On Dec. 31, Netflix released the season finale of “Stranger Things,” “The Rightside Up.” The finale had a running time of two hours and eight minutes, making it one of the longest episodes in “Stranger Things,” alongside the season four finale, “The Piggyback.” We’ve done a recap to prepare viewers for the finale. Now, let’s do a review of the finale and the final season. Warning: this article will contain spoilers; proceed at your own risk.
The Recap:
At the beginning of the season, Holly, Mike’s sister, gets taken by a Demogorgon sent by Vecna. When planning who to take, Vecna appears to his victims as Mr. Whatsit, a character from the book “A Wrinkle in Time.” This causes them to become closer to him, eventually gaining their trust. No one understands why Vecna took Holly until episode four, “Sorcerer.” During this episode, the group attempts to save Vecna’s next victim, Derek Turnbow, along with other possible victims. They take Derek, along with his family, to a place where they think the Demogorgon won’t find them: McCorkle Farm. Unfortunately, the Demogorgon finds Derek and the others and attempts to take him to Vecna. Along with this, Will is able to see through the eyes of the Demogorgon, feel what it was feeling and think what it was thinking.
Viewers suspect that Vecna has taken Holly to the Upside Down. Little do they know that they are mentally in a different dimension, one Holly calls Camazotz. Camazotz is a world created by Henry, holding many different memories, most of his own. Holly, being the first to arrive, has the time of her life in the Creel house when she then finds a map. The map tells her to go to a spot in the woods, which is where Henry told her never to go, as there are monsters out there. Holly follows the map anyway, and while on her journey, she makes an unexpected and exciting discovery: Max. Now, viewers may be wondering, “Wait, I thought she was in a coma back in Hawkins.” Well, you would be right and wrong at the same time. Why don’t we rewind to season four and find out what happened?
At the end of season four, Max gets possessed by Vecna, eventually dying. Luckily, Eleven, who “piggybacked” into the mindscape, was able to revive her. After being revived, Max is left in a coma-like state. However, not everything is as it seems. When Holly finds Max, we learn that she actually isn’t in a coma, but her consciousness is residing in Camazotz. She tells Holly about how she ended up in the world. Max then tells Holly about how she “heard Kate Bush,” leading to her attempt to escape. Sadly, the song, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” ends, leaving Max in Camazotz. Now with Holly here, Max feels she’ll actually have a chance of escaping, a chance to go back home.
Back in Hawkins, Vecna comes through a gate that is open at MAC-Z, a military base stationed in Hawkins, after the strange activities that happened at the end of season four. Vecna retrieves Derek, along with ten other children, who are all in Holly’s grade. He then tells Will why he chose him first and why he goes after children. He tells him that they are vulnerable and weak, just like how Will was. After leaving, the Demogorgons sent by Vecna come back to life to harm the group at the MAC-Z. In a crazy turn of events, the Demogorgons freeze mid-attack. The cause? Will. We get a shot of Will holding his arms out, hands open, lifting the Demogorgons. He then snaps their necks, and we see him wiping blood from his nose, which is when we learn Will has gained powers.
Throughout the rest of the season, the group explores the Upside Down to find where Vecna has taken the children. Later, they find out that the children are being held in another dimension: “Dimension X,” also known as “The Abyss.” The group learns that the Upside Down isn’t a mirrored world of Hawkins, but is a part of a wormhole. The Abyss is where Vecna was sent after being defeated and where he now resides. He, along with the other creatures, uses the Upside Down as a way to travel to Hawkins, which is at the bottom of the wormhole. During the finale, the group travels to the Abyss, finding Vecna’s lair, and defeating him once and for all. They then return to Hawkins and bring back the children to their families. Sadly, this isn’t where it ends. Murray and Hopper, who are in the Upside Down, place a bomb that will destroy the Upside Down. When the group returns to Hawkins, they are stopped by the military to see if Eleven, whom they have been after, is with them. When the group realizes that Eleven is not with them, we see Mike look into the gate, which is where he sees Eleven. We then learn that Eleven plans to stay in the Upside Down while it’s being destroyed, which will destroy her. Mike and Eleven have one last moment together and they say their final goodbyes.
A few months later, Hawkins is back to the way it was, just missing one person. The group has finally graduated, moving on from the events they have been through since 1983. Back at the radio station, WSQK, or “The Squawk,” Robin, Jonathan, Steve and Nancy are seen drinking on the roof, feeling free. The group then talks about meeting up at Robin’s weird uncle’s house every month, keeping their bond strong no matter the distance. The show ends with Mike, Dustin, Will, Lucas and Max playing D&D one last time. Before Mike closes the basement door, we see Holly and her friends start their own campaign, following in the footsteps of her brother.
The Review:
Overall, the show is action-packed, having a new adventure every season, along with side quests. Having a new adventure while still surrounding the main plot brings in tons of different twists, good and bad. The deaths in the show also bring in many different emotions, such as sadness and anger. One death I feel brought a lot of anger and sadness was Eleven’s. Eleven has been a big character since season one, and killing her off at the end just didn’t feel right. Although other characters, like Kali and Lt. Robert Akers, were killed, they didn’t have as big an impact as Eleven or other major characters did. Though there are many theories about whether or not Eleven is still alive, everyone has their opinions about whether she’s alive or not.
Though there were a lot of sad moments in the finale, there were also tons of happy moments. One of these events is Hopper and Joyce getting engaged. When I saw this, I was overjoyed and overall just excited. Joyce and Hopper have been there together through all of the wacky things that happened in Hawkins, and they go way back to high school. While they weren’t very close during season one, their bond grew as Hopper helped Joyce find her son and stayed by her side through all of the other events. That, right there, shows his loyalty to someone he wasn’t really close to. Another happy moment is when everyone graduates after surviving the events. During this scene, I felt very happy to see everyone be able to have one last good moment together before going off to live their separate lives. Seeing Max there made it even more wholesome, as she was able to graduate with Lucas after being stuck in Henry’s world for almost two years. While it’s happy to see them grow up, it’s also sad to think that Eleven wasn’t able to be there to graduate.
Once again, the show brings in a lot of feelings, emotions and thoughts. With its plot twists, action-packed adventures, and a mix of happy and sad moments, the show has something for everyone.
“Stranger Things” is a series viewers may have grown up with, while to others it might be something they’ve recently started watching due to their friends or social media. To anyone, seeing their favorite series end can bring many emotions, sadness being a main one. Even though the main show is coming to an end, “Stranger Things” itself isn’t. On Nov. 6, 2025, Netflix announced a new series: “Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85.” The show is set between seasons two and three of “Stranger Things,” showing the different side quests the group goes on while awaiting their next big adventure. Viewers get new voice actors, new adventures, and a new show to watch that revolves around the main show. With “Stranger Things” becoming a big hit, the future for “Stranger Things: Tales from ’85” is looking bright.
