Plot: The fall of 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding. As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time.
Review: The finale of Stranger Things is here. As a critic, I usually get the chance to watch episodes in advance to prepare my review, but to avoid spoilers, Netflix kept the eighth and final episode of Stranger Things 5 under wraps until it simultaneously debuted on the streaming platform and in cinemas around the country. The two-hour last chapter of the series temporarily brought down Netflix servers as fans clamored to find out how the story ended before the ball dropped, signalling a Happy New Year. Having now seen the anticipated episode, “The Rightside Up,” I am content with how The Duffer Brothers have tied up their sprawling genre series, even though it did not take too many chances along the way. Stranger Things 5 ends on a bright and positive note and will surely have satiated many fans. Warning: this review will contain some spoilers for the series finale. Do not continue reading if you have not watched it yet.
Opening with a shortened credit sequence and picking up right after the penultimate episode, “The Rightside Up” puts the crew’s plan into action to let Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) pull the dimensional world known as The Abyss down onto The Upside Down so they can cross over to battle him. With Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton) and the military on their trail, the battle must be fought on multiple fronts. Right away, the action kicks off as Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and her sister Kali (Linnea Berthelsen) work with Max (Sadie Sink) to get into Vecna’s mind. At the same time, everyone else attempts to climb the radio tower in the Upside Down when it is close enough. This early action sequence showcases some impressive special effects work and offers the first of many teases of characters dying that ultimately do not come to fruition. What does happen are several moments where characters take the time to chat about their relationships, this time pairing Will (Noah Schnapp) and Mike (Finn Wolfhard), rivals Steve (Joe Keery) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), as well as Hopper (David Harbour) and Eleven. Each pairing takes a minute or two, but it is clearly designed to provide audiences with additional closure.
Eventually, the major battle begins as Henry/Vecna confronts the cave that holds the truth of his true nature: he is being controlled by the alien monster known as The Mind Flayer. Unifying with the gigantic beast, Vecna engages the human heroes in a battle that resembles a Marvel Studios action sequence, as directed by Guillermo Del Toro. The action is brutal and massive, leading to Eleven and Vecna’s much-anticipated fight, which also includes Will getting the chance to use his newfound abilities. While it comes as no surprise, Eleven and friends vanquish their foe and save the world, including the kidnapped kids. The battle is an entertaining one that also boasts Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) finally getting her moment to shine while also delivering the series’ sole f-bomb. It is a great moment, but it also comes with forty-five minutes left in the episode. Eleven saves the group one more time when she sacrifices herself to close the portal to The Upside Down for good and prevent the military from gaining any more power. This results in an emotionally devastating final scene with Mike, followed by the reactions of all of her friends to losing their friend. Now, with half of an hour left, what will The Duffer Brothers do?
To tidy up the story, the last half hour of the series jumps eighteen months into the future. With not much fanfare after serving as the second antagonist all season, the military is now gone, and Hawkins is rebuilding as a free town once again. The teens are all graduating from high school with Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) as valedictorian. The older kids are now off at college, while Steve is working as a coach and teacher. Hopper proposes to Joyce, and they decide to move to Montauk to start over, a clever nod to the original New York setting and title of this series before the Duffers settled on Stranger Things. Everyone is finally happy again, except for Mike, who still mourns the loss of Eleven. After a heart-to-heart with Hopper, Mike attends his graduation, and the friends meet for one final game of Dungeons & Dragons. After they play, Mike tells the story to each friend of where he sees their lives going next before telling his theory that Eleven did not die but faked her death with Kali’s help. We see Eleven living in a faraway place and are left to wonder if she really made it or if this is just wishful thinking. The episode concludes with Mike’s sister, Holly (Nell Fisher), and her friends launching their own D&D campaign, passing the mantle to the next generation.
Written and directed by Matt and Ross Duffer, the finale of Stranger Things 5 delivered bombastic action in two major sequences and did not result in the deaths of any main characters. While you do not have to kill characters off to make for a satisfying ending, the idea that a foe as substantial as Vecna and the Mind Flayer end up being defeated with no casualties seems a bit unrealistic. Everyone gets something to do in the last push, including Murray (Brett Gelman), but it all ties up in a massive otherworldly fight that is ninety percent CGI and as far from where the series started as it could get. The Duffers had a vision for where this story would go, and I am going to trust that this was always what they wanted the ending to be like. However, it does feel somewhat safe that everything ends on a happy note. The flood of sentimentality in the final hour of the series filled me with emotion after I had joined these characters over the last decade, but it also made me wonder if there was a point to some of what they faced. Linda Hamilton was a great addition to the cast. Still, the presence of the army in Hawkins ultimately served almost no purpose other than plot convenience, and it was then removed once the story no longer required it. The only major casualty in the season also turned out to be a supporting player who was brought back halfway through the season. Again, these are nitpicks, but ones that detracted from the overall momentum of the show.
Despite my nitpicks, I found myself satisfied as the end credits of Stranger Things 5 began to roll. I will admit I held out for a potential post-credit scene (there isn’t one), and I am glad to know where all of these characters will be headed in the 1990s, as they still have their lives ahead of them. While I prefer my endings a bit messier and with more emotional scarring, Stranger Things 5 held onto its nostalgic core and gave us a reason to hope for what comes next after these characters endured years of hell instead of childhood. The scars remain, but hope prevails. While fans will continue to theorize whether Eleven is alive or not, this is the best way to keep fans talking about something after it is over. Stranger Things 5 had a daunting challenge to wrap up this much story in just two hours, and overall, I think The Duffer Brothers stuck the landing. There is something for everyone and just enough left open for a potential return if the right story ever comes around, but Stranger Things has gone out with a bang and one of the best action sequences of the year, big screen or small. I will be sad to not return to this world, but I am excited for whatever The Duffers work on next.
Stranger Things 5 finale is now streaming on Netflix.
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Source:
JoBlo.com
