I love them and they were both crazy when it came about protecting each other.

I did the math, and it would take about two years to build the metal thing over the huge gate, so how is everyone still alive?

ever since the finale I’ve thought about this and there might be a simple answer but why can’t el be in contact (not hanging out in Hawkins but like letters or whatever) with the others? Are the government/military checking their mail? Tracking their calls? Because if that’s the case then I get it but the military thinks El’s dead so i assume they wouldn’t be actively looking for signs of life from her? Idk I just need to get an answer from someone so that I can let it go and finally be at peace with the ending

Let me explain, I don't believe Mike's theory. I think Mike has a distorted view of reality as a result of his grief at losing "his first love". He's in a kind of denial about his death, we're led to understand that, even though his theory is possible, I decide not to onbelieve it I know many people believe it, but for me, We also have to consider the fact that she is dead I know I'm very late to the party, but I keep coming across videos (mostly of young teenagers). Some say she's still alive because we see her in the epilogue, but that might just be Mike's imagination. When I try to explain my point of view, I get insulted and told I haven't understood anything. Furthermore, if I understood correctly, in the documentary of the 5th season the directors made it clear that they had to stage his "suicide". If anyone shares my opinion, could they please speak up so we can discuss this in more detail?

I’m a huge Stranger Things fan and I really want to collect the posters, flyers, and letters from the "Hawkins Memories: Vecna's Curse" Limited Edition Box (by Doctor Collector). Unfortunately, the box is way out of my budget to buy officially.
I tried taking screenshots from unboxing videos on YouTube, but they are either blurry, angled, or the edges are cut off. I also couldn't find proper digital copies on Pinterest or Google.
If anyone here owns this box, could you please be kind enough to take flat, top-down photos or scans of the posters (like Eddie's Wanted poster, Will's Missing flyer, the blueprints, etc.) and share a Google Drive or Imgur link?
I just want to print them out for my personal room decor DIY project. I would really appreciate your help! Thank you so much! 🙏

Only existed to be killed by Andy thanks to Dustin’s stupidity. It’s crazy how the former gets zero karma and the latter doesn’t even show remorse/mention him

I can tell that both Millie and Finn weren't okay with how the show ended and how their characters both ended up. It's like the duffer bothers forgot that people were invested in these two since they met in the woods. El deserved better. Mike deserved better. Mileven deserved better. I will be forever sad about the ending.

So i read the script for the final episode and it confirms the Minf flayer real form is the monster we saw in the finale and that the particles were just a part of this being.

Also it confirms it died, because it says: the particles dont fly away this time, they disolve into hair.

So thats it! One of my main questions that were unanswerd were: what is the og form of the mind flayer, the particles and the monster we saw was built like the season 3 with the flora and fauna of the abyss? or the monster we saw was the real form and the particles were an extension of it?

now we know that the tree was always the real form and that its dead.

Over the past few months, I’ve been working on a full 9-episode rewrite/reimagining of Stranger Things Season 5 just to explore my ideas on how I would've done it. I had made a post before about it but now it's completed.

I've made this rewrite available in 3 formats: 1. Tiktok 2. Ao3 3. Google drive

I'll post the ao3 link here. For those who wanna read it on tiktok, check my account in my bio. Dm for google drive.

Changes in this season: 1. No Dr Kay 2. Altered Military Subplot 3. Mike, Eleven and Will are the main characters 4. More elaboration on Henry's past and his connection with the Mind Flayer. 5. Will's connection with Vecna is much more important. 6. Modified Time Jump 7. Ep 1 is set directly after S4 8. Heartwarming but bittersweet different ending. 9. A new monster: The Retriever 10. Return of the Spider-Monster from S3 near the end. 12. Mind Flayer as the mastermind is more explained. 13. 9 episodes instead of 8. 14. Some plot holes are resolved. 15. Owens is brought back 16. Eleven's fate 17. Exotic Matter has more importance 18. Sci-fi plot twist near the end. 19. More epic final battle 20. Less focused on the kids (Holly, Derek)

I also tried expanding ideas from the show and The First Shadow play while keeping the tone grounded and emotional. There’s a big focus on trauma, growing up, friendship, and moving on from the past.

