After Stranger Things Season 5 stumbled with a shoddy Volume 2, the finale appears to have revived the once-legendary Netflix series, which had been capsizing under the weight of its own success.
Despite growing complaints about the eleventh-hour theories introduced in Volume 2, particularly those that altered the very terrain of the parallel dimension, the creators have finally proved that the bridge is the missing piece without which the show’s mythology would not have cohered.
It now invites a lingering question — was this a last-minute contrivance, or a cleverly hidden element from the beginning, much like the ingenious twists that cap off Mike’s (Finn Wolfhard) campaigns?
The bridge, after all, is not merely a physical space. It is more than a red-hued void choked with spores and an AQI worse than the real world. It symbolises connection, both physical and metaphysical. That was the idea Volume 2 laboured to establish.
The final volume, however, reframes the lesson entirely. It argues that sometimes bridges must be detonated, not built. Sometimes, gaps are meant to remain unbreachable. Letting go becomes the season’s take away; letting go of fear, love and the comfort of roots.
It’s remarkable that the Duffer Brothers have managed to tie a neat bow around such a sprawling ensemble of characters, whose arcs are as layered as the mythology underpinning the sci-fi series itself.
What’s more, the show delivers a satisfying, if not entirely cathartic, denouement, especially when one considers not only its enormous cast but also the hastily introduced real-world/interdimensional bridge/deadlier parallel-dimension theory in Volume 2.
The plan Jim Hopper (David Harbour) and the gang settle on by the end of that volume is gruelling, to say the least. They will allow the two worlds to nearly merge, bomb the interdimensional bridge after Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) has been killed, and also, rescue the twelve children he is holding captive.
Since the characters had already explained and over-explained the physics behind the abyss and the bridge in the previous volume, the final episode wisely wastes no time on exposition. Instead, every character plunges headlong into high-octane, immersive action.
Major characters, especially Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), who had been sidelined for much of Season 5, finally step into their own.
Given the nearly 10-year gap between Season 1 and Season 5, it is a relief that the creators resist testing the fan base’s patience and loyalty without meaningful narrative reward.
Having kept spoilers at bay for so long, here’s a welcome reveal — Steve ‘the Hair’ Harrington is not lost to Vecna and his minions. Is it fair to tease a little more? There’s finally a real proposal after the muddled ‘un-proposal’ confusion of the previous volume.
Yes, the show does not forget to pay homage to its sci-fi predecessors like Star Wars, but it still manages to remain largely accessible even to casual or isolated viewers, and is as emotionally resonant as Season 1 – the chapter that transformed it from a surprise breakout into an iconic franchise.
Also starring Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Joe Keery, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Sadie Sink, Caleb McLaughlin and Winona Ryder, Stranger Things Season 5 finale is streaming on Netflix.