Notice: This story incorporates spoilers from “Stranger Issues” Season 5, Episode 8.
“Stranger Issues” reached its epic conclusion after 5 seasons and nearly a decade, with an epic battle that took Eleven and firm to their breaking level within the Upside Down and past.
Episode 8, a supersized installment titled “The Rightside Up,” picked up with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and firm placing their beanstalk plan into movement, battling the evil Vecna (James Campbell Bower) simply as he received near merge the true world together with his darker dimension, the Abyss.
The end result was a two-hour extravaganza of poignant moments, callbacks, sacrifices and extra as viewers noticed the top of Netflix’s greatest franchise so far — a minimum of for now.
Operation Beanstalk
As crafted by Steve (Joe Keery), the crew deliberate to make their final stand towards Vecna, and rescue the youngsters he’d stolen to assist merge worlds, when the Abyss dimension received shut sufficient to the true world to be reached from the highest of the Upside Down’s laboratory tower. Then Eleven and her sister Eight/Kali (Linnea Berthelsen) would use their psychic powers to infiltrate Vecna’s thoughts, with Max (Sadie Sink) as their information.
Earlier than the battle, Will (Noah Schnapp) and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) shared a candy heart-to-heart about Will’s popping out in Episode 7, the place they agreed to stay the very best of associates. When the worlds begin to merge, they understand the tower is vulnerable to collapsing as quickly because the Abyss will get too shut. However Eleven stops the method simply in time to avoid wasting her associates within the Upside Down earlier than they’re crushed.
The efforts permit Steve, Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and firm to achieve the Abyss to avoid wasting the youngsters. On the best way to Vecna’s lair, Steve and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) make amends for his or her previous feuding over Nancy. Simply as Vecna begins to govern Hopper (David Harbour) into serving to him cease Eleven’s efforts in his thoughts, resulting in a confrontation between father and daughter.
Like clockwork, the U.S. navy arrives within the Upside Right down to complicate issues for Hopper and Eleven. And on the Abyss, Will feels Vecna’s presence simply as he overcomes his fears of the cave to return after the youngsters. He tells the remainder of the crew to maintain going towards the lair to get the youngsters, whereas he makes an attempt to make use of his powers to cease his nemesis from getting them.
Hopper takes Eleven to a protected place, however will get captured when he goes again for Kali. What’s subsequent is a chaotic rescue mission when Murray (Brett Gelman) throws a C-4 on the navy helicopter that helps distract them with sufficient time so Eleven can kill Hopper and Kali’s captors. However the efforts aren’t sufficient to avoid wasting Kali, who finally ends up shot useless by enemy fireplace.
Vecna’s thoughts
Max, Eleven and Eight’s mission in Vecna’s recollections first takes them to 1959, the time when he first earned his powers — and in addition when the Netflix present’s Broadway spinoff “Stranger Issues: The First Shadow” takes place.
They make their manner by means of Joyce’s play earlier than discovering the fitting spot within the reminiscence to push by means of to Vecna’s home the place he was holding the youngsters in time to cease the merging of worlds. That results in an enormous showdown between Eleven and Vecna, permitting sufficient time for Max to guide the youngsters towards security within the cave.
However when Vecna performs with Hopper’s thoughts to get him to cease Eleven, he takes them off the chessboard — leaving Holly (Nell Fisher) alone to information the remainder of the youngsters to the cave to security.
They make it into the cave, however Vecna fights by means of his concern to return after them. Holly helps get the youngsters to the cave the place younger Henry/Vecna was first contaminated by the Thoughts Flayer particles, after killing the Russian scientist who held them. The scientist tried to warn him to not let the Thoughts Flayer devour him, however younger Henry killed him as an alternative.
Experiencing that reminiscence stopped Vecna from attending to Holly, and in addition helped Will understand that Vecna was a vessel for the Thoughts Flayer. However Vecna shortly clarfied he was at all times working alongside the monster to hold out the merging of worlds — and that reveals that Vecna’s lair within the Abyss had been the Thoughts Flayer itself the entire time.
Ultimate boss
After the Thoughts Flayer reveals itself, Eleven reveals herself within the Abyss and lunges contained in the monster to combat Vecna on the within. The remainder of the crew devise a plan to harm the Flayer — and in flip Vecna — by hurting it in its weak factors.
Working collectively, Will and Eleven are capable of give ending blows to each monsters. It appeared like victory was upon them, with Nancy discovering Holly and the remainder of the crew serving to save the remainder of the youngsters.
However Vecna wasn’t useless simply but. The group all gathered and it was Joyce (Winona Ryder) who axed the evil man to loss of life, as all of them recalled all of the folks they misplaced alongside the best way.
