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Stranger Things forgets its own story in disappointing finale
A culmination of a 10-year-long science fiction saga, Netflix’s Stranger Things capped off its final, fifth season’s eight episodes in three parts across last December in a finale with spectacular highs and hilarious lows.
Following the initial defeat of series villain Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) at the end of the fourth season, the Hawkins group of too many characters to name are actively attempting to hunt him in the interdimensional Upside Down and kill the psychic-powered megalomaniac for good.
At the same time, the US military has quarantined the entirety of Hawkins as they attempt to capture Eleven/Jane Hopper (Millie Bobby Brown), whilst also carrying out secret missions in the Upside Down.
Age shows, show strains
Now clearly showing its age, beyond just how the core members of the young cast have out-aged their characters, the final season of Stranger Things is a rollercoaster of varying quality, with the ride itself going through similar narrative loops seen in previous seasons.
From its juggling of multiple plot threads and a huge cast who seem have it in their contracts that each need to have equal screen time, the season misfires as often as it effectively handles other elements well.
A long-standing strength of the series is how creators and showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer are very good at selling the different degrees of emotions and drama that come from having an eclectic cast consisting of children, young adults and actual adults.
That does not change with the fifth season, with standout scenes such as Dustin’s (Gaten Matarazzo) confession on not wanting to lose Steve (Joe Keery), or the final bittersweet gathering between Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), Steve and Robin (Maya Hawke).
However, what does change between this season and the previous four is how the Duffer brothers completely drop the ball in developing and writing a coherent story.
Rushed finale, limp payoff
Almost at the same level of terrible as Game of Thrones’ final season, Stranger Things ends on a sour note, with a lukewarm finale that is only rivalled by how many plot inconsistencies, plot holes and poor narrative choices that precede it.
Nothing short of incredibly rushed, once the first “chapter” of the season ends, the Duffer brothers very visibly begin barrelling through the story, hastily checking off a grocery list of what stakeholders, talent agents, actors and fans want.
As common sense gets dropped and taut storytelling is swallowed into the aether of the Upside Down, Stranger Things devolves into rapid, oddly paced sequences that more often than not forgoes any logic.
To paint a better picture of what this means, there is an almost seven-minute-long scene of Will (Noah Schnapp) coming out to the rest of the cast, while the final battle of the Hawkins group against Vecna and the Mind Flayer is shorter than Will’s scene.
It draws the question of which is more important – Will telling his friends and family that he is gay or the group’s final fight against the two entities responsible for their individual and collective hurt, pain and robbed childhoods over the last few years?
A cyclical pattern, these dramatic sequences blast into action sequences, rinse and repeat, with none rarely earning the emotions they are meant to evoke.
Loose ends everywhere
Throughout the season, Jim (David Harbour), Eleven and others kill scores of US soldiers, before eventually stopping the plans of the soldiers’ commanding officer Dr Kay (Linda Hamilton) in the final episode.
A quick flash of an “18 months later” message, Kay and the US army are gone from Hawkins. No repercussions arose from the actions of the series’ heroes.
This is emblematic of the multitude of other plot inconsistencies and plot holes in Stranger Things’ finale, almost as though the Duffer brothers forgot what they were writing as they pumped out page after page of the script, rushing towards giving a contrived happy ending for everyone.
The final battle not being the longest action sequence in the series, putting the characters through the wringer in one final, desperate push as a proper finale boggles the mind.
That too is not taking into account how the Demogorgons, Demo-dogs and Demo-bats – the bloodthirsty beasts in the Upside Down – have all up and vanished. Did Vecna ask them to use up their annual leaves for the Christmas season and go on vacation?Perhaps the Duffer brothers forgot they exist?
Or maybe, the answer to these questions and the overall big one, involving the rushed, poorly conceived season, is more of a corporate one. Perhaps these narrative holes and cavernous storytelling gaps, are actually giant cow teats protruding from Stranger Things’ udder, created and left to be milked in the future by Netflix through now-confirmed future spinoffs.
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