Stranger Things S5 Review: A Near-Perfect Goodbye to Hawkins

Finales are hard. Finales for shows like Stranger Things are harder.

This is a series that grew up with its audience, carried global expectations, and somehow survived the internet dissecting every frame at 0.25x speed. But endings are inevitable, and Hawkins had to say goodbye eventually. The kids graduate. The town exhales. The story closes. So the real question is whether the ending is earned by the Stranger Things Season 5 Finale. Mostly, it does.

Key Takeaways from the Finale

The final battle prioritizes emotional closure over spectacle
Vecna’s arc ends without redemption, and that choice works
Character send-offs are the strongest part of the finale
The ending leaves room for spin-offs without cheapening the core story
Not flawless, but deeply satisfying in the moment

The Battle Begins

Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 3 picks up right where Volume 2 left off (read our breakdown of Vol 2 here). The gang is split two teams. El, Max, and Kali track Henry within his mind, trying to free the trapped children. That plan collapses when Henry manipulates Hopper into pulling El out of the bath, severing their connection.

At the same time, the military closes in from both sides. Dr. Kay hunts them in the real world while her forces mirror the chase in the Upside Down. The lab fight turns brutal. Kali is shot. Hopper and El barely survive. Hopper learns the truth about the plan to destroy the Upside Down with El and Kali still inside it, and that knowledge predictably breaks something in him.

Vecna’s End

Elsewhere, the dimensions are close enough for the gang to reach the Abyss. This is where Vecna has been hiding the captured children. As they escape through fractured memories, through the cave Henry refused to follow in earlier volumes. Henry faces his trauma and we finally get clarity on his past. He was not born a monster. He was afraid. Young. Vulnerable. Taken by the Mind Flayer and shaped into something else. But any hope of redemption is shut down immediately. Henry chose this path. He chose the Mind Flayer. He believes the world deserves what is coming.

Not every villain needs saving, and the show is smarter for committing to that.

The battle unfolds on two fronts. The gang fights a massive living structure, a grotesque manifestation of the Mind Flayer itself. It moves like a kaiju, reshaping the battlefield as it attacks. Meanwhile, El confronts Vecna directly inside the layer. This is not an Avengers-level spectacle, and that feels intentional. These are still teenagers fighting a telekinetic cosmic horror. The fight is big, but not indulgent. With help from the gang and a perfectly timed save from Will, Vecna is finally impaled and defeated. Joyce beheading him is raw and cathartic. It is less about victory and more about grief.

El’s Choice and the Sacrifice

Victory does not mean freedom. As the Upside Down begins collapsing, the military captures the group. El plays her final card. When the dimension is destroyed, she stays behind, or so everyone believes. This is where the finale slows down, and wisely so.

The Emotional Aftermath

Eighteen months pass. Hawkins returns to something resembling normal. Graduation arrives. Dustin, now valedictorian, delivers a speech that perfectly captures the soul of the series. Friendship, acceptance, and the quiet strength of outsiders finding their people.

Mike struggles the most. He always understood El better than anyone, and accepting her decision weighs heavily on him. Hopper is on his own journey of acceptance too, one that finally leads him to propose to Joyce.

Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, and Robin have all moved forward, but they promise to stay connected. New lives, new friends, but some bonds are irreplaceable, especially when you have survived the end of the world together more than once.

The Epilogue and El’s Fate

The final scene returns to where it all began. A Dungeons and Dragons table.

Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, and Max sit together, playing a campaign that mirrors their own lives a little too closely. Mike, ever the storyteller, offers a glimpse into the future. Happiness looks different for everyone, but happiness exists.

He also theorizes about the fate of the mage, a clear parallel to El. According to him, Kali used her final strength to create one last illusion. The world believes El died, but she escaped. Somewhere far away. Somewhere with waterfalls. Somewhere safe. El’s happy ending is not about being present. It is about knowing her friends are safe and finally beyond the reach of Dr. Kay and the military.

In a way the ending is open. It is upto the viewers to decide if Mike’s theory is right. I choose to do so. As Mike steps outside and watches the next generation enjoy D&D, it lands as a quiet, perfect closing image. A story that shaped modern television coming full circle.

The Flaws

Could the finale have been better? Yes.
Are there plot holes? Definitely.

Kali’s power range raises questions. The military base escape stretches logic or the lack of Demogorgons even in the Abyss. Give the internet a few days and more issues will surface. But here is the thing. Did it work in the moment? For me, it did.

When you dissect anything long enough, cracks appear. Even the greatest shows are not immune. What matters is whether the ending honors the characters and the emotional investment. Season 5 does that.

Final Verdict: An Emotional, Near-Perfect Goodbye to Hawkins

Rating:

I am rating it a 4 out of 5 stars. An emotional and near-perfect ending for the kids of Hawkins. Not flawless, but heartfelt, character-driven, and confident enough to stop where it should. Vecna’s story ends. The gang finally breathes. Normal life begins again.

And honestly, that feels earned.

Stranger Things is now streaming on Netflix. Make sure to catch up to the story of Hawkins. Tell us did the finale work for you? Or did it fall flat? And for more reviews and breakdowns, click here.