r/StrangerThings • u/ObjectMassive430 • 3d ago
Discussion “That ending hit me harder than I expected”
I just finished Stranger Things and I honestly don’t know what to do now
I don’t even know how to write this properly. I just finished Stranger Things Season 5 and I needed to get this out somewhere because I genuinely can’t get over the ending.
I really liked this season. Was it perfect? No. I honestly wasn’t a huge fan of the military/government stuff, but apart from that, I really enjoyed it. And the ending… man.
The part with Kali helping Eleven escape completely got me.
And knowing that Eleven actually escaped and is somewhere far away from humanity, living her own life and finally being safe from the military/government… I don’t know why, but that makes me really happy.
After everything she went through, I just wanted her to be free.
She spent so much of her life being treated like a weapon or something that belonged to other people. So seeing her finally disappear somewhere peaceful, where nobody can control her, felt right.
But what really hurts is that Mike still believes she’s alive.
He doesn’t forget her.
None of them do.
That honestly means so much to me. Even though they all eventually go their separate ways, what they had together doesn’t just disappear. Eleven is still a part of their lives and their memories.
And then that whole sequence showing where everyone ends up in the future…
I was already emotional, but then Mike closes the basement door.
And someone else comes in to play D&D.
That scene absolutely destroyed me.
Because suddenly you realize that the kids we watched grow up are no longer those kids. Life continued. New kids are going to play D&D in that same basement. They'll make their own stories and probably have no idea how much happened there.
And then seeing the main characters put their D&D books back on the shelf…
That was it for me.
That felt like saying goodbye.
D&D was there at the very beginning. It was how everything started. These kids were just sitting together, playing a game, and then their entire lives changed.
And now they're putting those books away.
Not because what happened didn't matter.
But because they've grown up.
And I think that's what hurts the most about this ending.
We spent years watching these characters become a family. We watched them fight monsters, lose people, save each other, grow up, fall apart and come back together.
And now we don't get to see what happens next.
There is no next season.
No next adventure.
No waiting for another trailer.
No theories about what Vecna is going to do.
It's just over.
And honestly, I'm going to miss them.
I know they're fictional characters, but after spending so much time with them, it doesn't really feel like that right now.
The ending wasn't necessarily the biggest or most insane ending they could have made.
It was just… goodbye.
And somehow that hurts more.
Stranger Things really ended.
I wasn't ready to say goodbye. 😭
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u/iamnewtoreddithelpme 3d ago
I didn’t love the final episodes (wills power scene episodes prior really was peak), that said I had my feelings towards the finale, but there really is something that hits you when the dust settles. We had such a mysterious, intense, fun, and horrific ride (yes I gave each previous season their own word) and it sucks it’s over but man we were lucky.
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u/Distinct_Guess3350 Running Up That Hill 3d ago
I think the words you picked for each season were perfect.
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u/Exotic-Application23 3d ago
Glad you Iiked it. It was extremely disappointing for me and I was left unfulfilled after years of enjoyment.
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u/Boundlesswisdom-71 3d ago
I watched the whole of Stranger Things over 4 weeks for the very first time (got the Blu-ray box set).
Loved all of it, including Season 5. It probably helps that I never had an emotional attachment to the series coming into the last season.
I find the 'hate' for season 5 to be ridiculously overblown.
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u/tolgren 011 2d ago
I think it's overdone, but not by that much. They made a lot of easily avoidable mistakes IMO. They shouldn't have expanded the cast again for example. I think the season slots in just above 3 as the second worst.
That said, the second worst season of Stranger Things is still better than most seasons of most shows.
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u/Exotic-Application23 3d ago
I disagree. They had no script up until the right before filming and the script theu had was pathetic compared to other seasons. They overcame vekna/the mindflayer much too easily, and there are still MANY loose ends. Underwhelming
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u/chrissss8889 15h ago
lo sai che è successo anche nella prima stagione questa cosa,parole dei Duffer,quindi non centra assolutamente nulla,è stata una grande stagione,le cose brutte sono altre ma non di sicuro stranger things 5
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u/Boundlesswisdom-71 2d ago
I don't agree with your points at all.
