My Reflection on the End of Stranger Things
Like most Stranger Things fans, my holidays were spent speculating on how the decade-long saga would wrap up and waiting on pins and needles for the next episode(s) to drop. I’m not a huge sci-fi or horror fan, so it was surprising to most that I was so passionate about this show. When we watched the finale, I was full of emotions and swirling thoughts. It took me days to process through everything I was thinking and feeling. I had to watch everything twice to fully grasp all that happened. I was so surprised when Eight turned out to be good (I had my doubts after the first four episodes). My mind was blown trying to wrap my head around the different dimension and wormhole revelation. And I was confused about quite a few things: Where was Dr. Owens, who played such an integral part of Seasons 3 & 4? Where was Suzie? Where were the demogorgons, demodogs, and demobats in Dimension X? Where did the evil dust that the kids coughed up, the dust that we all assumed was the origin of the evil that corrupted Henry, go? And my biggest confusion…how did Max graduate with the rest of the party when she was already struggling academically before she was hurt and then spent 18 more months in a coma? (She must have had some amazing friends/tutors to help catch her up!)
But despite some of the plot holes and unanswered questions, there were so many things I loved about the final season, from the perfect “needle drops” (Diana Ross’s Upside Down, Tiffany’s I Think We’re Alone Now, Prince’s Purple Rain, to name a few), to the incorporation of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, one of my favorite childhood books. I loved how everything…I mean EVERYTHING, came full circle, like Dustin’s valedictorian speech as a mirror for what Eddie had planned for his own graduation. I loved that Hopper was wearing his daughters’ hairtie again at the end. And Stacey, the girl who blew off Dustin in Season 2 at the SnowBall, invited the group to a party after they graduated. I loved that Joyce and Hopper finally had their date at Enzos and got their happy ending. I loved that we got to see Lucas and Max at the movies, like their drawing from Season 4. The colors that El wore in the final “I Believe” scene were even the same colors she had worn in season one, when she had on the borrowed pink dress and blue jacket.
I loved every single one of these actors’ portrayal of their characters. The scene between Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas) and Sadie Sink (Max) when she finally came out of her coma was beautifully done, and the last scene between Finn Wolfhard (Mike) and Millie Bobbie Brown (Eleven) was gut-wrenching. I loved that Dustin and Steve’s friendship endured, and that Nancy ended up on her own, a strong, independent woman figuring out her place in the world without being tied down to either Jonathan or Steve. I loved that the characters’ trauma and grief for all they had suffered was so real. They were able to help each other through those hardships and never gave up on each other. And call me unrealistic, but I LOVED that most of our beloved characters survived (I believe.).
I loved that the moms were so important…Karen “with her wine” and laundry trick and Joyce with her axe from season one, finally getting to use it against the monster who took her son. How every hit she made flashed back to every single trauma Vecna had inflicted. I loved the scene on the roof between Jonathan, Nancy, Steve, and Robin, and how genuine it was; the struggle of friends to stay connected even though everyone’s lives are changing is something all of us “old fans” have experienced. I loved the cinematography and how the very last scenes of Season Five were filmed identically to the very first scenes of Season One. And when the kids put their D&D notebooks up and the next generation of basement kids took over the game, I thought of all the phases of my own life that I have watched come to an end and how perfectly authentic that moment was.
I loved that Vecna/Henry/One was finally confronted with his evil side and that it was clear that it was his choice to remain corrupted, which is such an important truth to recognize about humanity. We all have a choice when we are confronted with evil—we can choose to resist, or we can choose to embrace it and let it corrupt us. But ultimately, it is our choice. While we can all choose redemption, some don’t, and Vecna/Henry/One didn’t. I loved that not everyone got a happy ending, because that is real life. This world that we live in is full of suffering and pain. It’s how we respond to it that matters. But I love that GOOD WON. Loyalty, friendship, and love were not in vain. And if you are a Believer, we all know that is how it will ultimately go down in the end.
No, I was not a conformity gate subscriber. But it was fascinating to watch how many fans found evidence of something that never existed and how quickly people were sucked into the cult-like theories. This whole phenomenon is so resonant with how our postmodern world thinks. You don’t like how something is? Change the narrative. Something doesn’t fit into your personal worldview? Demand that it be rewritten, how you want it to be. Whine and complain until you get what you want. Use AI to create your own version of things. But this was the Duffer Brothers’ story, not ours. They had the right to end it however they wanted. The truth is that everything does not have to be as we want it; we just have to accept the way things are. And personally, I loved their story.
But even after so much love for this show, the most overwhelming feeling I have had is grief.
Grief, not because of how it ended, although it was definitely full of heart-wrenching moments, but sadness that it was ending. Not only was I saying goodbye to this beautiful show that I’ve spent the last nine years invested in, the show that started before Covid and carried us through the pandemic, the show that my oldest son began watching with me a couple of years ago and that we have bonded over, the show that I have spent the last several years discussing in a Stranger Things fan club at my school, giving me a very unique connection with a fun little group of nerds, the show that I have connected with some of my photography clients about… there’s a part of me that feels like I am saying goodbye to my childhood.
You see, I grew up in the 80s. I would have been a middle schooler in 1989, probably Holly’s age. I wore those clothes. I listened to that music. I rode around the neighborhood with my friends on bikes, unchaperoned, until dark (minus the monsters). I am a full-blown Gen X’er. I will turn 50 this year. FIFTY. Half a century old. I know the 80s have been over for quite some time and we are now a quarter of the way into another century, but the 80s have never felt that far away for me. I had just hit my 40s when Stranger Things was released, and because it became such a worldwide phenomenon, the music, clothing, and nostalgia of the 80s was given a rebirth. But now it’s over…and so feels the last bit of connection to my childhood. I think that is where the biggest lump in my throat comes from. I don’t want to say goodbye.
So thank you, Duffer Brothers, for writing this love story to Generation X. Thank you for giving my childhood a present-day relevance. Thank you for helping me feel young again, even though I am FAR from it. Thank you for giving me something I can share with my students and my own children. Thank you for writing such a beautiful story with such well-developed characters, friendships, and love stories…I have often referred to you as literary geniuses for that. Thank you for showing the world that it’s ok to be a little different, that if you look hard enough and keep an open heart, there will always be people out there who will love you for exactly who you are. And thank you for giving me a whole new set of memories to go with Every Breath You Take, Separate Ways/Worlds Apart, Running Up That Hill, and Purple Rain…I will never be able to unsee that amazing imagery you created for us.
Good luck to all of those talented young actors and actresses, who are just beginning their lives and careers. The world is your oyster. Don’t let society pressure you to be anyone YOU don’t want to be. And don’t blink. Cherish every moment. Make an effort to stay in touch with those friends you made over this last decade…but if eventually you lose touch, know that it’s not the end of the world, because you all shared an amazing decade and created a brilliant story that will live on for generations to come.
To read the other two blog posts I wrote over the years about the impact of Stranger Things on our lives, check out the following:
Kimberly Cauble…
…is a middle school English teacher, wedding and portrait photographer, mother of two wild boys, reader, writer, and lifelong GenX kid. She loves finding connections between her life and faith and stories in pop culture. And she believes.