Hi, my name is Jordyn Winkler and I’m a senior at CMR. I’ve been a huge fan of Stranger Things since season three, have watched the series four times, and my photo speaks for itself that I’m more than qualified to review the most recent season.

I’m glad we got that out of the way. Moving on, please keep in mind that this review will be honest, brutal, messy, and most importantly:

!!! IT WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS AND CORRECT OPINIONS !!!

Let’s jump right in.

Lots of TikTok reaction posts mention plot holes in the last season, which I can agree with. However, I want to clear up the definition of a plot hole due to the common misuse of the word.

plot hole
/ˈplät ˌhōl/
noun
an inconsistency in the narrative or character development of a book, film, television show, etc.

A plot hole is described as an inconsistency. This would insinuate that a previously stated canon event completely flips around and no longer makes logical sense and/or states the complete opposite of what it previously did.

An example of a plot hole in Stranger Things season five would be the fact that Henry Creel attended high school with all of our favorite characters’ parents, yet somehow none of them seemed to recognize him. Another example would be the fact that Max was in a coma from March of 1986 until November of 1987, which is just under two years, so how did she qualify for graduation at the same pace as her friends?

Some examples of things that may have upset viewers but are wrongfully described as plot holes are Robin and Vickie’s breakup, Dustin and Suzie’s breakup, whatever happened to the Turnbow’s house, not to mention the family themselves, or the fact that the series finale battle lasted a mere 2–3 minutes and ended with no deaths or even severe injuries.

Yes, those events, and many others, are confusing and disappointing. However, they aren’t plot holes. They are just victims of poor writing.

Yes, I said it. Season five was poorly written.

The anticlimactic nature, the lack of emotion, and the questions it left its viewers with are all signs pointing to bad writing. This may sound harsh, but season five might just have to be ranked the series’ worst season of all time.

Now, you all know my take on the final season, but why? Why did I hate how my favorite show ended? Well, let me tell you just that.

The show doesn’t align with the play

You may be asking yourself, “What play, Jordyn?” Well, of course, none other than Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which was a prequel play created by none other than the Duffer brothers and Kate Trefry, a season five writer as well.

In this play, which can only be seen in person, by the way, we learn the backstory of a young Henry Creel, who is essentially possessed by the Mind Flayer and transported to an alternate dimension known as “Dimension X” in the play but called “The Abyss” in the show. These are the same dimensions, as confirmed by the Duffers, so changing the name is confusing enough as it is.

Henry Creel becomes possessed by the air in Dimension X. However, in the show, he is possessed by the rock in the cave. The play and the show don’t align in many aspects, even though the Duffer brothers confirmed that the play is canon.

Henry Creel’s timeline doesn’t make sense

The events go as follows:

Henry gets possessed as a child, whether it’s in the cave or Dimension X.
He then kills his family and puts the blame onto his father.
He is then shown getting tattooed and experimented on by Dr. Brenner after this fact.
Then he somehow goes to high school with Joyce, Hopper, and the Wheelers?
After that, he’s seen back under Brenner’s control as the caregiver in the Rainbow Room, who Eleven later helps escape.

So, you’re telling me that Brenner let this incredibly powerful first experimental child go to public high school? Why would Brenner allow him to leave, and if he had, why would Henry come back just to aid Brenner with the other children?

Eleven killing herself is a horrible ending for her character

Eleven has arguably had the worst childhood out of every character in the show. She was taken from her mother, treated as an experiment more than a person, lived in a prison, escaped, and kissed a boy before even knowing her own name.

She was then given a chance to discover herself, her style, her favorite food, her friendships. Then she was reduced to being Mike’s girlfriend and the hero of the show again.

Allowing Hopper to give Eleven such a heartfelt, raw, emotional speech about how she deserves a wonderful life, where she can have her own child and raise them in a way that differs substantially from her own trauma ridden childhood, was useless if she was just going to kill herself.

Also, not to mention that she was a 16 year old child of abuse, and making it seem like her killing herself was the only way to end this cycle is cynical and a horrible message to share.

The “I Believe” campaign is just a way to cover the terrible ending our main character was given. Kali was shot in the stomach, giving her mere minutes to survive. She was under no circumstances able to save Eleven from dying using her powers.

Even if Eleven didn’t die, the black mass would have exploded right where Kali was shot, meaning she would have been immediately hit by the explosion, which would have killed her.

Unanswered questions

Why were there no Demogorgons or Demo Dogs in the Abyss when the gang was killing Vecna?
What happened to Robin and Vickie?
What happened to Dustin and Suzie?
What happened to the pregnant women in the Upside Down?
How did they climb the cliffs in the Abyss so quickly to help fight the Mind Flayer?
What happened to Derek’s family and house?
Why did the characters have to wear masks in the Upside Down in the beginning of the show but not in the last season?

There are so many more unanswered questions that this last season left us with, but isn’t the point of making a final season to wrap things up?

And better yet, when asked these questions, the Duffer brothers often said things along the lines of, “We assume that…” or “My guess is…”

This was their show. How do they not have answers?

Pushing our main cast to the side

The majority of screen time this season was focused on Holly and the kids. Don’t get me wrong, Nell Fisher is a great actor, and Holly is a lovable character, but sidelining our main cast and giving a side character copious amounts of screen time is a little disappointing.

Anyways, that was a little heated, but hopefully you agree with the points I made. Feel free to stop and debate me at any point, and I hope you enjoyed reading my review.

Stay tuned for more reviews from yours truly.