Sacrifice
With success of their arms, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) offers Hopper and Murray the inexperienced gentle to explode the Upside Down. However simply as they thought that they had gained, they’re ambushed by Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton), who captures them in an effort to lastly get her arms on Eleven.
However she’s outsmarted as soon as once more. Eleven left the truck and opted to sacrifice herself by shutting herself within the Upside Down earlier than it received destroyed — simply as Kali had informed her to do to lastly finish the struggling perpetually. Mike, Hopper and the staff watch in anguish because the Upside Down and Eleven are destroyed by the explosives and the portal closes, seemingly for good this time.
18 months later…
The present then flashes ahead 18 months, as Hawkins, Indiana, places the ending touches on rebuilding and we see a memorial to the lives misplaced in “the Nice Earthquake,” a probable excuse for all that occurred.
Robin remains to be working in WSQK The Squawk and shares how tranquility has as soon as once more come to city. And simply in time, for the category of ’89 to graduate, which incorporates all our heroes. In the meantime, Steve Harrington has settled into a brand new position as coach of the native youth baseball staff and instructing intercourse schooling. Nancy and Jonathan went their separate methods and left city, however returned for the large day for his or her respective siblings. Jonathan went to NYU and is engaged on a movie, whereas Nancy dropped out from Emerson and is now working as a journalism trainee on the Herald.
As everybody prepares for commencement, Joyce will get a name that Mike’s mom can’t discover him. Hopper finds Mike on the memorial, and he admits he doesn’t plan to stroll within the ceremony in honor of Eleven. He blames himself for not having the ability to save her, however Hopper tells him she made the selection to avoid wasting everybody, and now it’s Mike’s flip to resolve to maneuver ahead in honor of her sacrifice. With that he does find yourself making it to commencement, simply in time to reunite together with his household — together with dad Ted, whom we hadn’t seen since a demogorgon nearly killed him.
Dustin finally ends up giving a passionate D&D-inspired valedictorian speech about how all of the drama that occurred throughout the present’s run introduced the city again collectively. Then he took the second within the highlight to create a final little bit of chaos, with the assistance of Erica (Priah Ferguson) with a large however playful prank.
After the ceremony, Nancy, Jonathan, Steve and Robin compensate for the previous few months and pledge to at all times prioritize their friendship. Hopper and Joyce have a romantic dinner collectively the place he proposes to her, after the promise to begin their new lives collectively doubtlessly away from Hawkins. After all, Joyce says sure.
And although the fellows get invited to a cool lady’s social gathering, all of them come collectively to rejoice ending highschool and overcoming their shared trauma. Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Max, Mike, Dustin and Will collect within the basement as soon as extra to play Dungeons & Dragons — with Mike writing completely happy endings for every of their characters.
And that’s when Mike theorizes Eleven’s actual destiny. He says that she and Kali used their powers to pretend her sacrifice, and that she actually escaped and located peace by settling in a small, distant city, away from the place she may very well be discovered. They don’t know if it’s actual, however they select to consider it’s as they make their separate methods.
Then Holly and a number of the children who had been rescued from Vecna take over the basement, on the point of kick off their very own D&D journey. All is correct on the earth, lastly.
Who died within the “Stranger Issues” finale?
The primary main casualty of the finale was Kali, who was shot by one of many navy members who held her and Hopper captive within the Upside Down. The soldier who died, Lt. Robert Akers, is particularly important as a result of he’s performed by the identical actor who performs Dr. Brenner in “The First Shadow” broadway manufacturing.
The largest loss of life was after all Eleven herself, who sacrificed herself in order that the U.S. authorities wouldn’t have any extra contaminated blood to experiment and replicate this nightmare with ever once more. However Mike’s story about her faking the sacrifice put her destiny into query — possibly she is alive and completely happy in a distant place.
The opposite huge loss of life was Vecna, who Joyce decapitated after Eleven and firm helped defeat each him and the Thoughts Flayer.
Steve nearly grew to become the finale’s first casualty, as he almost fell from the tower the place the crew stood to enter the Abyss, however Jonathan Byers grabbed him simply in time to avoid wasting him. Different fakeouts included close to loss of life moments for Eleven (when Hopper “shot” her within the water tank), and Dustin and Nancy when preventing the Thoughts Flayer.
Is there a post-credits scene?
There isn’t any post-credits scene to the “Stranger Issues” collection finale.
And whereas there’s no sequel to the epic collection within the books, and the Duffer Brothers have stated they’re not thinking about exploring these characters additional, followers can sit up for the premiere of animated collection “Stranger Issues: Tales from ‘85” set to premiere in 2026.
There’s additionally talks of a by-product collection in growth, which might concentrate on new characters in a brand new location and a complete new thriller.
“Stranger Issues” is now streaming on Netflix.