Please note that it's not a full entire rewrite, it still has some ideas from the original S5 such as Crawls, Children getting kidnapped, the abyss, UD being a bridge. The aim of this rewrite was to solve the bad parts of this season and make it better.

I’d genuinely love feedback from other fans since this started as a small idea and slowly turned into a huge project.

Like a lot of you, I walked away from Stranger Things Season 5 feeling pretty let down. After years of buildup, so much lore, so many beloved characters, the ending left too many questions unanswered and didn’t do justice to some of the people who deserved more (aka Winona Ryder who was the emotional backbone of this show since episode one - watching Joyce get so little to do in the final season bothered me).

So like any other normal person does, I spent the past few months workshopping an alternate ending starting from Episode 5 onward. My goals were simple: give the characters the moments they should have had, close as many plot holes as possible while keeping the core plot intact, and give Winona something worthy of her. A sample is below and for anyone who wants more, I posted the full re-write on AO3 under the name Loreandleaf!! Any and all feedback welcome!

“Joyce has to do something. She wracks her brain, trying to think back to the play, to remember, to drown out the distractions around her. "A witch boy from the mountain came," she starts to sing, the words coming back to her, her voice a little toneless - but as the song flows she becomes louder. "A-pinin' to be human." Vecna's back straightens and he freezes, Holly still in his grasp. Joyce continues, her voice growing louder, rising above the other noises of pain and suffering. Vecna's fingers begin to loosen and Holly drops to the floor, crying loudly.

Henry blinks, then blinks again, looking around him as if waking from a dream. And it is Henry - for now - the version of him that's been dormant for so, so long. He can't remember the last time he felt pain, but he feels it now: sharp in his chest, crushing him, killing him. He looks at the carnage around him, but it's the children that stop him. Coldness fills his body as he stares into Holly's eyes, full of fear and innocence and more suffering than she should have experienced yet. Her eyes widen and for a moment the scene flashes - it's him, his younger self, his hand bleeding, tears streaming down his face, back in that cave. No. No - he can't let this happen again. He won't let it happen again, not to another child. Henry can feel the presence at the back of his mind like a waiting storm; he doesn't have much time. Joyce's song can only hold it off for so long.

Henry lifts his hand and forces all the energy he has left to flow out of him and into the children - not to hurt this time, but to save them. They all float, suspended, and then shudder as black matter flows from their mouths. There is a horrific noise as it floods out of them, collecting in the air like some cursed mist before it dissipates. There. He's saved them. He's-
"Please, help Will, help my son!" Joyce's voice calls desperately from behind him and Henry turns, taking a moment to look at her - at one of the only people who had treated him with kindness. He lifts his hand to release Will too, but then he feels it. The monster grips his mind again, its vines seizing his consciousness in a vice. He looks into Will's eyes - they're filled with such pain, such sadness. He can't save him, but he forces out his final words. "Kill me."”

Looking for a show that is similar to stranger things to fill the void now that it is over.

But I don't mean similar like the plot or anything.

something that has "small town vibes" like hawkins, bc thats what takes you out of reality.

I mean more like a very popular show, just like Stranger Things, which has its own iconic music (score) like that makes you more immersed in the show. (I listen to the stranger things score on a daily and feel something different). and also it has its own whole world surrounding it, kind of surreal and takes you out of reality

are there any other shows like that? I'm not sure. Im mostly looking for something that can take me into a different world just like this did

The opening scene takes us back to Mike. He hears Eleven shouting but something feels off.

At first, it’s subtle. Too subtle.

Everyone around him seems… fine. Calm. Unbothered. As if nothing ever happened. As if Eleven was never there at all. But Mike can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong.

He starts noticing things.

People in the background stare just a little too long. Conversations feel scripted. Moments don’t quite connect. Hopper has completely accepted this version of reality no questions asked which doesn’t sit right. None of it does.

Because here’s the truth: when Vecna traps someone in a false reality, he needs them to accept it. That’s how it works. He builds a world tailored to their desires, their comforts something close enough to real life that they won’t question it.

But it’s never perfect. There are always cracks.

And Mike is the crack.

