The Reel Rejects - Extended Version: STRANGER THINGS Season 5 Episode 8 FINALE REACTION!! Vecna | Millie Bobby Brown | Netflix

Episode Date: January 1, 2026

DID THEY STICK THE LANDING??? Stranger Things Full Reaction Watch Along: ⁠  / thereelrejects  ⁠ Eleven Vs Vecna, The Mindflayer, Eleven Death Scene, The Final Dungeons & Dragons Scene, & MORE! Gift Someone (Or Yourself) A Stranger Things RR Tee! ⁠https://shorturl.at/hekk2⁠ STRANGER THINGS 5, Episode 7 REACTION: ⁠   • STRANGER THINGS Season 5 Episode 7 REACTIO...  ⁠ ST5 Ep 5 & 6 Reaction: ⁠   • STRANGER THINGS Season 5 Episode 5 & 6 REA...  ⁠ ST5 Ep 5x4 Reaction: ⁠   • WOAH!! STRANGER THINGS Season 5 Episode 4 ...  ⁠ ST5 Ep 5x3 Reaction: ⁠   • STRANGER THINGS Season 5 Episode 3 REACTIO...  ⁠ ST5 Ep 1 & 2 REACTION: ⁠   • STRANGER THINGS SEASON 5 Episode 1 & 2 REA...  ⁠ Vecna: The Mind Slayer tee by @G9DESIGN & Dr. Stranger Things tee by @SASAMIIKU — perfect for hardcore fans & collectors alike With the Season Finale now upon us... Greg & John give their FINAL Stranger Things Reaction, Recap, Commentary, Analysis, Breakdown, & Spoiler Review! The OG's REACT to “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up,” the series finale of Stranger Things — a sprawling, emotional conclusion to Netflix’s sci-fi horror epic that pits the Hawkins crew against the full force of the Upside Down and the Abyss in a final attempt to stop Vecna’s plan and save their world. In this feature-length finale (over two hours), the gang reunites for one last stand, confronting the supernatural rifts unleashed across Hawkins as they attempt to close the Abyss and halt the interdimensional collapse that has threatened reality itself. Central to the showdown is Eleven (**Millie Bobby Brown – Enola Holmes, Godzilla: King of the Monsters`) as she faces Vecna and the monstrous forces of the Upside Down with help from Kali / Eight (Linnea Berthelsen – The Witcher) and her friends. Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard – IT, Ghostbusters: Afterlife), Dustin Henderson (**Gaten Matarazzo – Prank Encounters, Dear Evan Hansen”), Lucas Sinclair (**Caleb McLaughlin – Concrete Cowboy), and Will Byers (Noah Schnapp – Hubie Halloween) provide emotional and tactical support, while Max Mayfield (**Sadie Sink – The Whale, Fear Street”) is at the heart of the finale’s stakes after emerging from the Abyss earlier. Adult allies like Joyce Byers (**Winona Ryder – Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands”) and Jim Hopper (**David Harbour – Violent Night, Black Widow”) fight beside them, refusing to let Hawkins fall into darkness. Intense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...⁠ Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! ⁠https://www.rejectnationshop.com/⁠ Follow Us On Socials:  Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/⁠  Tik-Tok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@reelrejects?lang=en⁠ Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/reelrejects⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/⁠ Music Used In Ad:  Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...⁠ POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit⁠ https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo⁠ and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en⁠ Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.⁠ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO:⁠ https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects⁠ Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM:  FB:  ⁠https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/⁠ INSTAGRAM: ⁠ https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/⁠ TWITTER:  ⁠https://twitter.com/thereelrejects⁠ Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM:  ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/⁠ TWITTER:  ⁠https://twitter.com/thegregalba⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello there, fellow citizen of the Reject Nation. We're here today to watch the final episode of Stranger Things. So I don't want to hear another person complaining about will being gay because it was only like three minutes long that's all anyone seems to talk about. Hi, I'm Greg. Joyce. This is John. This is Joyce. We are known for our uncanny impressions.

Ha ha, ha, yes. Nailed it. And I'm Steve Harrington. I'm good. I'm good. How are you? It's a quirky year's end, but you know what? It's been marked by some really fun times here in the studio with you.

I feel like we have found our Shane Ilya here. Yes, exactly. I'm ready to continue this. By being here on Chris Hutchay and New Jersey together watching this. Anyway, guys, yeah, this is the final episode. And I want to thank everyone who's been here with us watching when we started doing reactions for this. This is one of my favorite shows. And despite this being a bit of a rocky journey with Volume 5 or Stranger Things Season 5.

Stranger Things 5. I'm still happy to be here and I just want to take it in. Thanks, John, for being here on New Year's Eve to pull you away from your family for a little bit. I'm really sorry. Thank you guys for joining us on New Year's Day. Happy to be here with all of you. You ready to absorb this? I'm not ready, but I'm ready as I'll ever be.

Let's do it. It doesn't quite feel like it's ending. No. But hopefully in two and a half hours from now, it will. Let's do this. Dude, I think. No, it wasn't in the lab. I'm wrong about that.

It's okay. It's reminiscent enough. Oh. The war is on. What if she's actually just Sarah Connor? That would be crazy. I mean, we've already had a Terminator in the show. Why not?

I swear to God I didn't touch it. The gauge is open that on its own. Like magic, it must have been some kind of malfunction. Is magic really out of the realm here, soldier? You really expect me to believe that soldier? I swear, I don't know what happened. What if it was a malfunction? I mean, we've got to entertain all possibilities.

Not caused by us. Oh, you're good. See, that's why she's here. That's why she's the boss. All right, lab rats, let's scurry up. An entire dimension's about to come crashing down on our head. Santa Claus Murray. Is everything okay?

I'm just going to go die. I know this plan is totally mad and a million things have to go right. And a million things could and probably will go wrong. But we can do this. But out of a million, you just need 11. One last fight. And this whole nightmare, it'll be over. It'll finally be over.

I like how in this truck you still get the upside down lighting. just because of the red in there, just the red ambians. Speaking of a million things going wrong, that underarmor sleeve did not catch that last episode. She's got the body glove on, and I keep happy to be like, oh, yeah, they must have existed in the 80s. This guy. Hello, hello there.

The main villain. Mac, this is Wolfpack. The hell you think you're doing? Alerting the dog. That bitch is a god complex. What else will do is slow us down. You have an ego problem. We're begging this freak ourselves.

Oh, no, dude. And his eyes, he keeps looking like, he's mutating. This is one one insult he keeps hurling her way. Freak.

Uh, uh, gotta love the duffers in their match cuts. Ew, ew, ew,

ew, you, uh, upside down transition. It just looks like bits of colon. It's so gross.

And just the whole thing inside of a gaping mouth. It's never felt so alive. A maw. I do love, yeah, that everything

feels like it's skin and teeth, at least with Vecna's stuff. Gorgeous shot. Sick shot. The clouds depart. There's the road paved. The spot. Yeah. That's a very cool POV.

God's literal God's eye view. The real shit hasn't started yet. Erica, language, please. This isn't neutral to science. This situation demands cussing. You know, you know. That's fair logic. So,

Cussing is cathartic. What? To be right. Helping to save the world and all that. It feels pretty swell. To be a real science guy. Pretty goddamn swell. Shit, yeah, Mr. Clark.

That was a very sweet moment. We should get a whole heart-to-heart dramatic scene between the two of them. Presbyterian community. That's the kind of Christian they are here. Squawk We're hunting birds tonight Hey Robin, yeah Can you please tell me that that was you guys

And not more of those like mutant cuchos Nice reference It's us and it's too early to be stressed, Vic, save it for later Yeah, no, uh, copy that, yeah She doesn't have a comforted a girlfriend And a time of crisis that she's not used That she's only just been exposed to Like mere moments ago

use both ladders don't rush pace yourselves there are platforms along the way so use him to rest he's a real leader now the climb redux let's do this

do this do you remember when it used to be difficult to breathe in the upside down yeah now we're going to just casually stirl through here well it's like when you're training in the mountains you know it's like you get used to the high altitude

and the thinness of the air and don't be frightened these are all friends yes They're just here to watch. Don't focus on them. He made me watch.

Oh, yeah, man, remember our first experiencing this. So sinister. Ah. All right. It's weird to have to play the, is it sarcasm or second screen talk game? Slow knocks means the abyss started to move. The second I get confirmation that planet's close enough to the tower. Then I'm going to give you three fast.

Knox. Then we strike. Okay. We kill Henry. And we, uh, pray to God, Dustin's right, and that planet starts moving. Their codes have always been in the form of Knox. What could possibly go wrong? Alright.

If something does go wrong. Oh, Papa Hop. I need you to promise me you won't pull me out. Not until I'm sure he's dead. Promise it. Yeah. Then I'm gonna need a promise from you too. If by some miracle this plan actually works, we're getting the hell out of here.

Dot K and our plans, that's a problem for you. for another day. Yeah, don't do anything stupid. I hope you honor that. What a full circle moment. Now she gets to own this. Yeah. First time going in, last time going in, this exact mechanism.

Going from being used by to being the user. Ooh. They're going hard on that score. Suppose they reserved like the best 11 episode of this season for the final one. final one. That's my hope. Maybe we will feel the most for them here and maybe that'll be appropriate. What you said earlier at this walk, I'm sorry. I mean, not sorry about what you said. I came out wrong or not came out wrong. Jesus Christ. It's okay. No, it's not. I should have been there for you and I wasn't. I guess I was just so self-absorbed

that I couldn't see it. I just, I feel like an idiot and I'm. Yeah, man. I feel that. I'm sorry. really feel like an adult this season, Mike. You don't have to be sorry, and you are not an idiot. You're not. It's just, I didn't even understand it myself for the longest time. Slow punching. I just, I think it needed to happen the way it happened. I needed to find my own way.

