Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Warning: spoilers for Stranger Things season 5 ahead.
With our Conformity Gate theories shut down and the Upside Down being blown to pieces, it really looks like our time with Stranger Things is over...for now.
Blasting its way into our lives way back in 2016, the Duffer Brothers' sci-fi fantasy quickly became one of Netflix's biggest exports. The likes of Westworld, The Crown, Killing Eve, and Squid Game are just some of the shows that have come and gone in the time Stranger Things has been on the air, feeding into complaints that we had to wait an age between seasons.
Still, the final run of episodes is out, with Netflix reiterating that there will be no more of the main series. While we know there are at least two spin-offs on the way, fans are still largely distracted by their hate for season 5.
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Away from rumors that there's cut footage and missing episodes, some feel the ending simply didn't land. Others have called it an emotional swansong, with particular praise for the final episode's epic epilogue.
The two-hour One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 has proved to be something of a poison chalice for Matt and Ross Duffer, and instead of winning viewers back around, it's only led to more division.
After saying it was a 'difficult' final season, the Duffers also admitted that filming started before they an ending in place. Scenes from the documentary include the Duffers in the writers' room, while trying to decide how to end the arc of Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven.
Mulling over Eleven's fate, Ross Duffer says: "The whole episode has to be building towards, ‘Eleven is going to kill herself’.”
This doesn't sit well with Matt, who adds, "If we’re trying to sell it as she’s going to kill herself, and then she kills herself,” before writer Paul Dichterchimes in saying: "I think that it’s like, is she still deciding? Has she already decided?"
i'm in pain watching this 😃 pic.twitter.com/RKNwSYkcGX
— hellshee (@_hellshee_) January 12, 2026
Ross seems determined to sell the idea, telling the group: "You have to keep toying with the audience because I think what works in seven is this, ‘Oh my god. Is she really going to go through with this?’ And it’s what everyone’s gonna keep expecting."
It's clear that they wanted to maintain some sort of mystery surrounding Eleven's fate, which plays out in Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) telling a story about her potential survival. It's already been revealed that the Duffers only told Brown about Eleven's ultimate fate.
Sharing the clip, one person said: "I'm in pain watching this."
Another replied: "I was lauuuughinggg they literally documented the downfall of their show😭😭."
Someone else said: "Lol one thing I think we can all agree on is we have severely overestimated these guys as creators."
A third concluded: "Wait, aren’t these the guys who said they had it all figured out since the beginning?"
With someone even going as far as calling it 'disgustingggggg', it doesn't look like the ever-angry Stranger Things audience is going to give the Duffers a break anytime soon.
