On July 15, 2016 the first season of Stranger Things premiered, and within three weeks, over eight million people watched it. Created by Matt and Ross Duffer (The Duffer Brothers), Stranger Things blends 80’s nostalgia with horror and science fiction. The final episode of the series aired on December 31, 2025.
The last episode was 128 minutes long, and within that time Vecna was killed, Eleven sacrificed herself,  but also Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Will, and Max graduated high school. It was an emotional way to end the franchise but also uplifting. There is still a possibility that Eleven is alive but also everyone gets to grow up and move on from Hawkins.
The episode begins with everyone preparing to takedown Vecna and the Upside Down. Eleven, Kali, Hopper, and Murray go to Hawkins’ lab in search of a sensory deprivation tank. They do this so Eleven can enter Vecna’s mindscape. Meanwhile, everyone else goes to the Upside Down and climbs the WSQK radio tower in an attempt to reach the “Abyss”. When they reach the top of the tower, Steve almost falls off but is saved by Jonathan. It was a selfless thing to do especially since Steve once picked on Jonathan.
When the team reached the “Abyss”, Eleven, Kali, and Max saved Holly Wheeler and the other abducted kids. Eleven fought Vecna while the kids hid through an illusion made by Kali. At the same time, the military raided Hawkins lab looking for Eleven. When Hopper refused to reveal the location of Eleven, Kali was shot and died.
In the “Abyss” the group that climbed the tower is now battling the Mind Flayer. Everyone was contributing to the destruction whether it was flamethrowing, guns or even Eleven and Will fighting Vecna from the inside. Eventually the Mind Flayer was defeated and Vecna was killed by Joyce. But the cherry on top was Eleven sacrificing herself to seal the Upside Down so nothing like that can ever happen again, ending the season 5 series. Everyone was seen 18 months later living their lives as a “happy ever after” ending.
“I think the end was good but I think it was anticlimactic. Vecna died in like 5 minutes and a lot of things didn’t make sense in the way Eleven died. I also believe more people should have died to make the ending more interesting. Overall it was a good season though and we found a lot of things out about the characters backstories,’ said Taylor Badger, A student at Bellefonte High School.
Many people think that the ending was okay, just not amazing. The music choice of Purple Rain by Prince was a highlight of the final scene between Mike and Eleven. The music matched the dialogue of Mike and Eleven saying their goodbyes with the line, “It’s such a shame our friendship had to end.”
Needless to say, it was a bittersweet ending to an amazing show.