You can go your own way. But what matters is that you're still here, and you still think we can be friends. Friends? No thanks. Best friends. Ah, damn. So I was secretly. No, thanks.

I'm hoping 11 dies in there, and we're going to get out of here. together yeah stress gives me the munchies so I do you want anything oh actually can I get it oh no no oh no get her mind oh she's got the checkerboard shoes got her mind no no nor hello max oh oh oh oh oh oh I swear to I hope her eyes aren't her eyes are like

yeah there it is nice lighting yeah purple always a unique kind of seductive cool very cool

oh oh they brought her cool hi hi hi Why'd that feel Alevolent? Yeah

Aelevolent Mother of God Oh my Zardaws Seems like that's going to happen really fast It does feel like a cool inverse of like those sci-fi movies When like a planet or something is erupting from the Like coming up from the ground

unearthing how long do we have not long Supergirl better be close in there Jesus so this is right now in the abyss

you don't have to whisper but yes why they bring Max why don't we just come right here I mean he seems pretty damn vulnerable we can't hurt him here

we have to enter his mind isn't this his mind no it's my mind what what? Fun fun rapid fire whoa

The school Wow How close are me to Henry's house Not close How not close I'm not sure You said you know his mind backwards and forwards Yeah I do

But there were a shit ton of memories in here Did Henry go to high school here? Stop talking while I try and think Joyce, this is that stupid play of yours Better see you that hand Yeah something to do with that play flyer We zoomed on exactly we were picked up before Is that Joyce?

Yep Through that door hop sneaking And that way Mr. Wheeler is feeling up, Mrs. Wheeler. I wish we had time to sight see. I wish we had a whole episode of just all that. We talked about in the first season of how they would smoke together, Joyce and Hop,

in high school. Oh, no. Oh, cool reflection. Turn off that damn racket. I do keep itching for her to become a real character. I mean, there's still time. We got... Yeah.

Damn. Way to go, Vicky. You got her through that hole? Wheelchair and all. Yeah. Don't question it if it happens off-screen. Crazy work. The tower needle is not lining up with the rift.

if the abyss hits the needle then this tower's going down oh no great that's just great hey chief we're gonna need hell to stop this planet oh god Jesus Christ what the hell

oh my god if you learn to use the upside down you could probably use it like the wormhole it is in the dark surrounded by tendrils and monsters well edited whoa damn

what's going on in there I don't know I can't talk to her I gave her the signal I gave her the signal we have to go this is the only way just trust me oh my god dude oh my god dude what's happening oh my god oh my god oh my god oh that's that's terrifying yeah that's very bad

oh my god dang how is this tower staying on but the tower at tips by now oh no nice nicely done wow Whoa Oh Steve Slow-mo Steve Steve Oh shit Oh shit What

What? What? Ah Jeez Cut the black That's a nice subversion. Okay. All right.

I see you. I said I thought you were talking. I might have thought the moment more if they didn't cut to block. Yeah. They just let them fall for a bit. They're literally teasing us. I'm not leaving your side. But I'm glad it was Jonathan, though, that caught him.

We're out of here. It's the monster, get up! No, I'm not the monster, and I can prove it. Oh, wowie. Oh, here we come. Oh, it's time to whoops some ass, Nancy. Holy shit. Oh, it's similar music cues, but played with a different key.

Does this officially make us space travelers? Intimensional space travelers. Suck in Armstrong. It's pretty cool. This is the yellow. Hello world. Ooh. How red his eyes are.

This is just not your day, Vecna. It's over. Where are they? With Max. Safe. They're in the cave from the play. I told you. With Max.

Far away from here. You can't believe it, can you? It's an illusion. Whoa. Why can he see us? Because Mr. Watson isn't the only one with magic powers. powers. So, Cali.

Collie. Destroyer of worlds. I felt like Henry would be able to sense them, though, right? With their minds and stuff? That's why you take children. They have weak minds. But they're smarter than you think. And you, are you smart?

Oh my God, the kids can do the killing. And in here. Ooh. I will find all the answers I need. Eish. Oh, Mr. What's it. True form time. Now they see who the real monsters.

It's him. He's the black thing. Everything Holly told you is true. He is trying to destroy our world. We have to escape. Oh, my God. Ew. Ew.

Can end our brother. Together. He knows. Ugh. Ugh. No time for that. Ugh. No.

No. No time for that. Yeah, no time for that. Just knife. Whoa. Yeah. Is he doing mind tricks on you too? Is this all an illusion?

We don't know what's going on in the mind. Look, I know. L broke the spell and stopped the abyss, but she could still be fighting him. Man, good point. Great job keeping the morale up. I mean, you're the one of those is going on. You got to deliver the hard truth. Thought I was a goner back there.

Oh, you won. Bulls circle. Just because I don't like you, it doesn't mean I want you dead. Oh, that's a good distinction. Uh-huh. I don't blame you, by the way, for not liking me. It can be a real prick sometimes. You also bullied the shit out of him, like for twice.

some tough. Abused in Brooks' property. When I was away in California, you were there for Nancy when I couldn't be. And I thought that, you know, that was why, why things were off with us. Or you just found something to blame. Our problems had nothing to do with you. It just took me a long time to figure that out. Aw, growth.

And to let her go. Yeah, which is what you ought to do, Steve. Been so busy finding, I probably could have saved you. a little bit of time because I've known for a while now. Me and Nance, we're never really in the cards. How long have you known? She's independent. She's got to get out there.

I don't know. I want to... Six little nuggets. She told you that? I think it would have been better if I said four? Maybe just not calling them nuggets. Yeah. Can't draw the happy meal comparison.

Listen, bottom line, end of the day, I'd rather have her as a friend and nothing at all. Here, here, bro. she's just really special yeah yeah yeah well I guess we can agree on one thing yeah I guess so oh oh you're gonna want to check this out first Nancy divided them now Nancy unites them if they did that whole scene on a treadmill wowie yeah that finger formation that's it that's what I saw in my vision the kids are in there And what are we waiting for? Ellen Ripply Nancy never even thinks about those two.

So far beyond that at all. Leave me! Say yourself, you dumbasses! Do you find him? Tell me found him. He just vanished. He went back to the real world. How far to the cave? It's not far. Derek, we gotta go right back. Derek. Dustin, Lucas. What's going on? Come on talk to me. ignoring me the key

to a good hopper impression is you have to be whiny you understand whiny and deliberate impressions one oh one herbicide 1960 like Vietnam Vietnam yeah oh boy oh no he's getting in your head now

playing on your traumas ah shit Oh, God, that's cruel. We knew this would happen. Just like you know what will happen to her. That is so cruel. It's a cycle. It's a terrible, vicious cycle.

Oh, you're f***ed up, man. You actually show him this. After we kill our brother. After the children I rescued, we don't leave with the others. We stay on the bridge. when the upside down vanishes, so will we. It's actually a really good green screen keying effects and stuff. He's going to do it.

Ooh. What? They've never interacted. Stop your life faster! I am very shit. I am not a liar. Uh, eh. You deceive a lot.

It depends on your definition of lying. You claiming not to be a liar is a bit. bending of the truth. You are the curse. Vecta's curse. Oh shit. How dare you? What did you actually shoot?

Oh no. You shoot the tank? Oh no. Roephene. Oh my God. Oh, no. Oh, dude. What? No, he's messing with his life. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, okay, okay. yeah all right all right nor nor why is he sick going stop stop oh no no no no no no oh that's so bad Get to the cave, Holly.

What did you do? What did you do? Hi there. Hall is lost. Max, what happened? You just pushed away like a goddamn ghost. Did the black thing take them? Probably.

There's enough. Yeah. We keep to the plan. Get to the cave. The black thing can hurt us there. to follow me ET phone home we have to get to the abyss

join the others and we can kill him there there is no time the worlds will collide long before we reach him not if Holly and the kids make it to the cave her voice sounds different

without the kids Henry can't do anything that's a lot of vifs we can't give up not now exactly what you're doing giving up uh huh

Henry showed me your plan damn Henry lied to you he tricked you he used you and you used you and you fell for it oh tell me you don't plan on yourself tonight i will not detonate the c4 not until i know that you are safe with the others back in hawkins i will destroy it once i know that you're safe

that was also a metallic a reference nothing matters because henry's gone to him and he's lost his mind collie wait oh bullshit come on how you know that you know the truth collie shoot me if i'm alive then so is henry i have to end the cycle you will but not like this not with more violence not with more pain yes you end up with acceptance your mother was taken from you your childhood was taken from you you've been attacked manipulated abused you deserve freedom life has been so unfair to you woof but you never let it break you and i need you to fight kid i just need you to fight one last time fight for the happy days on the other side of this fight for for a world beyond Hawkins.

The waterfall. Fight for that day that you have a kid of your own and you give her the life that you never had. Damn. That's the cycle you keep going. For the day you get so angry because she invites some boy over and she won't keep the door open three inches.

Ha ha. No, you don't believe you can have any of this. But I promise you, we will find a way to make it real. I don't want to add to the stress, but we've got company. We've got company. Ha ha ha ha that was about enough talking for my taste anyway

little debby have you seen Derek? Oh Derek! How'd you lose track of Derek? Oh no! Come on Derek! Don't let Derek be the one that gets killed off. Come on, come on, we got this! We gotta go! Come on, hurry up! Ew! Oh shit, he's running. Christ. Run! Run!

