Featuring a giant, evil spider monster, a mysterious briefcase and several emotional characters saying goodbye, “Stranger Things” now it has become a thing of the past.
The Netflix series that capitalized on homages to the 80s and synths mixed with hits pop ended its fifth and final season with one, released on New Year’s Eve, in which no one (really) died, lifelong friendships were forged in fire, and a bunch of Dungeons and Dragons nerds finally graduated from high school (although everyone looks old enough to have already attended college).
The first two parts of the season – released unceremoniously right at Thanksgiving and Christmas – set the stage for this latest adventure, putting the pieces in place for a climactic showdown in an episode titled “The ‘Right’ World” that called upon virtually every surviving member of the expanded cast (even Mr. Clarke!) to defeat Vecna, aka Henry Creel, aka One.
In a behind-the-scenes video released ahead of the episode, the “Stranger Things” co-creator, Ross Duffersaid that since it was the last episode of the series, they wanted to “make it as big as possible, and I don’t think we could add another character, I think it would all fall apart.” This was confirmed in this final stretch – some characters barely uttered a word in the last episode, not for lack of urgency, but simply because there was no space or time for it.
Still, tension was high as Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) was faced with a crucial choice about what to do in the end, because even if the Upside Down was irrevocably destroyed, its mere existence could pave the way for a new version and a new threat like Vecna.
Ironically, his dilemma wasn’t much different from the Terminator’s. Arnold Schwarzenegger in the second film of the franchise, which also featured Linda Hamilton in the cast. In the 5th season of “Stranger Things”, Dr. Kay, played by Hamilton, came to represent the dark and evil militaristic organization that, like Skynet in the films of “Terminator”would not hesitate to capture Eleven and use her to reproduce the madness of the Upside Down.
Ultimately, Eleven employs a strategy that has been seen in a much more recent film franchise called “Wicked”in which the girl with magical powers intentionally lets everyone—even those she loves most—believe she is dead, when in fact she is exploring new, distant lands.
As for Vecna’s ending, it turned out that theatergoers had the upper hand in the outcome, as the clues about Henry’s transformation into Vecna, presented in the Broadway production, were heavily referenced in the ending.
For many who haven’t seen the Tony-winning Broadway show, it explores Henry’s origins and his connection to the repressed memories of his childhood, which were gradually revealed in Season 5. Everything revolves around a suitcase that young Henry finds in a cave, the contents of which begin his descent into the Upside Down. Useful context, via Nerdist and Reddit: The briefcase contains a sample of Dimension X particles, stolen from a laboratory, which invade Henry’s body and begin the process of his transformation into Vecna, opening the door to the Upside Down and the creation of Eleven and her “siblings”. It makes sense? Don’t worry if the answer isn’t a resounding yes.
Instead, it’s fun to get lost in admiration for the Vecna-bonded Mind Flayer, who in the final episode is finally shown in all his glory as a Kaiju-sized spider. He chases our Hawkins heroes into Dimension X, but finally dies when they demonstrate how teamwork really makes the dream happen. Honorable mention for Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer) in her role as Sigourney Weaver in “Aliens”wielding weapons, and to Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) again using his newfound magic.
But if you paused the episode during the final confrontation and were surprised to see that there was still at least 40 minutes left in the episode, you probably weren’t alone. The denouement of this movie-length episode was extensive, with a lot of screen time dedicated to concluding the stories of various characters, such as Hopper (David Harbour) finally getting his long awaited date with Joyce (Winona Ryder) and getting straight to the point to ask her to marry him, and a hilarious high school graduation sequence that showcased Dustin’s rebellious brilliance (Gaten Matarazzo) honoring the dearly departed Eddie (Joseph Quinn).
There were also some great musical forays, with highlights being two megahits by Prince: “When Doves Cry” e “Purple Rain”.
After such a strange year, making sure everyone got a happy ending on “Stranger Things” was more than welcome.
