 4, he gets over this issue, and with Will´s support, he was able to motivate El during her battle with Vecna by professing his love for her. So I, like many fans, felt that during their final scene before El sacrifices herself, it did not make sense that Mike didn’t tell her that he loved her back. It almost felt like they forgot that Mike had such a hard time expressing himself, and I think that El should have at least heard an ¨I love you,¨ back.
Another prime example that I felt like did not get enough justice with her final story was Robin. She was first introduced in season 3, and immediately, fans fell in love with her. I remember that when she had her bathroom scene with Steve and told her about Tammy Thompson ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqQ2m0KNGz0 ), a lot of my queer friends felt like they could relate to her and her story. They were able to see themselves in her. So when they introduced a love interest for her in season 4, it was even more representative. A lot of sapphic media isn’t always heavily shown, and having that in a show as big as Stranger Things is a huge stepping stone in television, as well as comforting a wider audience of viewers. With all of this, it really disappointed me that they left her ending with Vicky open-ended. We don’t see her with Vicky in the finale; we don’t even see Vicky at all. All we get is a throwaway line where Robin mentioned ¨overbearing partners.¨ I think it’s sad that she couldn’t get a more blatant happy ending. Queer storylines have evolved far past simply self love, it would have been a nice wrapping up of that side of Robin’s story if she not only loved herself but had someone to love as well.
Story Lines I was Okay With
I know a lot of people were expecting the finale to have a high death count, and I was no exception. Before each volume, my friends and I would try to predict what would happen to each character and how or why. To our surprise, only one character from the main cast was killed off, and as much as it pained me to see her go, I felt relieved that no other characters were killed off. Mind you, there have been multiple times throughout not only the series as a whole but the season, especially where chances of survival seemed limited to none. Having all the characters there to see El sacrifice herself had a lot of emotional depth to it, and it reminded me that I didn’t just grow up with her character, but all of them did as well. Mind you, did I think that El being the only one killed off made sense? Not at all. But that was because I had assumed that since the entire upside-down was a hive mind, it would take both El and Will, since they were all interlinked. I still think El deserved so much better, but I would have been inconsolable if I had to say goodbye to her and other beloved characters.
I honestly feel fully satisfied with Hopper and Joyce´s ending. They finally had their date at Enzos, Hopper proposed, they are going to move together, and Hopper has become a father to two boys. I think their ending of having a happy relationship and a happy family was probably the best thing I could have asked for those characters. I was honestly so unsure what would happen with Hopper after losing El. I fully thought it was so over for him if he lost El, and the way he looked in the final scene with her had me in absolute shambles. However, the choice to have him remember El´s memory and cherish the time he had with her while still moving forward was probably the best thing I could have asked for him. Similarly, I love that Joyce can finally have a calm life and she doesn’t need to worry about her kids anymore. Both are happy. Johnathan is off at college, and Will just graduated with no impending doom lurking around him. She can have her happily ever after and live a normal life, and to me that is more than enough.
Ambiguity Gate
One of my favorite ships in the show was Johnathan and Nancy, so I was extremely disappointed to see them break up. I was confused by their breakup scene, and I truly had thought that it was them acknowledging their feelings but knowing they would work it out because they loved each other so much. This interpretation was shared by many of my friends who were watching with me, and we didn’t think any differently until after volume 2 was released and the Duffer brothers confirmed that they were broken up (https://people.com/stranger-things-did-nancy-jonathan-get-engaged-exclusive-11873748 ). Maybe this was me being naive, but I still held out hope, but was forced to face the reality that they stayed broken up even in their future. The Duffers also said that anything could have happened between them after the show ended, but I feel like continuously leaving storylines open-ended and telling the viewers ¨anything could have happened,¨ is an easy way to avoid people getting upset.
I also didn’t like how essentially all the kids´endings were open-ended. It was more so just Mike giving them a hopeful ending so they can cope with El´s death. For a story that has been developed over ten entire years, I was just hoping we would get more. I wish we actually saw their futures rather than a best-case scenario. The audience has had so much time with these characters; they’ve grown attachments and have connected with them. It is so easy to simply leave things up to audience interpretation. What’s harder is to write an ending where the characters have evolved past the developed storyline and are now living lives that are true to who they are and who they have become as a result of the show´s events. For a show as beloved as Stranger Things, it deserved an ending that was done with care.
Final Thoughts
I’m okay with the finale, disappointed but okay. I wanted more, but much like Mike and his friends, I’m coping with the loss by making my own interpretations of the ending (much like other fans I’ve seen on social media). I’m just sad that we didn’t get more of a clean ending. We have no choice but to decide what happens on our own and while I see the fun in that, for a show this detailed it deserved the time it takes to write a concrete story. Not everything needs to be tied in a neat bow but at least put it together so that it holds up. Stranger Things will always hold a place in my heart, I have so many memories with the show. I love it so much, which is why I think it deserved better.