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Film School: The Sad Yet Inspiring Case of ‘Stranger Things’ (series, 2016-2025)

Stranger Things (2016–2025) Stranger Things (2016–2025)

Lessons from fans about their disappointment with, and rewriting of, the Stranger Things series finale.

What Happened?

Allegory and metaphor are literally discussed in the text of the show. Deciphering and decoding regularly propels the action. Deeper readings are not only actively encouraged, they’re thematic. But all of that fails once they become incoherent. Stranger Things trained its audience to pay attention to details so well that many could see the disappointments in the finale coming.

It’s tempting to frame the conversation around the Stranger Things Season 5 Vol. 2 finale as being about a series fumbling at the finish line. It’s arguably more interesting, and perhaps more valuable, to view this as a barometric reading of a moment in popular culture. The rush to social commentary on storytelling that is as yet incomplete, and media literacy and discourse in an age where fan edits are more ubiquitous than original or official media:

Directing

It probably isn’t a sign of solid writing or direction when series creators / show runners need to give an interview to clarify that a proposal scene was actually a breakup scene. It’s also not encouraging when Netflix is crashed by viewers logging on for a secret bonus episode which will provide the ‘real’ ending. And that’s the least of the blowback the Duffer brothers (“two white men who never knew how to write for minority communities“) were met with over the conclusion of Stranger Things and their often embarrassing interviews afterward:

@ava.lia1

I WILL REWRITE THEIR OWN SCENE AGAINST THEM IDGAF #strangerthings #strangerthings5 #byler #strangerthings5vol2 #vol2

♬ original sound – ava

Writing

There are arguments praising and criticising the Duffer Brothers’ creative decisions. Beyond that, a lot of the online commentary about their process is speculation, extrapolation, projection, parasocial, or pure gossip. Many commenters sound unfamiliar with how shows are run specifically, or how collaborative processes can look more generally.

With all of that said: the documentary about the finale, containing this sort of behind-the-scenes footage of the writers room, laptop screens, whiteboards, and table reads to the show’s massive, voracious fanbase raises questions about why Netflix put this out. What are they hoping to achieve? Is it hubris or obliviousness,? Is it a misguided victory lap around a room they failed to read? Is it a yard sale on anything and everything left in the vault of their (biggest?) original production and subscriber draw?

From plot threads to dialogue lines, StarringSpencer lists the let downs of the “negligent” writing in the series’ penultimate and ultimate episodes in Season 5, Vol. 2:

@starring_spencer

argue with the wall ❤️ #strangerthings #strangerthings5 #byler #mileven

♬ Beethoven’s “Moonlight”(871109) – 平松誠

There’s the horrific resolution of Eleven’s arc (via 3rdduffer):

@3rdduffer

a self-proclaimed “show for outcasts” btw. #strangerthings #strangerthings5 #elevenhopper #willbyers #greenscreen

♬ original sound – Stranger Things – Stranger Things

Then there are of course the Byler shippers – the section of the fandom dedicated to the queer reading / queercoding / queerbaiting of the seasons–long development of the relationship between Will and Mike which was ultimately unfulfilled…

… to irresponsible, potentially damaging effect…

https://www.tiktok.com/@kaitsnod/video/7590590947155545399

… to the point where even one of the two actors advocated for adding dialogue to at least begin to provide closure:

Editing

Some eagle-eyed viewers pored over behind-the-scenes materials for clues to scenes possibly deleted or reconfigured by Netflix (via Jamie/Logan):

Even if the series failed to deliver the ending they wanted, these fans have delivered some incredible edits of their own:

@amooninmypalm

The irony of the last shots of the show being Mike staring longingly at Will’s book… and then closing the door… after all that closet imagery… good luck babe is all I gotta say. #strangerthings #mikewheeleredit #byler #byleredit #strangerthingsfinale

♬ original sound – amooninmypalm

Death of the Authors

Fans en masse scrambled to make narrative sense of the pieces actually provided:

@khan_skywalker

lets pay attention next time class #strangerthings #strangerthings5 #fyp

♬ original sound – Khan D. Skywalker🪐
@mlblizzie.secret

Henry being in love with Patty was the only thing saving him. But Dr. Brenner needed Henry to succumb to the possession of the MF so he manipulated Henry into getting rid of Patty, and this was done by making Henry believe that Patty didn’t love him. I think it’s safe to say that the same can be said for Byler. Staying in love with Mike would actually be the one thing to save Will. And Vecna, like Brenner, knows that. He needed to manipulate Will into letting go of Mike, because it weakens Will and that’s what Vecna needs in order to finally get to him. I’m sorry but episode 7 does nothing except set up Byler to parallel Creelby YET AGAIN😭 and that is a hill that I will d!e on. #byler #bylerendgame #mikewheeler #willbyers

♬ original sound – ☁️Lizzie☁️

A section of dissatisfied fandom decided there weren’t enough pieces and started trending #netflixrelesethevolume2files…

Others wasted no time in re-editing and rewriting the story themselves:

@skskskshibuiya13110937

I HAVE SOME BYLER DOUBT BUT ITS SLOWLY GOING AWAY 🤞#byler #strangerthingsvol2 #STRANGERTHINGS #bylerendgame #vecna

♬ original sound – lol

Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and… acceptance?

Many focused on the deterioration of the visual style over the course of the series’ decade-long run:

Further Viewing

“On the textual surface, this is a horror/science-fiction/mystery story about other dimensions, monsters, secret labs and conspiracy theories. Deep in the subtext, this is a different story,” argues tvmicroscope. “It’s a parable… about so, so many young pre-teens and teens and their parents and the closets they’re all trapped in… But that’s the nature of this metaphor, right?”

Stranger than you think (example: “Stranger Things”)
by tvmicroscope [↗]

This thread of threads offers another compelling reading of the series in light of its finale:

Schnee has a bunch of videos taking lessons from (and mostly in praise of) certain writing moments throughout the series:

And finally (via Zephfire):