“Stranger Things”—a well known dystopian series—has finally come to an end, and fans are not pleased with the ending. The five-season series has been in production since July of 2016 and has now been completed with the season finale being released on December 31, 2025. The highly anticipated finale episode finished at two hours and eight minutes. Viewers gathered around at watch parties or in movie theaters to watch the last episode together. Despite the hype surrounding this episode, excited fans found themselves disappointed with the ending. Many felt that there were many plot holes in the story, leaving them without closure. Others said that the ending was very rushed, although it was a two hour long episode. When asked what she thought about the final episode, Brielle Butler stated, “I thought it wasn’t a “Stranger Things” ending.”
When asked the same question, Madeline Hoarle stated, “I was expecting more. There were a lot of plot holes and editing mistakes, but they gave everyone a happy ending. People would’ve complained about it no matter what they did.”
Fans were so shocked by the abrupt ending that they started to speculate a surprise episode. They made theories, looking at small details in the show that pointed to a ninth episode. One theory in particular was called the Conformity Gate. This theory suggested that the ending of the story wasn’t real and was a memory. One of the final scenes is when the kids graduate high school. Fans noticed how the cap and gown colors were orange, rather than green and yellow like they were in Season Four.
Others noticed how the actions of the characters were not how they typically would act. The villain of the story, Henry, only knows the characters to an extent. Fans believe that the ending is Henry’s memory. That would explain the orange caps and the way the characters interact or even look. Although there were many interesting points made, the writers of the show, the Duffer Brothers, have not followed up with a ninth episode, nor have they confirmed that the speculation is true. It seems that after ten years, the “Stranger Things” series has now come to an end.
