Stranger Things Season 5 Spoilers!

[Loopytiles]

So excited about this! Can’t bear to watch without spoilers first.

haha DD just said to me-so Vecna just liked clocks?

I didn't feel any of the intensity of previous seasons.
Never really felt peril-compared to The Battle of Star Court or when they break out of Hawkins lab and Bob is killed-I just never thought anything bad was going to happen to any of the characters.
And I thought the re-introduction of Kali so meh.
Although if she did save El in the end then there is a point to her.
Way too many nostalgic montages.

And I will say it again-way too many characters.
Erica has been great in previous seasons but pretty pointless here, same with Vickie.

It was fine but generally underwhelming.
Didn't feel the buzz like after early seasons/episodes.
Did they keep everyone alive for the spin off?
Will it be joyce and hopper in Montauk?

I am glad they didn't kill Steve but they could have bashed up a few in the battles.
And Dr Kay?

I loved the first hour although thought the mind flayer was surprisingly easy to kill- some fire and some gun shots. I was confused by a couple of things- where were all the monsters in this monster realm? The demogorgans, demodogs, killer bats etc? It was a surprisingly quiet planet. Also, why wasn’t Will in agony when the mind flayer and Vecna were? He was connected to them at that point

i had hoped for a bit more of a twist, or for the plan to go more awry with more edge of the seat drama. I did understand that El sacrificed herself and felt it made sense. I assume she definitely did die as Kali seemed to be dead from the gunshot wound and would definitely have been dead from the bomb. But I don’t know how El was able to speak to Mike or even move to get to the upside down portal with the suppressors on.

when all at that ended and there was still an hour left, I really thought the gang would then have to take on the government and dr Kay . They had killed multiple soldiers and the government had been trying to breed lots of new babies with powers. But they just never got mentioned ever again. Did all the pregnant women just die then? What happened to dr Kay?

also why did vecna specifically need 12 children? Like PP said, what about all the clock symbolism?

I did like that vecna was used by the mind flayer as an innocent child but then chose to join it. I like that they kept him evil. Jamie CB was unbelievable at acting the evil and the vulnerable Henry. He was the stand out actor for me.

the last hour dragged for me. Nice to see where they all were 18 months later, but definitely could have been compressed. The last bit with the last d and d game for the older ones and then the little ones playing it was nice.

Really enjoyed it. It was good that there was a happy ending and no main cast death toll, as it makes a change. Though I did think the mind flayer died fairly quickly. Actually felt sad for Henry at one point.

like how Hopper was after a job in Montauk which inspired the duffer brothers to write the show. Perhaps a future spin off?

One thing I spotted was when El and Hopper joined Murray on the roof, I expected El to be covered in blood from trying the help Kali, but she wasn’t. So it made me wonder whether Kali had faked her death at that point in order to help El later?

I thought it was so intense @MrsMitford3!

Kali was integral in helping the kids escape as without her being able to make it look like they'd already gone, the kids would never have believed that Mr Whatsit was bad & gone willingly & nor would they have had time to run! Kali was worth it just for that!

I loved it, the end and the titles showed what it was always about which was friendship and growing up. All the monster stuff was a vehicle for that, so spotting holes in stuff like that is missing the point I think.

(I haven’t read any of the recent posts, so this is a general musing rather than in response to anything)

@Daytimetellyqueen good point about Kali showing the kids Henry was the monster.

I wish I had loved it-maybe I'll watch again 🤔

Jamie Campbell bower was the best actor this episode he was phenomenal
The Kali return was pointless unless mike's story was accurate which it can't be as even if she survived the gunshot or wasn't shot she's at the epicentre of the explosion which triggered the destruction of the upside down

Ludicrous that noone died given the stakes.

I think it was a good finale overall might it again at the weekend

I agree. I did feel the episode was a little anticlimactic after 11 years build up…but then I kind of felt that was the point, when you see them all moving on from Hawkins in different ways, Mike handing the basement over to Holly, and the credits summarising it all, you realise it was all just about growing up.

Stranger things has always celebrated nostalgia and presumably the Duffer Brothers’ own upbringing, the monsters were just a talking point to a universal theme. My youngest son was definitely disappointed by the lack of action, but he’s too young to understand it I think. I’m looking forward to watching again.