Ah, evil dead! They're gonna kill off Derek. Damn. Oh, Holly, no. Can't have to chew that leg off. Oh. I'm surprised that worked. Really?

Huh? I found one. We're safe now. Aw. Holly, the leader. Yeah. Heroic as ever. How exactly did Deep break free?

Did it have something to do with like the precipice of cave or something that Derek just managed to pull her far enough that it broke is is a little dubious some of the ones they've gotten over on vectna have been a bit dubious we're just getting really close okay and we don't know what's in there so i really think you should be sharing some of that firepower no unless you're okay living with the guilt of my death i'm gonna need one of those goddamn guns oh shit thanks hey a flare gun though players gave you a flare gun dude I was going to say those big old rounds It was like there's no way

You know, Will should never be at the back of the line Will should always be in the center of the group flanked by everyone else It's Henry, he's alive It's alive Oh, look at that frightened boy They said you Wow

Damn. Oh, yeah. The root of the problem. What a face in this makes him, like, calm down. He's actually... I'm so sorry for everything I'm doing. I'm going to take you all back over right now. I'm going to fix this.

I am so embarrassed, you guys. You must hate me. What do you see? It's Henry. He's needed into the cave. Two years avoiding that cave. Twenty-second to overcome his problem that is presenting. You know, as you face your fear, it's just an instantaneous choice.

Sometimes you need enough motivation. They're alone. They're all alone. Oh. Could you stop him with your powers? I can try. Just keep going. Oh, yeah.

Let's get some Chrissy wake up in this shit. Such a great transitional effect, just panning the light past the lens. It's like it's so simple, but it's effective. Oh, damn. Oh, you assholes. Oh, God. Murray. I wish Murray had a gun.

Pull some shit, Murray. Yeah. Sorry, Collie. I mean, you can only take one kid at a time. Uh. Yeah. You'd have to be an exact range, though, right? Oh my god.

You kids are way more powerful than you realize. Why are you taking them into my traumatic memories? It's messed up. Come on, Murray. Pull some shit. You're a crafty individual. Come on, Murray. You know, I didn't even think about it. Look what we got here. I just let you here, huh? That's not very nice now, is it?

All you soldiers are so despicable. Yeah, you guys are so mean. Get her out of here. Nice, hopper. Nice. Oh, dude, yeah. Oh, my God, he's John Wicking them. Dude, he's John Wick and Hopper.

John Hopper. Hopwick. Oh, God, it's mutated guy. Oh, this guy. It's freaking District 9 over here. All right, listen. Anything you see in here is not real. It can't hurt you.

Just keep your eyes on me. I think you guys collectively have enough where you probably are able to take Vecna down. There's a reason he saw you kids out. Yeah. Holy shit, boss. Eyes on me, Derek. Yeah, come on, Derek.

I love him so much. Yeah. You get to the other side and you wait for me. Are you guys into running up that hill? Yeah, who likes Kate Bush here? Let's cease of hands. Oh, no, don't get... Oh, hey.

Okay, I take it back. Tell me where the other freak is. This one dies right here. It's just us. You think I'm playing a game here? Where is they? Oh, here's Janie. This is not a good plan.

is crazy take your pants off murray here goes absolutely nothing but it'll work out yeah i'm feeling where is she go to hell go to hell wow we're doing it we're doing it like wow no come on juju his mind destiny bradley's big boy Oh, my God, Murray. Murray, yeah, I was going to say. Oh, my God! Nice. Where did that shot go?

Awesome. That was pretty sick. Wow. Nice reflection. Cool ass glasses shot. Journalist, smuggler, karate master. Soldier. What can't

Murray do? Taking down a chopper single-handed. Woo-woo. Snap, snap, snap, snap. Oh, you looking for me? Oh, no. Oh, that's going to be gnarly. Oh, snap.

Oh, my God, dude. Nicely done, Jane. Tell him he's mean first. Woo! YouTube doesn't understand context, so we can't show that. The, uh, no, What the fuck? Yeah, oh my God, you kill off

Kali, who had a bunch of bullshit. That sucks, man, that sucks. You just brought her back. That sucks. You will make it, okay. Don't cry, chain. Aw. We'll always have season two episode seven.

My story was always going to end here. That's so unfair. Yeah, I hate that. she's just fucking now dead oh yeah whatever I'm so upset by that didn't even get to have like an arc yeah

feels like they couldn't kill off any main characters that killed her off no it's people speculating like they're bringing her back just to fridger and I'm like were they yeah certainly fucking feels that way I'm upset I didn't even last that moment yeah yeah damn It was just so fucking quick.

I wanted the two of them to actually, like, face off with him. She deserves some closure, yeah. Nice. Oh. Oh, hell yeah. Hally. Boss Holly. Yeah.

Kiyah. Where are you, Derek? I like to kick it. I'm a karate guy. I live near here. Who's setting you? Just a scared little boy. They said you.

You're just confused. You need to talk. The Boy Scouts of America. What's happening? He's doing Boy Scout shit, man. He's in a memory now. And he's scared. He's so scared.

Damn, dude. Core wound. Literally. What's wrong? Collie. Where's, where's Collie? Rosif I can jump

at seven seconds I can jump those boulders to the abyss I'll be right there right at the tree shortcut if you fall I won't if you make it I kill him oh yeah yeah when I was a kid and you found me in the woods

I was scared you took me in oh Oh, that's a new, that's a new shot. Yeah, get some unused footage. You became my dad. But I'm not a kid anymore. How old are you supposed to be in context?

He's like 15. I'm a teen. And I'm not Sarah. Oh, boy. She didn't have a choice to make. What you do. But I do. And I need you.

to trust me to make the right choice. Yeah. I need you to believe in me. He does. Oh. Wow. Damn. So he got infected with that,

and that's how he got his powers? Yeah. So he became a murderer before he was infected. Looks like they had some of that like theoretical matter in there or whatever. I'll get my bludgeoning patch. Wow, just one little thing. Yeah, it looks like a little meteorite from another world. Oh no, the particles.

Wow. Whoa. What? Oh, wow, okay. It's a malevolence, oh no, into the bullet, all into the wound. Oh, the poison into the wound. Wasp resist it will consume you. Damn, it's fucking heads like bashed in.

Ew. Wow, yeah. Whoa! That was a mindflayer in there. Oh, wow. Oh, creepy. Ooh! So the mindflare is really the one.

Bechne's not the main man in charge. No. Beckness still is just a servant. Yeah, he's just like the face. It's like the main instrument. Oh God. But not the source. Was never you.

What? No way. That's why the mine flier didn't want you in the cave. I didn't want you to remember. Yeah. You got to help us stop this. I said, leave me alone. You were just a kid, a kid like me.

Oh, this is all about cycles, too, and using. Yeah. Used you to bring it here. You're just like me, Henry. Oh. Yeah. If you can resist it, help us fight it. Oh, my God.

This is crazy. It showed me the truth. I mean, he's so, he might be so far gone by now. Yeah. It showed me that this world is broken. Wow. That man. is broken don't listen to it henry it is controlling you right now it might be look at what's

turned you into it might it'd probably be easier to accept this fatality than accepting the reality of what he's did done you know oh sure and i never controlled it we are drift compatible i could have resisted it but i chose to join it Chosen this evil. Yeah, the mind player. It's coming. Wow. It's a physical manifestation to add the actual tangible version of it.

Yeah. It needs me. Oh, you're codependent, man. It goes for feeling like some kind of horrible tree to now be like a horrible organism. We. Oh. Oh, that's what you've better met of it.

One. Whoa. Wow. Cool. Run from one. Damn. Damn. It's got a bit of zero morph.

This is a sub-profile. Yeah. Oh shit. This is interdimensional parasite. Oh. Nice. Oh, nice fake out. Use your flare gun.

Yeah. He loves red. Wow, what a mouth. What a maw. What the? 11? Did she make the jump? Go, go, go, go.

Can 11, like, assemble her own, giant Megazord? Wow. Wow! David and Goliath. I wish we saw her do the jump. Yeah, I wish we saw her do the jump too. Wow!

What a shot, though. That's crazy. I hate you shit. Holy shit. That is crazy. The evil spider dragon. Whoa. Go, Jonah and the whale this.

Jonah and the whale this bitch. Yeah. Wow. Nice. Wow. Nice. Oh. Woo.

I went to the heart. Into the heart of the beast. Oh, fun. Pretty badass. Yeah. She's finding Vecta. Hive might.

Yeah. I chose this life. this life. You truly do want to die. Ooh, hand battle. We have to help her.

How? Okay, the hive mine works in both ways. If we hurt the mine flare, then we hurt Beckna. What, hurt Godzilla over there? Does look kajum. There. One of us draws it to that canyon.

The rest take positions on those cliffs. Ambush it from above. How long is that going to take? Like, like season three? Look at the StarCorp-ball It's just one question Which one of us is bait?

I am Of course you are The baddest ass here Not one person was like No Nancy No they're like She's got this And no one's gonna talk her out of it

That makes sense I was gonna say You gotta treat like one of those video games You gotta shoot like the mouth And the joints Oh shit That's a hell of bait Jesus

What a fascinating turn for her. No, we're going to show. We need her for the spin-off. Hey, pocket sand. Go. Holy shit. That is so big. Like weird eye plumage.

You cannot run this. You're in a roll in Emmerich movie now. Yeah. Damn. Yeah. Right up in there. Cool. Yeah.

