By Brianna Brinker, Campus News Editor
The official last episode of “Stranger Things” aired on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31. Fans went into the new year with tears streaming down their faces as they reacted to the finale and watched their favorite characters be together on their screens for one last time.
The finale’s runtime was as long as a movie, two hours and eight minutes. The finale focused on their official last mission, which was to kill Vecna, save the 12 children from Vecna’s evil plans, and destroy the Upside Down for good. For this to succeed, of course, they made a plan.
The characters split into groups, each with a purpose, to win this final battle. They needed the whole team on board.
Halfway through the finale, we see that they accomplished their mission and saved Hawkins from Vecna. Not only did they do this, but they destroyed the Upside Down. Once Vecna was officially dead, the Mind Flayer, who was the controller behind all the evil, was also done. Since Vecna and the Mind Flayer were two in one, if one of them was gone, then both were gone; they were like a “hive mind.”
Although everything looked good after killing Vecna, once the characters got home, there was one more battle they had to fight: Dr. Kay and the military, who all wanted Eleven so they could use her blood to create more humans with powers.
Eleven knew the only way to protect her friends, the future children in danger, and her home of Hawkins was to take her own life. She knew that the war wouldn’t end if she were constantly on the run and putting her friends in danger.
She stepped back into the Upside Down as it was being destroyed, and it took her with it. All we heard was a heartbeat sound effect as it transitioned to 18 months later. Therefore, the audience does not truly know whether Eleven died; it is left to the watchers to decide whether she is alive or not.
Towards the end, Mike Wheeler shares his theory on Eleven’s sacrifice. He believes Eleven is still out there somewhere. He tells his friends that Kali used her mind powers to make it look like Eleven got taken to the Upside Down. He believes it was all an illusion. He explains that Eleven escaped Hawkins and is living in freedom in a beautiful place with three waterfalls. He believes Eleven got her happy ending, and his friends then chose to believe this as well.
This became one of the biggest fan controversies, as viewers celebrated their favorite characters finally winning and receiving the endings they had longed for, while mourning that Eleven was not part of the victorious moment.
“Here is a girl who has given her whole life to be studied and treated like an object, but she either is completely dead or living out the rest of her life alone.” Said Heaven Nazario, a senior majoring in English.
Fans of the show have shared similar opinions on social media. There are some mixed reviews about the finale, “feeling off” or as if it was missing something. Some fans felt as if there were loose ends and expected a more intense ending or a plot twist.
Amidst the search for comfort in relation to an undesired finale, a popular theory arose on social media: there was possibly going to be one more surprise episode from the Duffer Brothers. This supposed episode would show that the town of Hawkins did merge with the Upside Down, as Vecna wanted, and the characters live in a perfect world, a fake reality, such as a mental illusion that Vecna controls, while time consumes them. The theory was called “the conformity gate,” but was proven false by the Duffer Brothers’ Netflix documentary, which clarified that the eighth episode was the last.
Despite all of that, many fans thought that the ending was perfect and loved it! Everyone has their own experience and opinions at the end of the show.
The ending scene is a parallel of the first-ever scene shot of “Stranger Things.” The kids in the basement play Dungeons and Dragons. As Karen Wheeler calls them up for dinner, Mike’s little sister, Holly, rushes down to the basement with her friends to play the game. Mike watches them as he walks up the stairs, remembering everything. Mike shuts the door to the basement. It went dark, and the lights finally stopped flickering.
Most of the actors on the show have been on the set of “Stranger Things” for a decade. The cast said goodbye to their characters as they entered a new chapter of their lives. This show brought them friendships, relationships, and memories that will last a lifetime.
Just like the cast has endless memories, the show gave the public memories of an adventure into the Upside Down. Sadly, “Stranger Things” officially ended; it turns out it wasn’t a never-ending story.
