Season five starts with a bang: 7 year old Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) is kidnapped, and our beloved group of heroes scramble to save her from the humanoid monster Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower.) Holly becomes a critical character for the season, but that decision was a mistake. Fisher aces the role, but introducing Wheeler as a main character highlights the show’s fundamental problem — there are too many characters. By focusing on Wheeler, the show’s focus drifts away from the main characters, especially the core kids who have defined the show from the beginning. The shift causes this season’s storyline to feel ill-paced and clumsy, as several beloved characters do little to nothing throughout its episodes, while a previously unimportant character dominates the screen. 

As the last episode began, many fans were expecting the final battle to be intense and epic, but they were mistaken — the final showdown between the Hawkins gang and Vecna was lackluster. Vecna and the Mindflayer were once menacing and mysterious. By season five, they lost some of their horror, leaving some fans confused online. The final battle was yet another instance of the choppy storyline of season five, but even more so of the excessive world building throughout the past several seasons. The Duffer Brothers try to make each season bigger and more exciting than the preceding one, but the finale falls short. Not only did they abandon the small-town mystery and eldritch horror themes of seasons one and two, but their world-building causes the storyline to spin out of control. There are simply too many obstacles and questions for season five to acknowledge, causing the directors to revise or disregard certain details of the Upside Down, like its toxicity back in season one or its Demobats in season four, whenever such edits were necessary. 

The epilogue of Season five’s finale, on the other hand, was a feat of storytelling and its saving grace.. Despite the many issues throughout the season, the epilogue is well-crafted. The final 30 minutes echo back to the themes and elements of season one, concluding the show on a bittersweet note. With “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac setting the tone, we see the characters begin to move on with their lives, hopeful for what the future holds but saddened that their time together is coming to a close.

Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown)’s ending in particular is left ambiguous, and her character’s absence can be felt throughout the epilogue. Some fans wonder if she, or any other of the Hawkins gang, will return in the future. As reported by PEOPLE, the Duffer Brothers are set to expand the “Stranger Things” universe with a couple new shows coming out in the next couple years, including one secret project. Could this be another project with the main cast? The actors say they are open to returning to the “Stranger Things” universe, but every tale comes to an end, and I believe it is finally time to say goodbye to the town of Hawkins.