Fucking looks awesome, though. Yeah. It's like a giant, like earth drill. Wow, wow, wow, wow. Jurassic Park shot, Nick of time. Yeah, let's go. Let's go fire the hole. Nice.

Oh, come on, get them on one of those spikes. Yeah, do it nice and slow too. Ugh! Shotgun! Yeah. Yeah. Dude, teamwork. So close.

Jab, jab, jab. Ew. Yeah. Freddy, they both do it, Freddy. Let's turn on the Metallica. Oh, we got dual nose bleeds. Use both hands, 11. Yeah.

Oh. Ew. You gross. Will. Come on, Will. Good job, Will. Team work. Let's go.

I am okay with being gay. I am so secure in my identity. We're not The same Afraid We Of you Oh that is a chorus

Yeah Wow Oh did the limb Let's go Let's go Wow Wow Ha

Oh Is everyone okay Oh Thank God no under armor Can you hear me Holly Oh, yes, get them particles out of you. Now there's like 11 other people.

You got to go do that for. Nats me. I'm here. Oh. Squelch intensifies. Where am I? You're safe. You're safe, bud.

Okay. We're here to get you home. Yeah. Oh. Oh. Yeah. Well, chop his head off or something. Yeah.

Cut them into pieces and put all the pieces into boxes and scatter them across the bridge. Wow. you guys wow you're fucked with the wrong family wow we got it at fog joy joy why don't you go ahead and go home

nice oh barb real quick in there i love you bad goodbye mike get the clips oh my wow you just want this to be over oh

nice what's going on well the noseless bastards toast we're back in the upside down and we have the kids is everybody okay there's 11 okay yeah the party took a hell of a beating but we're okay well by all the whole party ha ha so what do we say you hit the music old man destroy the upside down once and for all here we go let's ditch this hellscape I wish I got the numbers. Yeah, damn. It's an Easter egg, comment.

All right. The countdown begins. Sick. Hey, what are you doing? You're going to let more of that crap in here. You smell like it. I actually don't know what you smell like, but it's bad. Yeah, you got to smell like dank, fleshy mucus juice.

There it is. Assholes. Oh, no, no. It's them. Assholes. How does it feel? Feels like I need a nap and a smoke. I thought you quit.

Yeah, that's why it's going to taste so good. Yeah. Yeah. You know, at this point, I'd settle for a giant monologue from Dr. K. Yeah. About who she is and everything? Wow. Wowie.

Where's the girl? She was right here. One second I go. She's destroying the shit. Maybe Collie didn't actually die. Maybe they tricked us into thinking Collie died. Oh, she's staying behind. No.

Snapperino. Oh shit. Oh, no. Whoa. You have to get out. None of this will ever end. Not if I'm still here. Oh, don't do this.

We'll figure something out. We'll fight back. We always do. I need you to talk to the others. No. Oh, no. Please don't do this. Please don't do this.

Mike, I need you to help them understand my choice. But I don't, I don't understand. I know. Oh. You understand me better than any. Anyone do you always have? From the day we met. Roll those clips.

You've seen me. Well, my name's Mike, short for Michael. Maybe we can call you L, short for 11. God. The real me. Huh? Aww. Aw.

uh huh i will always be with you oh please don't do this i will always be with you oh come on wow oh my goodbye mike whoa oh he chose the record too oh come on he chose the record too oh come on

Wow. Oh, that really sucks. Wow. Wow. Wow. What a sequence. It doesn't feel real to me. God damn it.

Whoa. Jesus Christ. You assholes. You guys suck. There's a whole reason why. I mean, like, actual shock right now. Yeah. My heart just feels like hollow.

Yeah. It's like she went through with the sacrifice that she had in first season. Hi there, strangers. A year and a half. Damn. Do you guys even remember me? Okay, maybe I'm being doing modest. Long hair.

Let's be honest. Who could forget this soothing voice with a trace of a Debra Winger rasp? It's me. Robin Buckley, aka Rockin'n'Robin'i. Twiddly-dee. Jimmy Fast Hands was kind enough to let me back into the booth for a guest stint, but you're going to have to cut me some slack. because I am feeling rusty.

I mean, what do I even talk about? Hmm. It is, well, it's my friend's bowl cut. Hey. I mean, there's no soldiers. No fences. Oh, a new generation of kids on bikes. There we go.

Can't swear on the radio like that. Sorry about that. My partner in crime ditched me, but, well, as far as excuses go. Oh. He had a pretty good one. Steve, where you at? No mental mistakes. I think the Hawkins curse has finally lifted.

All right, Thomas, let's go, Thomas, here we go, ma'am. But at the same time, sunflower seats. This is anyone the Hawkins that I remember feels so different. But maybe it's not the town. Maybe it's me that's changed. We probably all have. That's certainly true of my friends. What is this song called?

That's right, Hawkins High class of 89 is walking the podium today. I hope you all come out and support them. I know I will because if anyone deserves a standing O, they do. Here, here. I'm gonna miss this, this world. Yeah. Max. Hey.

You break any more bones, you're on your own. Because I am done with hospitals. Maybe I should be on my own. I mean, what is going on here? We're graduating today. In two hours. okay oh you're definitely getting ahead of yourself just looking all super sexy right now yeah

oh and you're looking super dorky yeah it's okay guys you can just be in love it's fine ugh gag me with a spoon yeah what are you up to erika mom it's okay I'm only a day's drive away. Where are you going?

Okay. And I'm gonna call you so much that you're gonna want to change numbers. Okay. Aww. Is she getting this been off? All right, rolling. Happy graduation. Oh, wow.

Stash is back. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Leave the bed sheet. There's too much light. It needs diffusion. It's not the godfather. It's not. One more take

No, I haven't seen him It's Karen She can't find Mike It's probably at the cemetery or something Yeah Here comes your man Mike Thought I might find you here Yeah

Mom's freaking out Can't say I blame her I mean I don't know if you remember But we do have a history Of kids going missing in this town She won't understand She'll never understand

Why I can't do it, why I can't walk the stage. Oh. It'd be like a lie. And friends don't lie. Like I'm okay with moving on, and I'm not. Of course not. I'm not okay with it. I had this plan, that me and L, we were gonna go someplace far away.

The waterfall. And no one would find us, and I said this thing about going somewhere with three waterfalls. Yeah. I don't even know if she believed me at... What, three waterfalls? I mean, that's so... So stupid, childish. I should have had a real one.

Aww. I didn't think that she would just... Hey, hey, this... It's not your fault. What happened is not your fault. Al made her choice. Now it's time for you to make yours. Okay, he accepts her choices.

You got one road where you keep blaming yourself for what happened. You keep going over it in your head, over and over what you could have done differently. Yeah, he's really... changed you push people away and you suffer because that's what you think you deserve and then there's another road where you find a way to accept what happened subtly looking toward the light doesn't mean you got to like it doesn't mean you don't understand it never think about it reality man you just accept it you live the best goddamn life you can yeah here here I've been down that first road before I don't recommend she showed you how to get to the other

And that's for Elm. I think you know what she would have wanted for you. Go to the light. Class of 18. Damn, that means the 80s are about to be over. And then life is going to suck. It's just like Tom Cruise. Oh, Holly.

Whoa. Wow, Nancy. Whoa, the scars. Damn. Hey, Daddy. Daddy's fine. And Ted's here, too. Welcome to the graduation ceremony

for the class of 89. Let's go, 89. Mom! I'm sorry, Mom, I panicked. You don't have to explain. How far him and Hopper have come, too. Damn. You're all grown up.

I'm so proud of you. I love you, Mom. I love you, baby. Ted's just not in the picture. Give a warm welcome for your valedictorian, Dustin Henderson. Well, deserved. I just wanted a normal childhood. But that childhood was stolen from me, just stolen from us.

And this past year, I've been pretty pissed off about it. It's completely unchanged. Even though there was a lot of bad, there was so much good, too. Oh, yeah. There's this game I like to play. Dungeons and Dragons. Woo! Yoop!

Now, bad chaos brings anarchy and destruction. But good chaos can bring innovation. Hey. Change. In this school, it needed to change. Because we were so divided into the jobs, the nerds. Subversive material. And in the chaos, all those walls broke down.

And I made new friends. I made friends who were never even supposed to be my friend. Ain't that the truth And when you get to know people You're different from you Delightful Derek Begin to learn more about yourself I'm a better person because of them

I'm not pissed off anymore But I am worried Worried because now that the chaos is over Principal Higgins And every square like him is going to do their damnedest To put everything back in order We look ridiculous

What is this? We look like Roman senators I mean it's not who I am I don't think... Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Honestly, just screw it. Hellfire lives. Screw the system. Screw everyone and everything trying to...

Yes. Ride that lightning boy. Looks like the principal from Breakfast Club. Ha! Uh huh. Yeah. Yeah. School's out.

Who who school is out. I hate that she's alive. He's going to get the hairs on the back of his neck. What you're going to do is spell me? Oh, no way. I'm just say what you did up there

was pretty badass Oh, dang I was kind of just going for like a little He rejected him once Belushi But if he was in like a huge film But I don't know Does that make sense?

Yeah, that's okay No, totally I love movies Mm-hmm Say something Hey, so I'm at the party Later tonight I should come

No way they even paid this off Screw that I got a better idea We ride our bikes dungeons and dragons come on i mean look at this place the sunset of you steams never moving yeah no i couldn't come back here if you paid me a million bucks but you're here now there's actually this rad place over in uh forest hills i can't quite afford it yet but i'm close and that is on a coach's salary don't forget sex ed teacher my man they have you

teaching sex ed's part of the gig that's the spin-off i love teacher these kids you know i get to teach them about the miracle of life and how to not start it accidentally i'm going to grade your movie about capitalism cannibalism no it's anti-capitalist it's a metaphor that the more she eats the hungry she gets smith i i would i would consider nope is it the lectures on steinem that draw you or the high concentration of women can't it be both own heart. Wow. They're actually playing more. They're like their actual age. In real life.