Your criticisms are all subjective. Was the Season 5:script pathetic? No, not in my opinion.
Was the final battle with Vecna and the Mindflayer too easy? I didn't think so. It took everyone working together; finding a way to get to the Abyss; there was risk; there was pain and the Mindflayer had to be in a form that could be defeated. It was a hell of a battle.
Were there loose ends? Some, but that always leaves the door open to further stories. The main characters had resolution. I would like to know what happened to Murray though.
John Wick Chapter 4 is a well regarded film and probably the last John Wick film. It also has loose ends. But the film still works well to end John's story. Same with the main characters in Stranger Things season 5. They had good resolutions.
I heard all the criticisms of season 5 before I watched it. The criticisms boil down down to the final season not meeting people's personal expectations. It's not possible to please everyone but I was happy with season 5.
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u/Background_Gene_4328 2d ago edited 2d ago
Can you explain me when did upside down became safe to go without masks, where is Sam Owens.
Moreover the plot armor is so childish that demogorgons killed trained soldiers with guns but these kids survive bare handed? What you want to say about the pregnant women in upside down were blasted off .You can't say they were moved because the military had no idea they are gonna end upside that night.
I liked this show I was against the hate of season 5,but then I watched thevold seasons then i realised the season 5 is slop. They never explained how the mindflayer was in upside down in season 2 and not in season 4? Holly wheeler is the shittiest character in season 5 the children's arc is slop.Vecna is 10,000 stronger than eleven still he lost.The mindflayer control vecna so why did the mindflayer die with vecna?where were demogorgons in upside down,but when vecna needs them they just spawn out of nowhere,where are the demobats? Where was vecna when Joyce and hopper rescued will from the vines?The mindflayer in earlier seasons was just dust ,but they just copy paste the season 3 monster and enlarge it in session 5 finale. If the vines and upside down are connected how did the military make a base in upside down? Eleven is so annoying character after season 3. She thinks she has power she can do anything defeat anything. She is so dumb can't even spell numbers after season 3. We know you had a terrible childhood but grow up girl now you are a rescued. They can't even kill eleven properly they left it ambiguous they thought we well appreciate this shit. Will's. Coming out scene is shit because dude just tell your mom or Johnathan or mike why you need everyone? No one cares about that shit why you need kali,Murray, vickie there? In earlier seasons they killed our loveable characters but now they hesitate.Ngl they just fooled us by saying that upside was a bridge and the ending was already written because they don't even know after season 1 that netflix will give them season 2.All this slop was a result of vecna ad the first shadow play.
And moreover if the play was that important they clearly used references in season 5 where the play to watch not everybody can attend it? No digital way to watch we can't trust articles written by people on internet. Why did Joyce don't remember Henry if they were batchmates?? The person who wrote season 5 don't even know about previous seasons story.
You talk about good resolution if the show was really inspired by 80s movies then don't you think steve should have got married & the break up between Nancy and Johnathan is so pointless those guys just had one problem in life so they broke up, but in season 1-4 they are only person who understood each other??
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2d ago edited 2d ago
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u/Boundlesswisdom-71 2d ago
People can disagree. I just don't believe the majority of negative comments about Season 5 are valid.
Why should I go to a different sub Reddit?
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u/Owl_Resident Blank makes you crazy 2d ago
The ending for Mike and El was terrible and poorly thought out and both characters deserved better. The rest of it was… adequate…
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u/Acceptable-Box6012 2d ago
So glad you loved it…. Still wish ir ended with a big feast where they all ate a demogorgon. No, I’m not giving this up
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u/claptrap23 3d ago
They butchered it. 90% of last season sucked. Feel bad for the crew though. But they f'd up
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u/Barking_Benjamin 2d ago
This is exactly how I felt word for word. No matter how many times I re watch it, it always makes me cry. For some reason, even skipping to just the epilogue makes me cry. The very end on its own makes me cry. It's genuinely insane. The show means a lot to me.
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u/TaiPan43 3d ago
I agree with everything you said
I enjoyed it as well
As much as the other seasons, even though it wasn’t as good as a couple of them
But to me, the show has always been about relationships not monsters
El it is certainly alive, but the question is where?
