The fifth and final season of Stranger Things finally concluded on December 31 with an epic two-hour-plus finale that simultaneously streamed on Netflix and was released in over 500 theaters across the US and Canada, where it grossed between $25 million and $28 million at the box office, as reported by Variety.
Following the events of Volume 1, which consisted of four episodes that premiered on November 26, and Volume 2, whose three episodes arrived on December 25, the feature-length finale saw Eleven, Mike Wheeler, Max Mayfield, Will Byers, Lucas Sinclair, Dustin Henderson, Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington, Jonathan Wheeler, Joyce Byers, Jim Hopper, Murray Bauman, Erica Sinclair, Robin Buckley, and Kali/Eight take the fight to Vecna, AKA Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower) and stop him from bringing his home world to earth.
Watch the official trailer for the finale below:
Naturally, despite some negative criticisms over previous episodes in the latest season, expectations for the finale were high. Stranger Things launched on the streamer in 2016, spawning an entire multimedia franchise that includes tie-in novels, comic books, mobile games, tabletop games, VR titles, walk-through experiences, and a stage production.
Now, the hugely popular TV series has come to an end, with the finale wrapping things up for all our main characters. While viewers were expecting to see the show kill off several familiar faces by the end, we only got one major character death (and thankfully no more).
That character is Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), who made the ultimate sacrifice by letting herself die in an explosion rigged by Hopper (David Harbour) to destroy the Upside Down.
After defeating Vecna, Eleven and the gang are later apprehended by Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton) and her soldiers, the latest in a line of shady military and government types hellbent on using Eleven’s blood to create more telekinetic children, in the same way Henry Creel was used to make all the other “numbers”, including Kali/Eight (Linnea Berthelsen).
To end the cycle and prevent future children from being abused and tortured and having their lives taken from them, Eleven allows herself to perish in the gigantic explosion that permanently seals the gate between Hawkins and the shadow dimension.