I dropped out. Whoa. No way. What? I knew what. You became a Navy SEAL. Yeah. I was going to get... I don't know. I was just sick of school and thought I'd maybe get out there and try the real world. Nancy Wheeler. Still full of

surprises. Oh yeah. You're going to be Lois Lane in no time. There actually is something that I miss about this place. You guys. Miss this. Yeah. Us, hanging out. I miss you guys.

That's the real stranger things are the friends we made along the way. But it's not the same. You guys don't have shared trauma. Let's do something about it. I don't know, we could meet up. Let's meet up here every once in a while. Once a month, here. Maybe somewhere just more neutral.

City between Hawkins and Massachusetts. Louisville, Philly. Philly. I have an uncle lives in Philly. That's a spinoff. There you go. boiler room yeah perfect for the hideout she traps all the men and then burns their bodies the consumer what are you yeah it'll be our shelby oaks then nothing ever keeping us apart

including overbearing significant others school Mortgage is. And kids. And kids aging out of rules. Yeah, Steve. Kids? I don't know, guys. I think Kristen might be the one.

Kristen. Oh, Stephen. Did Joyce finally get that date? Here. Come on. Yeah. They got their date at Edso. We're going to have a bottle of the Cabernet salt.

He can't pronounce it. That's a callback joke. Nah. Caviar to start, and we will have two of the filet specials, however the chef would like to prepare them. It's a slice of life right now. Damn, huh? It's a once-in-a-lifetime day. You're going to propose?

You raise two beautiful boys and two incredible men. They had a lot more to overcome than just puberty. Sure. It's going to be quiet in that cabin. Just the assing the crickets. Oh, it'll be loud. Crickets. Yeah, I don't like the sound of those crickets anymore.

Cabernet is. I wish it was the sound of something different, maybe, um, squawk of seagulls. Oh. I'm just saying there's nothing tying us down here anymore. You seem to think our bank account is bigger than it is. It is. I stole from the Russians. From my buddy in the New York days, Montauk's looking for a new chief of police.

Ooh. Be 20% more. I know that's not big enough for a mansion or anything, but it's... Kids would be closer. Just a little quick trip in and say... Oh. We could start again. fresh yeah fucking knows you deserve it man we don't have to figure out

anything tonight we don't have to decide anything but um that's not true oh yeah do it do it man there's one thing I would like to decide tonight I brought my cassette tape with me oh oh oh shit oh oh shit Adler Joyce Byers Come alone Will you spend the rest of your life With a tired, grumpy, stubborn old man

Who loves you very much Yes I will Aww That was very sweet I have such a hard time saying Goodbye to TV shows It's such a weird fucking thing

Yeah. That's why I don't finish a lot of shows I watch. Say it not for real. Aw, what a sweet moment. Lovely shot. Hey. Frightened villagers watch

from roofed Garblade, how will this all end? That was a shot from the first movie, first episode. Estrade von Zarevich strides up to dust in the bar. Don't do this.

The vampire lord lunges. No. Punging its fangs right into his throat. Onlookers gas. it's a good bookend to the first episode final mourn phone note I'm a bitch A lone hero remains

Will the wise Will the wise Barovia Baravia I can't He's in the range of the suppression stone No magic Wack him with your staff or something

inflict six points of damage He has 30 HP left That's it nothing Uh So after all of that Straud von douchebag just wins This game is bullshit Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha time to join your friends

sure sure i just get it over with and roll i don't want to hear shit anymore we should go to that party with the hot chicks oh the mage from the abbey of st markovia she said we can summon her to summon her what's the incantation uh oh what if they actually summoned they could summon eleven one come forth and help your promise keep nothing happens oh come on why should why do we even have the incompletion Wait. Oh.

Purple white begins to shine through the mist. Growing brighter and brighter. It's a portal. Yeah. Out of this portal steps. The maids of St. Margovia. Yeah. We got 11's old wig.

As his body shriples, burns, and turns to add. Hey. One thousand pieces of each. Nice. Flush with wealth and honor. You live out the rest of your lives in comfort and unhappiness. and unhappiness how back to their like old hairdoes that's it comfort and happiness could you be more trite and those are deuce ex-mock you know the way she

just showed up like that well it is true the happiness can be found in many places yeah the night in the zoomer they retired from battle and they settled down on a small village nice oh their love grow stronger Hell yeah The bar Craving knowledge Makes his way To the Majes Guild of Enclave

Where he spends his days In their vast library Though deeply devoted to his studies He still makes time For the occasional adventure Hell yeah Yeah dude As for Will the Wise

He travels far and long To the bustling city of Wallachie Uh-huh So very different From the village where he spent his youth but it has a thriving gay scene I like this like cutting to flash forwards

and the storyteller what about him the storyteller keeps telling stories god of stories there comes a screenwriter inspired by his friends he's a duffer

one day he hopes tales of grand adventure will spread far and wide across the land so all can know if they're great bravery but

there is a story that he can never tell the story of the mage Oh Or at least not the real story What do you mean? When she casts Sunbeam Ha

He knows the truth Goodbye Mike She expended the last of her energy And she vanished But has anyone asked themselves How she cast that spell Oh The suppression stone

She couldn't have used her magic Huh In the excitement No one even noticed but you see the mage is very clever a cleverness only matched by her sister yeah on hearing the pleads of the paladin had a change of heart don't cry change my story ends here it was always going to end here okay together the sisters devised a plan oh a plan to protect the mage from the order of the black end oh fucking way and hell bent on sealing her powers to trick them

she had to make everyone including her friends believe that she was dead oh shit oh shit and so the sister cast a spell from far away save from the power

of the suppression style oh my guys why they move so fast through it a spell of invisibility oh okay so she projected her into the portal ha

since they escaped sister cast one final spell all right collie the hand die is not real

yeah yeah she was a illusioned that's beautiful where did she go no one knows Texas but I'd like to imagine that she's

in a beautiful land somewhere far away oh she's in Scotland she find her waterfalls or New Zealand yeah waterfalls they're all over wow wow

she finds a small town to call home She's living a new Asgard. From the danger of the black hand. And it is here, at last, that she finds peace. That she finally finds happiness. This is just a theory, right? How do we know it's true? We don't.

Choose her ending. But I choose to believe that it is. I believe. I believe. I believe. I believe. Oh. I believe.

I believe. Ritz. Oh Close in the book The final chapter Yeah Yeah and everybody leaves The sacred space

One at a time Oh Oh I choose I feel like Fulner-Molf hard fucking killed At this episode man

Yeah No he's Absolutely held it down Oh Oh buddy Oh How do we play this game

Jesus watch out You said you've been done an hour ago Hell yeah Yeah you told me this was not pointing me dirty This is super nerdy Look Something smells

I'm gonna puke It's just old pizza Oh pizza that smell like Krusty ass Hey Excuse me girls so far If they do it's like roses Oh, the cycle begins a new, be at peace with playing with your sister or letting her share your toys.

Wow. What's symmetry there. Closing the door. Wow. Wow. They're not telling me to skip. Yep, you're right. John, they're giving us our 80s ending, kind of through comic art.

Is it weird? I like the last 40 minutes more than the big adventure in the first hour. I don't think that's weird. The most heartfelt stuff. The thing you show up for in the movie theaters is the thing that I, like, I didn't like, I loved like the last half a lot more. No, just for one day. oh that's cool

neutral good i like they're like breaking them all down as dn d types season one when she first shot a gun i want a charles burns stranger things now oh shan ashton yeah

justice for bob newby jamie campbell you were the shit man now fisher linda hamilton man what the hell what the hell was that biggest waste one of the greatest moments

at all the television history that's so fucking righteous it's fun too that they're recreating so many classic shots and scenes across the whole show here hey even Ted has a role huh

cool yeah cool yeah what upside down that's very cool the dye right there all right ladies and gentlemen

well thank you again for being here I want to say a real special thank you to Prepper as well for editing this down they were not supposed to come in today because it's New Year's but they made an exception to help us out

so thank you guys for delivering the goods allowing the reject audience to see this thank you additionally a great way you can help support that way we can keep pain prepper is you can get the full-length international watch along at our Patreon, become a royal reject

over there. Helps offset copyright claim stuff too. Lord knows every episode of Stranger Things loves to give a copyright got music, man, they got some music. They got some Netflix. Netflix spent a lot of money, so Netflix be copyright claiming up the wazier. Yeah, we need to recoup some of this.

The $95 billion we spent to buy a work. Of the record. Claim the YouTubers. Yeah. That's where they're cropped in little five to eight seconds in footage that they use one third of this episode. Talk it over it and all. Anyway,

whatever. The other way to get some our apparel. Scan the barcode you see right here on screen. Great way to support the Chanel. All right, John, I'll go to you first, Amigo. We both got to get back to our respective families. But before that, we're going to

talk some strange things. How are you feeling were you satisfied with the ending? Yeah. It's one of those things where it's like, how do you, how do you, how do you do this? How do you end everything? How do you tie it all up in a bow?