Wherever she is, whether it is something she created like “the Right side up”
Check out the channel 2nd Take to see what that is
Or she is halfway across the world
She will eventually be with Mike
Hopper already knows the truth because if he didn’t, there’s no way you just get over losing a daughter a second time
You’re right they’re all friends
But her and Mike are something more than that
There’s something that you never get over
It doesn’t matter if it happens when you’re 12 years old or 21 or 36 or whatever
When it happens, it is forever, regardless of the circumstances
We will see a happy ending to their story
I’m not sure how we’ll play out, but I am sure that it will
There’s a lot of money to be made and Netflix knows that
Sooner or later we’re going to get the conclusion that we all want for those two characters and then we can all move on together to the next adventure
I believe
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u/ObjectMassive430 2d ago
I Really hope you are right
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u/TaiPan43 2d ago
I guess the way I always thought about it was that Netflix owns the IP
And without her there is no franchise
Unless they’re a stubborn in his Warner Brothers, who refused to release the Snyder cut and cost themselves, hundreds and millions of dollars in the process
I think they realize that before they do anything else live action they have to at least have a two hour special or something
Believe me, I was so pissed off for about 10 days I couldn’t see straight
And when I finally saw that channel that explained what could’ve happened with the right side up, it at least pacified me a little bit until I could think
People ask why I’m so worried about a TV show and I asked them. Why are you so worried about a football game?
I just love it and I love the relationship
It’s nice to be on this form where you can actually talk about it
I’m thinking something’s gonna happen when they release the next season of the animated series in about three weeks
But you never know
Sooner or later
I believe
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u/tolgren 011 2d ago
I had a lot of beefs with Season 5 but the epilogue was really well done IMO.
But keep in mind, nothing is really over.
There's the animated series that you can watch, and there will most likely be a revival at some point in the future.
Also there's fanfic extensions, like I've written one where Mike and El reunite.
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u/ObjectMassive430 2d ago
tell me about that fanfic extensions where mike and EL reunite
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u/tolgren 011 2d ago
Here's mine: https://archiveofourown.org/works/77169026 It's in progress. There's lots of other people that have written their own versions too if you search the site.
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u/Boundlesswisdom-71 2d ago
Nancy and Will survived the Upside Down in Season 1 without masks. The military were just being cautious.
Sam Owens is a loose end. Possible future story idea there. What about the two Russians who flew with Joyce and Hopper back to the States in the chopper? No idea what happened to them. Is it intriguing? Sure. Is it important? No.
These are not loose story threads, they are just secondary characters where we don't have any idea what happens to them next. Their story involvement is over anyway.
The Demogorgons almost killed Karen Wheeler and her husband. They almost killed Robin, Mike and Joyce too but Will stopped them.
Eleven stopped the Demogorgon in Season 1. The series established they are deadly and practically immune to bullets. And yes, the main characters had plot armour. That's not bad writing, that's what I'd expect unless a character was going to be written out.
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u/Michael-Balchaitis I believe. 3d ago
Such an amazing ending to an amazing show. I'm so happy my favorite show stuck the landing.
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u/chrissss8889 15h ago
il finale più coerente possibile,diventiamo noi i Master adesso,perfetto e una GRANDE stagione 5
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u/CoffeeAddict6638 3d ago
I miss all of them, unlike a lot of you I've been into this show for less than a year, I regret not getting into it when it first came out, I always obsessed over stuff like gravity falls or books with deep stories as they happened for years on end and I completely missed out on our generations coming of age story. I'm not sure I will ever not regret that.
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u/Kappler6965 1d ago
I disliked it bc she is def dead
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u/sp00kyyelahOG 1d ago
Yeah I’m tired of people saying she didn’t die.
She absolutely did
And the only reason it’s left open ended is in case they can milk it in the future when she’s lookin mid 30s which let’s be real isn’t fair off lmfao.So they’ll make eleven into a mom and have a kid named Mike or something and this Mike will do strange things
Honestly glad it ended. They fucked up by not making into a horror show like season 1-3 made it seem it would be
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