Definitely watch it again & then decide. I honestly loved every minute - I was so scared for the first hour & then cried most of the second. It definitely lent into the 80s Goonies / ET / Back to the Future etc vibe of kids growing up & being heroes & friendship & love at the heart of it all. Perfection for me!

I also love what Joyce said about fucking with the wrong family - that’s so true as if she’d been more conventional (like Dustin’s mum) then she wouldn’t have been open to Will in the wall / Christmas lights etc & so fought so hard to bring him back.

[That said, I’m generally easily pleased though as I watch stuff to just enjoy it & don’t really think too critically, unless there are glaring errors or omissions (which for me in this is potentially the resolution with Dr Kay as I expected after they killed Vecna, they would have had to fight the govt but I’m happy to accept how they resolved it!)]

The kids would never have escaped without Kali, so she was needed for that!

I enjoyed it. I'm thinking that in the plan Kali and El had, the pregnant women and their unborn babies had to die along with them to bring an end to all possible avenues of rekindleing the project. In terms of the military and doctor K, I'm guessing again, that it was all so classified that they couldn't be publicly charged with anything as all the evidence of dead soldiers etc. disappeared with the upside down and it was likely that even amongst those in the military that knew anything solid, it was small numbers. I guess it's hard to pull out of society and inprison a load of children and young people with very little evidence. They skipped forward 18 months so maybe there was some questioning of Hopper and the other adults but ultimately, I guess we have to suspend disbelief slightly to assume it all never really got anywhere because everything just went away, worldwide, after the upside down was completely destroyed.

I quite liked in the end that it was a bit scooby doo / goonies in its happy ending. In many ways, turning it mainly into a coming of age thing with teen drama and a bit of spookiness was as 80s as you can get. In a way, when things are built up for a decade, how can they end it without it feeling just a little bit flat? I did like the fantasy of El being alive. I don't think she is but it was a nice touch to kind of say "the ending can be what you want it to be as this is all make believe, just like D&D".

I think they did well and I'm content with it. Looking forward to a rewatch at some point soon.

Enzo is No-one from Game of Thrones.

He was also known as Demetri who helped Hopper escape.

I succumbed to tiredness and decided to watch this morning after our New Year's walk.

Oh, I cried loads. I think the Duffer brothers heard everyone when they demanded not to kill Steve, and they nearly got us!

Kali needed to be brought back to tie her story up, convince the children of Henry's true intentions and possibly fake El's death - if you believe. I certainly thought the theories about her being the mind flayer and the ultimate villain a bit too much for what little time we had left. In the end, she was just a lost soul, realistic about her own fate should she stay in the real world.

Did anyone else think that when Joyce struck Vecna the first time, that his body would go back to the human form Henry, with his face finally at peace - in the same way Winona Ryder's character decapitated Dracula in the 1992 film? Oh no, they really weren't going to give him a short quick death!

There must be loads of details I've missed, but it was an uplifting end.

I thought it was ok but there was no amazing moments or twists. The mindflayer was easier for them to deal with than the mindflayer from S3 that was just made of the townspeople, rather than it's true form and not even on its home turf. And they were dealing with Vecna at the same time, had the MF called for the demos they would have been cooked!

I think if you look at some of the high moments of previous seasons it was a bit lacking (001/ Henry/ Vecna reveal, Max running up the hill, Chrissie dying, the MF attacking the cabin in S3). I think the happy round up was a bit long (could have done without rocking robin), I'm usually a crier at the end of series but I was dry eyed!

I did like Hopper 'shooting' 11 and JCB was excellent entering the cave, scary and unhinged but also vulnerable. Also once Vecna was on the spike I did shout chop his head off and was relieved when Joyce listened 😆

Ok, Ill admit I watched the finale when I got up and had already been halfway through S4 again , so went straight back and watched from there

And again I can not see a foot wrong with the finale.