And I think this finale at the moment certainly was filled with a lot of, you know, really striking, gripping moments. I think it does reflect the shape of the season thus far. And it does feel like two episodes they chose not to break in half. But I liked a lot of what we got here. and even certain things that I didn't so much like in the moment I could sort of get on board with a little bit more by the end. And I don't know, there's been a whole bunch of weird discourse

about how the dramatic scenes are written and how many of them there are and if they're too much or not. But I liked a lot of the wrap-up Koda stuff that we got with the characters. A lot of the send-off stuff was certainly the most touching and the most striking and it felt like it had the best

breathing room the first half of the episode was very thrilling I still kind of have that feeling that I've had you know

is a feeling that I feel like we've discussed in the context of multiple franchise things this sort of feeling where like when the final battle

kicks off I almost feel like there was a little bit of some extra shit we could have done before hopping into the final battle like when we were in the final

battle of it all and we're in the first few minutes and it's like we gotta get to henry like now 30 seconds and i'm like we just we've been here for like five minutes yeah you know so like there's i don't know i'm still chewing on it obviously the first half of it was very cool and satisfying but in parts feels maybe a bit abrupt um but the stuff you know paying off the characters i thought was really lovely um how are you feeling at the moment in totality i love the last like 40 minutes uh a lot it felt the most like stranger things weirdly the part with no sci-fi felt the most like stranger things whereas yeah that first hour i think it's like a solid like hour uh until like it's probably

like the midpoint of the episode when they do kill off henry and then they start journeying back before 11 does or doesn't die and it was fun like it was a lot of fun the gripes were kind of coming out of us here and there while also having moments that were really cool and really enjoyable. Like it was that first hour was kind of like the entire season. Yeah. You know, like well, what a great moment. Oh, what a weird

moment. Oh, what a great moment. Why they cut the black to try to trick us since Steve was going to die here. Yeah. It sounds like a gripe. It's just like a moment like that if you want to sell. Like, well, you don't have commercial breaks. And I know, like, now that it's cut the black, I don't buy for one second that he's going to die. And then there's also

like the grounded reality of being in the upside down as compared to where we once were with the show and then when you're there on their tower and it's breaking I'm like I feel like this tower would have completely fallen over by now or you know having the mind player show up in physical form but when you really think about it it's as long as like Will's coming out seeing you know like it's really not that long yeah yeah it's like so cool and big and epic

yet there seems to be kind of a lack of fear to it, even though it's so scopic and huge, and you've got this giant cast of characters for running away, but instead of it feeling like scary, it feels more like a Roland Emmerich movie. Yeah. Like Nancy is surviving like she's in Jurassic World all

a sudden. You know, like, I don't understand how any of these guys made it out of here live with this giant thing. But at the same, and like I said, at the same time, a lot of it is like really cool though to behold, and it is one of the coolest visuals they've ever brought to life. However, with the buildup of

this and finding out that Vecna is actually, Henry's, you know, working with something that he's actually answering to as well. Not that, it's not the inverse, you know. I think that should have breathed longer. That should have been bigger and it should have been more suspenseful and there should have been actual like bigger stakes to it as opposed to, we know they're going to win.

Like the whole time the tone and vibe was like, we know they're going to win while being cool, you know? So it was like visually awesome to see at the same time, a big part of the appeal is having the true. menace and danger be felt so having that be a little bit undercut while making some choices along the way was like hit or miss like i would have i like the scene when hopper in and beckna first me you know like that was a really good beckna scene uh i like a lot of the stuff with the weirdly the group of kids uh i think a lot of the stuff with the group of kids is really

intense like unpacking henry's past and understanding that he a lot a lot of the themes of this i been about acceptance, about cycles, about breaking cycles, and about choice, and watching how most of our characters do that for benevolence, and then Henry chooses for malevolence. So I like seeing that, and I think Jamie Campbell-Bauer is incredible. So it was, like, interesting trying to piece the history parts together because that whole history and episode, whatever, of, I mean, in season four, with Henry as a child, he came across is like evil Michael Myers just like born evil and he had these powers and stuff yeah so to seem like totally innocent at first yeah to explain it further yeah part of me was wondering like

you do we really need this was as part of the original thing with henry and i guess it's just making sure people see that play apparently the play deals with that is that is that okay so we actually yeah i i i don't know how i feel about like trying to answer how we got powers like I don't feel like we need really an answer on that. I kind of like the mystery to it. Yeah. But getting it was a good scene, and Henry and Jamie Campbell-Bauer is so good at it. And, you know, like, some stuff was feeling like it was moving awfully quick because it had to, you know.

Like, the whole thing with him not, like, going into the cave, it just kind of seemed like he suddenly faced it and it went pretty fast when it happened. And then he gets, like, crippled by the time he, like, gets downstairs, you know? Yeah. It's weird. This is ostensibly a nine-episode season, and I feel like it should have been 10 or something, because, yeah, I remember feeling like a lot of the physical elements of, you know, fighting Vecna were a little bit, I don't know.

I kept catching myself going, I thought he was more powerful than this. Or, like, you know, and I know that there are a number of things you could say. Like, oh, 11 caught him off guard or this or that, but I don't know. I thought he was more powerful than this. Or, like, you know, yeah, him, it's right on the line when he's got all the kids in the trance and he's in the trance and then 11 and Collie get the drop on him part of my brain goes okay I can kind of

see that and the other part of my brain goes I don't know I think they could have sold this better like it's I don't know there's something about the way the previous seasons all tend to move that seem to balance nicely the weird intrigue around the sci-fi stuff with the twisted nature

of what these characters are going through I so meet you there though I felt like as great as Jamie Campbell-Bauer is that's seriously amazing he's not that scary in this season and he's less scary than he was last he looks kind of by a lot

like when he came in in episode four it was like holy shit damn he's going to be long look at him man he's just like killing people left and right and then after that it just kind of starts going a little bit like less and less scary and then right down to the final episode where it doesn't feel he really doesn't feel

threatening yeah and it's weird I like the psychological aspects and stuff and I like Will and his conversation in his mind. I like that a lot and his choice to move toward this corrupting force. But yeah, like, you know, the whole

physical manifestation of the mind flare, like there's so much awe-inspiring visual you know, flavor going on, you know, a lot of energy and a lot of, you know, creativity going into this. But it does feel like one of those boss battles that you play and you're like, oh my God, this is going to be impossible.

And then it's over pretty fast. Yeah. Like, oh, this is, I thought I was, I didn't realize I was playing on easy mode. As it starts progressing and Nancy is just like, like, again, because it looks cool and it's fun, that's where the forgiveness part, like, I'm, I'm like 75% super enjoying it and 50% being like, I don't understand whether like, no physicality of difficulty to what's happening here. Half my brain is like, it's probably. good we don't spend too much time with the giant mind flare because like that seems impossible uh so like it's if it's short lived i kind of get it but at the same time i don't know yeah it's very like it fun to watch them all team up and hit the it's like a video game hitting the vulnerable

spots and stuff and i you know like that there's the outside group fight versus the nucleus fight at the core of it all like it's very repetitive from season three which and that fight felt way more intense when they're fighting the mind flare totally yeah yeah yeah and this should be the most intense the most intense the most like that battle should have been given some kind of center spotlight whereas it feels like one of many interludes yeah that are all crashing together and then the second half of the episode actually breathes when we're paying off the characters yeah so it's weird because i'd be curious now it's it's not been that long like part of me goes well if i watch them all in like a really tight binge maybe this will feel a bit different but you know the way the last

chapter trailed off and then the way this chapter kind of moves at a breakneck speed yeah it's weird it's like there's a lot of really good stuff in there there's a lot stuff I had fun with but it's also it feels like it whooshed by a little too quickly for like how earth rending all these

sci-fi stakes are yeah the last episode introduces like in the last 20 minutes that the world's about to be destroyed because they're going to collide worlds and then the resolve that just did feel as impending or as

difficult. I thought we would get like the actual approach of the planet and the collision thing happening like after a while. Not like, that's where we're starting. Yeah. You know? And yeah, this is interesting. It was odd. It was like, and there were a lot of great, it's

caught up in this web of devices where I'm like, every nitpick I have has like an interesting little thing they did to like account for it or try and smooth it out. It's like I appreciate how hard they have worked on this. But it is a funky shaped season. Well, like I've said it many times of how Eleven and Hopper are my,

outside of this season are my favorite characters. And they were trying to make up for the lack of them being rich characters in this one episode. And when they were like trying to, when they were splicing it in to the first hour, I was like, man, really acting. I've had a hard time being like moved to where they probably want me to be moved because I feel like they're just kind of cramming in here because it's the final episode so we got to like get the dialogue in now of a sudden here and now at the very end we have the hopper 11 stuff which yeah which yeah in the moment I was like okay well you know

maybe they're going to give us some incredible drama now yeah and like there's a lot of good scenes but it's well-acted scenes I think and you know some repetitive I guess the whole thing with him learning to trust her with like a thing we've been just fucking flushing out since like season two apparently. Yeah. And and to let truly let go and just let her be her own person. Yeah. Yeah. And

by the time 11 sacrifices herself, I was more like in shock of like what was happening. I'm like, oh damn, this doesn't feel real. I don't I don't really know if I believe what's happening right now. And I was yeah, I was just like

hollow in that moment. Is this really? and then it cuts like a year and a half later. And I actually like, segueing into the parts that I really liked, I actually like the idea, and I don't know how people will feel about this, of choosing your ending. Do you choose which one? Some people, I know saying that out loud

might actually sound like a cop-out to some people. Like, oh, they just can't commit if she's actually dead or this. I, and if she does choose to be alive, her not actually saying goodbye, or catching up, back up with them. I'm like, I can understand that, though, because the whole point is to keep them safe. And, like, she gives this up so they can be safe.