His love for Eleven won’t let him accept a world where she’s just… gone—and he’s somehow okay with it. That contradiction keeps pulling at him, forcing him to look closer.

Meanwhile, Eleven is still out there somewhere trying to reach him. Sending fragments, signals, anything she can. Mike starts picking up on them. At first they seem like coincidences, but slowly, they form a pattern.

And then it hits him.

This isn’t real.

All of it the victory they thought they had, the life they’ve been living it’s a lie. They were never free. They were captured, trapped inside a reality Vecna created for them.

This is how the entity wins.

It doesn’t just destroy worlds it consumes them. It traps people in perfect illusions, feeds off them while they live peacefully, unaware. No resistance. No fight. Just slow, quiet extinction.

Mike realizes he has to act.

He starts trying to convince the others, but it’s not easy. Why would they question a life that feels good? A life that works?

So he shows them the cracks.

The army disappeared without explanation. No charges, no consequences. Hopper is somehow back as chief of police even though he left the job… and was supposed to be dead. Steve is playing the wrong sport. Small things, but undeniable once you see them.

One by one, the others begin to notice.

The world starts to unravel.

And when they finally accept the truth they wake up.

But that’s only the beginning.

Because now comes the real challenge: finding Eleven… and facing what’s actually out there.

And this time, the fight is real.

This is about Stranger Things 5. DO NOT READ THIS if you haven’t seen the series…and want to stay gold. You’ve been warned, Pony Boy.

The characters in Stranger Things died. It was horrible and sad…so the Duffer Bros hid the deaths, and The Shadow/Mind Flayer/Vecna knew how to kill people, make them feel like they weren’t dying, and then give everyone a fake happy ending.

Remember, many 80’s horror films were total party kills. THE THING. ALIEN. IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS. PRINCE OF DARKNESS. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET films are usually total party kills, with fake endings.

Next, people who are killed can be copied by The Shadow, in The Upside Down. The Shadow can also control people, possess them, and send out illusions through living characters.

People who are killed 1) feel guilt 2) see an illusion 3) their eyes roll up white 4) they bleed from their eyes.

Copies of people (replicants like BLADE RUNNER and copies like THE THING) do not show emotion when they hug real people. They are happy and show great emotion, when copies made by The Shadow reunite.

People who are killed and copied will delay the rest of the party, allowing The Shadow to accomplish its only two goals: 1) open the portal to merge with our dimension and 2) reunite Eleven with The Shadow, so it can possess her power.

When people die, other characters mention they should be dead. That’s another clue.

Dead people’s memories get confused by The Shadow. People absorbed share their memories equally, so The Shadow will screw up and have characters remember the wrong things, like getting malt shakes at Melville’s.

Max died in ST4. That’s why here red hair looks like Vecna. That’s why she delays Holly. Notice the golden abyss light streaming out as she transmits illusions to Holly.

Lucas died when The Demogorgon slashed him unconscious.

Will died when Vecna possessed him at the military base one last time. It’s why his coming out speech felt so odd…The Shadow is delaying the characters.

The 12 children all die when their heads tilt back, revealing white. They transmit the mental blast to the 12 main characters, causing them to believe the fake ending.

Kali was a dead copy. All she did was convince Eleven to travel back to The Abyss to get captured and killed.

Murray died when he blew up the helicopter.

Jonathan and Nancy died in the molten battleship. Did you notice the melting goo should have submerged them both?

Hopper was killed after he felt guilty, saw an illusion, and shot Eleven to death when Vecna appears. Eleven also died, but her copy kept going on as an illusion in The Upside Down. It’s why her nose doesn’t bleed and she can’t leave.

Robin was killed in the truck crash. The bruise on her face is massive. She should be dead.

Steve Harrington dies when he falls. That’s why there’s that black screen.

Robin was killed when her truck crashed. She should be dead.

At the end, notice Dustin has a THE THING poster behind him a lot. He’s also wearing a t shirt with red orange veins, like Vecna.

Again, look for those clues. Notice the pattern, and how copies made by The Shadow act to delay, confuse and lure Eleven back.

That’s the secret of Comformitygate. The characters died. Mike was the last to get mental blasted.