Film & TV Writer Manjit Bhatoe explores whether audiences have grown more pessimistic following the mixed reception to the Stranger Things finale
With the release of the Stranger Things finale causing a great deal of disapproval in fans, it took my mind back to April 2025 when another Netflix series, You, came to an end. Fans of the show suddenly flipped into its biggest critics. There were complaints of the main character, Joe (Penn Badgley), being seemingly weakened for plot reasons. Others disliked the new protagonist of the season, Bronte (Madeline Brewer). But, most of the discourse revolved around the penultimate episode being better than the actual finale.
In my opinion, the You finale was perfect. Joe was not weakened, but rather becoming more delusional after managing to manipulate multiple women for so long. Bronte was not a random character who managed to bring Joe to justice. Instead she was a comprehensive character of all of Joe’s victims before her. Finally, the final episode was a perfect mix of calm, action and justice, that perfectly concluded Joe’s story. Another thing I wanted to mention is the outrage that Ellie (Jenna Ortega) did not return. I would argue that her return would have not added much to the story as Joe was already exposed.
It seems that audiences are forgetting that the show is fiction and not a documentary.
Another show to receive unnecessary hate, in my opinion, is Bridgerton. Set in the regency era, the show follows the Bridgerton siblings’ search for love. Audiences on TikTok have slammed the creators for some “historical inaccuracies”. Many disliked the use of false eyelashes and nails for Penelope’s (Nicola Coughlan) character. Others believe the make up to be too modern for the time period. But not many seem to mention the Queen’s (Golda Rosheuvel) dramatic wigs that would also be inaccurate for the time. In fact many enjoy this feature of the show. It seems that audiences are forgetting that the show is fiction and not a documentary. Therefore, “historical inaccuracies” are instead just creative liberties.
The final show I want to discuss and the reason I am writing this article is Stranger Things. The finale received an abundance of, in my opinion, uncalled for hate online. With many saying there were too many unanswered questions. I think that most of these “unanswered questions” are perhaps audiences misunderstanding or overcomplicating some aspects of the show. Some of these “unanswered questions” have answers.
Some of these “unanswered questions” have answers.
Why was Will (Noah Schnapp) ever taken? Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) did say that he assumed he was weak. Why did Vecna need 12 vessels? Vecna had a fixation with grandfather clocks and clocks have 12 numbers. Why were Will’s powers only used for two episodes? If the Duffers had overused this element, audiences may have had a problem with that too. They probably savoured those moments for when they were truly needed; to save the children and to communicate with Henry (Jamie Campbell Bowers) during the final battle.
Some more questions audiences on TikTok and X had were: Why did the military suddenly leave the children alone? Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) was the sole reason they were pestering the children but they saw her die, so they can move on. Why was Vickie’s (Amybeth McNulty) story not concluded with the other characters’? She was not a core character so it wasn’t important to close her story. Where was Suzie (Gabriella Pizzolo)? Are her and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) still together? The main plot is about the cast defeating a monster who is kidnapping children. Plus, the children’s parents are barely present, and Suzie did not even live in Hawkins.
A major rumour even found its way around social media. A rumour that the Duffer brothers, the creators of the show, had confirmed five major deaths. But this cannot be traced back to a source. Despite this, audiences were still upset with Eleven’s death. A death that was not even confirmed but rather ambiguous. How would audiences have handled more deaths if they could not process one ambiguous death? Personally, I like the relatively optimistic ending. It is rare for shows to end with all of their main cast at the end of the show.
How would audiences have handled more deaths if they could not process one ambiguous death?
There was also another rumour on TikTok. Viewers had screenshotted one of the Duffers’ google tabs on his laptop, which was shown in the documentary for the finale, One Last Adventure. Viewers alleged that they had tabs of ChatGPT open, and that they used it to write. This has not been confirmed or backed up by anyone who worked on the show. In my opinion, this seems like nit picking on something to justify the dislike of the writing for the finale.
In my opinion, there were also some fair complaints. Why were there no demogorgons in the final battle? The Duffers did say this was to avoid “demo-fatigue” in an interview with TheWrap. But the demogorgons are the most notable creatures in the show. It would have made sense for them to be present for the final battle. Another query was why did the parents not notice Henry as they went to high school together? Throughout the show none of the adults saw Henry, from what I can remember. But, there is a stage play about the adults in high school, which could explain this. However, this seems unfair for fans of the Netflix series who have not seen the Broadway show, including me.
But at the end of the day, nothing can impress everyone and there will always be disagreements on how shows have ended.
In defence of the brothers, not having written the finale before filming began may not be entirely their fault. The documentary of the final seasons mentions that Netflix pushed a deadline onto them. There was even a scene of Matt Duffer talking to his co-workers about how it had been harder to work as he has kids now, which he has to balance with work.
In closing, audiences are definitely going to have strong opinions on shows they have strong attachments to. I grew up with Stranger Things, the show began when I started secondary school and I am now in university. Perhaps audiences are upset that their favourite shows are coming to an end. So, they grasp onto what they thought was not answered to almost perceive the show as not complete yet. On the other hand, perhaps fans are pessimistic because they have seen it to be a trend among other people. Or because they refuse to accept something different from what they had imagined. But at the end of the day, nothing can impress everyone and there will always be disagreements on how shows have ended.
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