I would choose that ending as a fan. And I thought it was very moving. And I liked the hopping around time that they did with the flash forwards. Everyone did such an amazing, like, it felt the most, like, stranger things to me in that final, like, 40-minute stretch. With Hopper and watching Hopper and Mike and their resolve and seeing how far they've come and the fact that he's going to him

to help him through a grieving process and a path to choose. Because they're uniquely bonded now. They have a unique perspective that only the two of them could really share. I really wish we did get more Joyce and Hopper throughout the season. Yeah.

As to make them feel like a couple, but I was very moved by the time he proposed. That's like huge payoff. Yeah. For after everything they've been through from season three, like for all the seasons, but in terms of when the romance became a little bit more defined season three and four and to watch the payoff at the Enzo's thing that they keep talking about and him proposing

and him finding peace, finally finding true acceptance. I was very, very, very touched by that. I thought that was rather beautiful. Everything with Jonathan and Steve and Nancy on the rooftop of, you know, they have an adult life ahead of them. Yeah. And I was, I thought, again, like really great acting and it felt like life.

You know, part of my, part of my awareness with this is as I've seen some of the discourse on, like, spending time with, like, predominantly like, Will, Mike, Jonathan, Nancy. The thing people forget is that in season one, they were like, outside of Will, who was like the focus, not the star, they were like the stars. They were lead characters. They were the main characters. And it shifted, though, over time. And I feel like perhaps they should have been more aware of that Because if they really wanted to go in that direction Then Joy should have been way more of a character

You know And she's not really much of a character here either And I I still think though that there's probably that The nostalgia of the Duffer Brothers For a show about nostalgia Or like that riffs a lot on nostalgia They seem like to put their attention

On where they wanted to close out on the characters They cared the most to close out on from what they experienced. And I think they did a good job in that final 40 minutes of giving buttons to everyone. You know, Max and Lucas get together. Dustin gets to become valedictorian,

even the Stacey Carolca of like bringing that back from season two. Oh, and his speech was great. His speech was great. Honoring Hellfire Club was great. No one was booing. Everyone was celebrating. So it kind of makes you go,

like, do people now not hate Eddie? There's got it. I mean, the people, of Hawkins at least have to have included by now to the fact that there was some crazy shit happening. So I hope that with I'm just choosing to believe that there has to have been some kind of redemption for any months

amongst the people of Hawkins. They didn't resolve the bullying? No. I love the final scene in the Dungeons and Dragons and having Max there and all the little flash fours that they were doing and yeah, that was really sweet. We choose the story we want to tell about ourselves and to tell about

others. Like that was all, I thought that was like so moving. I thought that was incredibly beautiful. I mean, one of the better things I can say about the season is for however disjointed some of it has been, I think you're right. It feels like the duffers, perhaps, in this stretch, kind of went, you know, it's hard to end anything. You're not going to please everybody regardless. So, yeah, let's hone in on the stuff that we care the most about and that, you know, is the most emotionally resonant or whatever. And, yeah, I would agree. Like, I do.

Like, Jonathan and Nancy's romance is huge in the first couple seasons. Yeah. It's huge. and then you stop giving a shit about it for like two more seasons so it's kind of weird to get all the focus back on it well and it was a show yeah where it's like early on a lot of character like a lot of choices surrounding characters

and the archetypes they occupy you know were part of what pulled people in so much is like oh you've got Steve he's a total asshole and you know Jonathan is crushing on Nancy and there's this he's like a little bit of a creep a little bit but you know charming and then Steve has his whole turn and there's like everybody I don't know part of it is is taking those familiar nostalgic archetypes

and then applying a more modern lens to them and letting them grow beyond those archetypes, which they do selectively because some characters are very much just types. But yeah, that's part of what made the show alongside the nostalgic stuff and the sci-fi stuff. So, like, I do appreciate at least those elements, yeah, flashing forward and, you know, giving...

It's nice to give these for as much as I'm sure everybody will still be moaned that there was no death toll, really. You know, it's lovely to see, yeah, that everyone's kind of kind of go out. And some people are going to stay in Hawkins. Some people are going to go out and live their lives. But it feels like there's that catharsis of letting everyone go. Us as characters, we're letting all these characters that we love go so that they can hopefully live a lovely life, you know, happily ever after the end.

I liked Holly a lot. And I've seen the complaints about it is kind of odd how Holly does feel like she has more screen time than a lot of our other main people. Yes. Yes. She is a main character of season five. I don't feel like any discredit should go to her as a character

or as an actor either. I think she's a really good character and I think she's a really good actor as well. Yeah. And I thought she did an amazing job and I cared a lot about her more than I did about a lot of other main characters here. Well, it's a conscientious solution

to the fact that a lot of your core kids are now adults so you have some kids that's still involved. Yeah. You know, and Derek comes along with that and then the other kids eventually come around a lot about the legacy moving on i do wish hawkins did feel i wish there was a bit of a melancholic touch to it like all these kids there's so many of them they experienced true nightmares like they were kidnapped and the death tolls that have happened here and this town just feels like dairy without the curse of forgetting stuff yes you know what

i mean like you guys like know everything that happened and it feels like there's no residual paul of that's been cast over this town. Everyone just feels like fine and normal and again we want to be like happy but so much of this is about grief as well and I wish there was a bit of a middle

there like the way how our main cast felt at the end. I feel like you could have done some kind of... I thought some of these kids would be messed up by now. Well yeah and in the rebuilding you might have you know some kind of mural or memorial or some kind of element of like hey yes we're rebuilding and

stronger and, you know, then the nightmares are over, but we did, yeah, lose a lot of people and a lot of life. And, you know, again, it's partly encapsulated in Dustin's speech. But, yeah, it's like Hawkins for the character that it's been up till now. You know, I could, yeah. Like, it's weird. It's nice after everything to have it be so bright and optimistic. But, yeah, given the totality of everything, a little extra bittersweetness could have been nice. A little bit, yeah. Killing off Kali or did not kill off Callie, I would choose that because if she is dead, I thought that was like totally, like I was not even sad when it happened. I was just mad at the writing of that. I was actually upset when it happened. Like, what a bunch

of bullshit. Like, it doesn't get an arc, doesn't get to really be a character here. But it seems like the latter would be true because all those other seeds of earlier moments they were like her pointing down the gun and everything. And the fact that I moved quick on her death, it does

seem well and and yeah it wasn't working the the kryptonite does feel like that will probably be true and I like the idea of 11 getting to have her actual freedom now even though if she has to be a fugitive still I don't know how she would like possibly live in identity if she doesn't have her powers anymore would she had her power still I guess she would have to I mean yeah they would have to have the power still working in order for the plan to have work to escape

yeah but yeah she just maybe just chooses to not show anything but yeah i like i i like the choose your own adventure nature of that and i yeah it's it's like where do you choose for cali to have died before the part of that conversation that we didn't get to see or afterwards um but yeah i like it a little bit better in the mic version of things certainly that she is able to yeah give give this one last crucial you know leg up to the gang you know it's it's i don't know i have to to imagine that probably without 11 if 11 had

remained and gotten captured I feel like that means bad news for everybody in Hawkins even still so it's like yeah I think that sets 11 free and everybody free and it's a way for Callie's death to at least carry a little more weight than like the random banality of death that

it comes across as at first of just like oh shit this bomb exploded and the guy squeezed and there we go you know but it's right on the line Well, also speaking of, though, Mike, with my relationship with Mike, one and two is Mike, season one and two. Season three through most of five is Finn Wolfhardt.

Like, I don't see the character Mike anymore. I just see Finn Wolfhard acting. Yeah, that's a big call. And I thought Finn Wilfart was so much better this season than he has been. since like season two and this final episode it was mike that was the first time in a very very long time where i felt like i was with mike and not the actor fin wolfhard yeah even though i thought the actor fin wolfart was doing a really good job this season i still mainly saw fin wolfheart and this time i was back with mike and i was really moved by everything he was doing and i thought

he absolutely slayed in this final episode yeah the stuff that like really requires him to have had growth and loss and stuff like that, like really brings the micness into sharper focus. Because, yeah, he's been empowering other characters and he's always a source of color and can sometimes, you know, he's got quips and stuff

like that. But, you know, those are things, those are isms that I'm used to seeing Finn Wolfhard bring other places. And yeah, like the emotional depths, the somberness of his performance, especially in the second half, I thought was really, really nicely done on

his part yeah his post conversation too with will that was very brief kind of absolves a lot of like annoyances that he had in like season four yeah you know he's like i've been so self-absorbed i'm sorry i didn't know so i'm like damn you sound so mature like an adult right now yeah yeah but yeah it weirdly like compliments the entire thing we watched now for all of mike throughout the last few seasons yeah it makes total sense because he's going through hormones he's Growing up, he's also dealing with this nightmare and, you know, his fixation on 11 and all sorts of other things. But yeah, I do think the season did lack focus. So it would hinder the emotional impact of certain scenes, you know, even write down, honestly, for me, even Mike and 11, because I would forget about Mike and 11 as a thing in this, you know, and a lot of that comes down to the lack of writing they did for 11.

and 11 in Hopper a lot of that lack which is weird because a lot maybe because so much of the final 40 minutes like the vibe the look Hopper back in his mustache and soon like it's just

just easier to get lost back into your love for this world and stranger things and feel like you're there that it was easier to feel all these emotions and so I do think

they last focused there and led to Hamilton was the fucking waste oh my so weird I don't know why they even cast her or made her a character. Like, holy crap, what a waste. Yeah, that could have been anybody.

