The End of A Pop Culture Phenomenon: Stranger Things Finale
What fans and critics are saying about the ending. (This article contains spoilers from the finale of Stranger Things 5.)
by LILY SMITH ★ January 11th, 2026
Design by: Maia Simmons
After a decade, one of Netflix's most-streamed TV series, Stranger Things, finally came to an end on December 31. The series finale, also released in movie theaters, as Variety called it, ‘event-ized’ its conclusion, and amassed over $25 million in box office sales.
The end of any show, especially a cultural phenomenon such as this, is bittersweet for fans. However, the Stranger Things fandom, collectively known as ‘nerds’, has had vastly differing opinions on the series finale. Many fans have applauded it as cathartic and a gratifying conclusion to the series, while others have expressed their disappointment, claiming substandard writing and storytelling as the reason for their letdown.
It is true that the epilogue of the finale left some small gaps and questions to be answered, such as what happened to Vickie and whether she and Robin are still together in the epilogue. Where did the military that occupied Hawkins go? And the biggest question, although not so much a plot hole, is, did Eleven survive? The last question is up to interpretation.
Kayleigh Donaldson of The Wrap claims that the overexpansion of this blockbuster series as the overarching reason why many fans felt its ending was anticlimactic and lackluster. It is a fate that many successful TV shows have fallen to, including Game of Thrones, which Stranger Things is often compared to. Donaldson claims the issues of Season 5 began with Season 4 as the characters spread out to different places with their own subplots, and the episodes became ‘bloated’ with lengthy runtimes. Because of this and the series's extremely large budget, a lot of the creative focus was lost in the storytelling. Angie Han, in her and Daniel Feinberg's Critics’ Conversation of The Hollywood Reporter, similarly said that the show had reached its creative maximum and put anything storywise they could into the show to see if it would stand out to audiences.
Overall, critics generally agree that the finale had a pleasing enough ending, but played it a bit too safe and had some narrative weaknesses. They acknowledge that in today’s pop culture environment, any artistic body of work is subject to people, as Bob Strauss of The Wrap stated, ‘nitpick the thing to death.’
Interestingly, this ‘nitpicking’ led to a viewer-wide TikTok conspiracy theory known as Conformity Gate, in which believers claimed that the finale was not the last episode of Stranger Things and that a secret episode –’ Episode 9’ was releasing January 7, 2026. This theory claims that the epilogue isn’t real and is actually a delusion created by the thought-to-be-dead Vecna. Fans noticed discrete details in the finale, such as the shot of the Dungeons and Dragons books arranged so the last letters on their spines spell out “X A LIE”, meaning that Dimension X is a fabrication.
No new episode was released on January 7, ultimately proving the theory incorrect. Still, for many devoted fans (‘nerds’), speculating about a surprise release became a welcome distraction from the reality that Stranger Things had truly come to an end. Many viewers grew up alongside the series, making the finale an emotional and deeply nostalgic experience. The inclusion of iconic songs such as “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac and “Purple Rain” by Prince only heightened that emotional impact, turning the final episode into a powerful send-off for the show.
As a fan who has been watching the show for the past seven years, I sympathize with the feeling. I still remember vividly how excited I was at 12 years old to dress up as Robin in the Scoops Ahoy outfit for Halloween. Watching the finale surrounded by my friends who have also grown up with the show definitely elicited a strong nostalgic feeling, when we weren’t freaking out because Steve almost fell off the radio tower.
Personally, I felt the ending was good. Being with friends made me super excited. I’ll never forget screaming our heads off at Steve, almost dying. And although I understand why some fans are disappointed, I don’t think that I would have been satisfied if it had been a bloodbath as they anticipated. After what these characters have been through, they deserve a peaceful ending. And while there may have been some small gaps, I think this was made up for with scenes like Will’s coming out and Derek’s iconic delivery of ‘Suck my fat one!’ to Vecna.
Whether you’re a ‘nerd’ who loved the finale or disliked it, the one lesson that can be agreed upon is that Stranger Things taught us we can be heroes too.
Edited by: Maia Simmons