We feel a bit like the old lady from Titanic when it comes to the final season of Stranger Things, and while it hasn't quite been '84 years', you'll forgive fans for feeling the creak in their bones a bit more than they used to when season 1 first aired.
It's hard to believe it's been nine and a half years since we first saw Shannon Purser's Barb snuff it, but after eons of waiting, more shock deaths than we care to remember (we're still not over Bob), Stranger Things' final episode is dropping on December 31, 2025.
While there's been some notable aging of the core cast from when they started as fresh-faced kids, that's not the only major gripe some have with Netflix.
There's already been enough behind-the-scenes drama facing Stranger Things' final run of episodes, but as we wait to see who lives and who dies at the hands of Vecna, the Duffer Brothers are facing more controversy. This time, over 290,000 disgruntled fans have signed a petition calling for 'deleted scenes' to be returned to the sci-fi series.
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A Change.org petition accuses the Duffers and the streaming giant of leaving important moments on the cutting room floor, which isn't helped by the fact that they've been forced to clarify what happened to the fan-favorite Nancy and Jonathan.
Poster Wennii J demands the supposedly 'unseen footage', writing: "I believe it was more to the episodes and we didn’t see them either due to Netflix or the team of Stranger Things cutting them.
“This has been a long 10 years process and this is what we get. They must have cut out a lot of scenes from volume 2 and from our loved characters."
Calling for fans to stand up and take 'initiative', the OP tells irate viewers to start a trending hashtag and make videos calling for answers. The passionate speech continues: "It’s important because we waited so long for this season.
“I believe the fans should have a say in how the series should go. This is why so many of us are disappointed because it didn’t live up to the expectations that was held upon."
Claiming that 'everyone' is dissatisfied with the second half of season 5, this is somewhat backed up by Season 5 Volume 2 having the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of the show's entire run.
Wennii J concludes: "The amount of clues and information we got from the cast members and interviews are not matching up with the episodes provided.
“We want stranger things to have a legacy not be seen as some show that couldn’t pull though due to it bad writing."
While the Duffers remain quiet on the matter, the fact that the petition has doubled from 140,000 in just one day shows how seriously people are taking this.
The problem is, in an era when Zack Snyder is known for releasing the 'Snyder Cut' of his Justice League, and David Ayer claims there's an Ayer Cut of 2016's Suicide Squad, we've arguably been spoiled. Remember, the era of watching deleted scenes and bloopers on DVD is far behind us.
As someone close to Stranger Things, actor Randy Havens has taken to Instagram in an attempt to clear things up. Known for playing Hawkins Middle School teacher Scott Clarke, Havens wrote: "There is no Snyder Cut of the show, please don’t believe everything some random a** tells you on the internet.”
Not everyone is buying it, and on the Change.org petition, one angry person said: "We have been waiting since 2022 to see this last season. To be robbed of scenes by Netflix which really could have gelled the show all together is absolutely unacceptable, and I speak on behalf of all fans that we have been betrayed for the show we love.
"We don’t sit down and do nothing, we need to show The Duffer Brothers, Netflix, and especially Shawn Levy. We want our full episodes, we want the scenes which change everything. We want our show back."