I mean, like, again, good presents. I'll happily watch her. But, like, weird that she never amounted to much other than just another one of these guys. Bad guy. Another bad guy. Another military, you know, wants to harness this for their own personal gain character, or for the gain of the military, blah, blah. And I, yeah, just across the show that's made.

such great use of guest stars and older stars from who had their heyday in the 80s and 90s like I don't know it just feels like a spiritual fumble because like these are the kinds of roles they're good at making flavorful especially for as much

tribute as this show has done at the Terminator movies you would think they would want to really make a rich character for Linda Hamilton instead of the most bland generic character one of the the most bland characters this entire series has ever done.

Yeah, they did her presence of disservice. Because, yeah, like, her stature just makes you think that there's more going on. Yeah. And it's not really. And that's just a bummer. Yeah. And for a show that so much of the greatness has hinged on mystery, I do think this final season totally lack mystery. You know?

The mystery is a big part of what makes stranger things, stranger things. Every season has had that. What's going to happen next? What exactly is going on, huh? You know? And while you might have moments where you're like, what's happening? What's going on? It's never like, we're going to find out the answers, you know?

The most mysterious this season got was when they were figuring out, like, okay, whatever this thing is above the lab and the upside down, it's this whole new kind of matter. And it's all going to kill us if you touch it. And like that was the most interesting height of mystery until moments later when it's like, well, nothing happened, actually. She shot it and it's fine. Yeah. But we know a little bit more than we did before now. And we blew it up with C-Four. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So, yeah, it's... I do think it missed a mark on a lot of... This whole season as a whole in the finale does not make up for a lot of it. And the finale itself definitely has flaws. But out of all of season five, it also has some of the absolute strongest shit season five at who offer.

Yeah, 100%. It's weird. It's like they missed the contrast. Every season has a good contrast between like the sci-fi shit and the town. which this doesn't really have and like 11 is detached from like most of the story and I think that like the final scene with the Dungeons and Dragons crew does a nice thing to pay that off for their relationship but in terms of like where this all began with the four of them and her as like a little group feels like it was not really that well touched on this season so yeah ultimately yeah we're in agreement it's like there's there's so much good stuff in here and there's been a lot of loveliness across the season but it is that the least focused, the most sort of like, it does

feel like people trying to solve an impossible problem and getting there, you know, a certain percentage of the time. Well, to bring it back to 11, yeah, she felt like not part of the ensemble. And that's a, in any capacity. That's probably one of the, that's one of the, I think one of the absolute biggest fumbles this season had is

11. Like she, it's weird. I don't know much about the behind the scenes, but it does feel like. I think she should have been there with them in the end. Yeah, or something. I don't know. It just feels like somebody checked out or looked overlooked. Like it's she's such a, she's the

most important character. So I'm just like, how is this possible? How did this happen? Like, how did we not unless there were intervening factors behind the scenes? And it's the only season they did pad right. It's weird. She's, every season,

they've done great stuff for her. And they've not had, it's not like they haven't had time. She was more interesting as like Jane would know powers in the beginning of season four than anything here. Yeah, because yeah, she and Hopper for so much of it are just

off here being Soldier Girl and Mentor which is fine, but it's all retreads of like conversations we've already had. Yeah. And I don't know, the emotional payoff with 11, like it's the only emotional payoff there is like the sacrifice for everybody and her getting

to potentially live happily ever after, but there's so much left on the table there. Yeah, a lot of it was just shuffling back and forth between surface to nuance, and it's like, okay, surface beats here, surface beats here, a nuance now, now nuance. But because we didn't get much nuance earlier here, now this nuance moment isn't hitting as strong, is it not a lot of it? At the end of the day, it leaves you on a lasting note, right? And so the lasting notes, I did feel we're strong with, and I could feel a part of me that wants to just hold on to that. You know, I do.

There's this part of me that, like, the more we talk about it, the more problems I have. And I understand that's part of our job to do what we do here. As just a fan of this show, I don't want to, I want to remember that I was really moved by the last 40 minutes. In spite of knowing, like, I have a lot of problems without this season was done. Even how this final episode was done, I got a lot of issues. But the final 40 minutes was very moving. And they did the best they could in that wrap up. and at the end of the day

it was the emotional everything I wanted the last 40 minutes I just was more of the show was the last 40 minutes yeah yeah yeah or just a better balance

of that and all the crazy developments of the upside down because it was also like intimate it was just in Hawkins it was in the town you know

there's a lot of shit that makes stranger things stranger things and this I just kind of feel like was a big green screen up the season

like a lot of it just associate as like a big treadmill and the volume yeah the top of you a lot of it

is like it's a bunch of green screen yeah they I would say yeah it's like it wasn't the prettiest game, but they won the game. They

got the win, and yeah, there were some... You'll have to go check the tape for your next project, you know, improve on some things, but you know, for the insurmountable feat of having to end the biggest streaming show of all time, this could have gone way worse. Well, it's beyond that. It's one of the most

influential shows of all time. This influenced, not just other... It influenced movies. Yeah. You know? Yeah, totally. And things that... you know, directly inspired this have since gone on to, in their later iterations, take inspiration

of this directly in a very clear way. So, like, yeah, for the cultural phenomenon that it is, you know, we eked it out. Like, it's not Game of Thrones level bad. No. Game of Thrones was like, oh, well, that was a disaster. Yeah. The,

the, like, the whole sensibility of the show didn't change, you know, take a nose dive. But, yeah, it Because it's easy to see, I guess, that this is sort of the most lump in season, I guess. It's the most, yeah. Yeah. It's the least pretty in terms of, like, how they symmetrically got everything done.

On a scale of fun that I had, I would say 85%. I would say 85%. If we're looking at like metrics here, fun, 85%. In terms of like satisfied Stranger Things fans with writing and stuff, I'd honestly give it like a 60 to 65%. Yeah, like, really? It's like, and talking about the whole season that lumps in the finale, like a 60 to 65%.

Yeah, it's that low end fresh. Yeah. It's that low end fresh. Yeah. Like, I'm literally the critic at audience score. Yeah. I mean, the audience scoring, this is fucking terrible right now. Well, you know, because yeah, Will defeated everyone with the power of Gainess, of course. Which I just don't feel like, I don't, I'm like, I've seen that, I've watched the

last half of that episode again. And I decided to count it because everyone's like, let's spend 20 minutes on Will. I'm like, no, it's about three and a half minutes. I was going to say, it's not that long of a scene. It's about three minutes and 30 seconds. Christof-will opening up out of an hour and six-minute episode. And yes, the way is...

This is not the longest heart-to-heart scene between characters this season. Yeah, the way they do set it aside is a little cheesy, is definitely cheesy in the way they do it. But that seemed to just overtake the internet, you know, and there are some, like, funny-ass memes. and funny-ass AI videos they did on it for sure sure yeah um what the water cooler moment accomplished regardless but yes but yeah like the way how that one scene that it's mainly that one scene that like really seemed to skyrocket the audience crossroads with a million different roads for people yeah and a fork and if a for such a short scene to make people literally convince people that it's like 10 to 20 minutes long it's a bad sign because i'm like all right yeah i mean

if you feel like it is when it's not then I guess that's a bad sign. I guess that's not good. But as a whole definitely my least favorite season. I would definitely make this my least favorite season by a lot. Some iconic moments, some stuff that stands with the best the show has had to offer.

But yeah, in terms of a top to bottom season very oddly shaped. Yeah, very oddly shaped. And yeah, it's like it took on some of its identity the further we got, especially in, you know, the second act and the finale, you know, the wrinkle in time stuff coming into greater focus, the melty yogurt lab and all that stuff. Like there are things that finally make this season feel like five. But, uh, but yeah, it's just like the, the, for better or for worse and the ups and downs that the seasons have had up till now,

I still feel like they always had a better balance of, of the thing that the upside down is the actual inverse of and the upside down itself yeah you know like the upside down and the and hawkins are almost to me supposed to provide some conversational symmetry with each other and this was mostly hawkins didn't really feel like hawkins till the very end and i get that they're under quarantine and everything's different but i feel like there's a different way to do that where it didn't feel just like drab military zone only um and then you know upside down yeah but when are you gonna do last 40 minutes very enjoyable and that's where we're at the show was over now and it's time to say goodbye a lot of plans we demonstrated with a lot of visual aids i like where they left off steve for his future of

just being a guy who wants to settle down here and other people going for bigger dreams so yeah good stuff good stuff all around and uh loved i love the final scene the final scene was beautiful i that's where if anything counts is like did they nail their final scene and i and i I thought they nailed their final scene. And the final image, you closed the door to the basement. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, they nailed it.

The new generation's beginning just below us and, you know, the kids we've grown up with over this time are going out to live life just above us beyond that door. It's a great motif for the whole thing. Yeah, it's great. They nailed the final episode. And, yeah, I'm going to miss these characters. I'm still going to miss the show. Yeah. And a lot of great.

At the end of the day, somehow, for a clunky season, they managed to have a good resolve and wrap up for a lot of their characters, you know? like if you choose to view this is two episodes the last episode was great I mean if I mean but if the last episode would have like no sci-fi or anything no that's true yeah I get why they did this but you know in the structure of a lot of shows I feel like your big action finale is the penultimate episode and then your character finale is the last one it's a giant epilogue but because of what this show is yeah you can't really do it only characters episode anymore but that's where we're at what do you guys rate this season thanks John for being here thank you uh

Whoa, I got to work on, I got to do some editing myself on this and work on a thumbnail. So thank you guys for being here. We'll see you soon. Pieces.