They gave everybody what they wanted

And whilst I said I do believe before, Im not so sure now - Khali was very much dead when they left her

But I want to believe :)

Im in my 60s and my reading material in the 70/80's was usually about telekinesis and it being used for war far , and anyone who had any ability was hunted their lives

Eleven had to end it and what I personally believe , is although she didnt want to die, she was happy to sacrifice herself because of Hopper and Mike - they humanised her , she had been a lab rat, but as she said they saw her. She learned human emotions - most of all love

Ive been a sobbing mess all day. I been screaming at the tv , ave been sobbing

It was a great finale if viewers were d=so emotionaly invested.

ST will be on my viewing list for as long as it's on Netflix. I ve watch at least all season till 5 - 4 times

Ok. So I quite enjoyed that. Finales are always very hard to live up to the hype. I think it was the best it could be to please the masses.

Little gripes:

• the military and Dr Kay just disappeared with no explanation.
• the last hour was too long. There should have been perhaps a 40 minute max happy ending and 20 minutes more action added to the death of Vecna and the mind flayer.
• noone good died! Given the peril they were constantly in it's highly unlikely for them all to survive.

Jamie Campbell Bower was absolutely awesome. I must admit I feel very upset for Henry in that he was the mind flayer's first victim and it ruined his whole life. I think I would have liked to have seen redemption for Henry but appreciate it could have also been wrong for any sort of redemption.

I feel bad for despising and not trusting Kali. She saved those kids and died for them all. Loved that Hopper came back for her. I'd like to believe in Mike's theory as Kali deserves to be remembered as a hero after all the distrust and general dislike of why she was ever brought in as a character.

Loved Dustin's graduation speech and the homage to Eddie with the hellfire shirt.

I don’t think Henry is set up as just being a victim though, I don’t think all his actions can be put on the mind flyer. I’m glad they didn’t go down the redemption road with him. Bit like LOTR and things of that ilk, Henry was corruptible, unlike Will and El.

@hmdxm1 I get what you're saying re Henry being corruptible and Will/El being stronger than that but I can't help thinking that Henry would not have killed his family if he wasn't being controlled/used by the mind flayer. That devastating act set up everything that followed with Dr Brenner getting hold of him and what happened at Hawkins Lab.

And did Dr Brenner know Henry had been infected by the mind flayer or did he just think he was gifted? Was the guy with the suitcase running from Dr Brenner or his predecessor?

I think it still comes down to corruption though, I’m sure he wouldn’t have killed his family without the mindflyer, but equally I don’t think what he did was inevitable and other stronger characters would have had a stronger resolve. The stage show explored his inner torment well, and that ultimately, he failed. As with a lot of 80s folklore I think a character with a stronger resolve would have overcome.

I think he knew. The stage show covered that, I want to say it was from a local lab in Nevada that Brenner was involved with? I haven’t seen it in over a year though so may be wrong! But Brenner was able to track Henry down at home after the incident.

Thanks @hmdxm1 I haven't seen the stage show so might have to for a better understanding of Henry's flawed character.

When Will tried to convince Henry to join them in defeating the mind flayer Henry chose not to. Just reminded me of when Billy chose to defy the mind flayer after El was kind to him. He was considered a weak and nasty character but in that moment had strength to do the right thing.

Yes that’s very true. I’m looking forward to rewatching it all and linking it up, I watched this series in such a rush to beat the spoilers!!

Absolutely loved this show from start to finish. Gutted it's all over after 10 years. Need to watch the whole thing again from start to finish lol 😆

In one of the previous episodes Kali said that the blood was killing the pregnant women and their babies, so perhaps it was already too late to save them.

I thought the finale was perfect 10/10. It was a mature ending though, in that it didn’t focus on action and wrapping up the different story lines but instead it was what ST has always been about. The 80s nostalgia, the tribute to 80s movies, 80s actors, growing up and the stories of friendship and adventure. The D&D ending with a new younger generation taking over and starting their own adventure was absolutely brilliant. The older characters feeling lost and emotional having to move on and live normal lives, probably everyone above the age of 25 can relate to this. What actually happened to Eleven is not as important in my view.
But my teenage kids all felt disappointed with the finale and have been very critical. I think they wanted action, heroes winning and a clear end point without any ambiguity. That’s why I feel this episodes was aimed at more mature audience but perhaps that’s only my experience.