😱 STRANGER THINGS FINALE JUST DROPPED… And The Plot Holes Are BIGGER Than The Upside Down Gate?!

We survived 9 years of Demogorgons, Mind Flayers, and Vecna’s curses… only for the epic 2-hour goodbye to leave us with MORE questions than answers?!

Vecna – the “god-like” villain built up forever – taken down in minutes with guns and fire? No Demogorgon army? Will’s connection ignored like it never happened? Hopper magically back as chief after being “dead”? And that mysterious stone artifact… poof, forgotten?!

Fans are RAGING: “Rushed mess!” “Worse than GoT!” “They forgot their own lore!” Petitions for fixes, theories gone wild, Rotten Tomatoes audience score tanking…

Did the Duffer Brothers deliver a heartfelt ending… or accidentally create the most frustrating plot hole graveyard in TV history?

Details below! 👇🔥

Netflix’s monumental series Stranger Things concluded its decade-long journey on New Year’s Eve with the release of the supersized finale, “The Rightside Up,” but the emotional high has quickly given way to widespread debate over numerous perceived plot holes and unresolved threads that have left many viewers frustrated.

The two-hour-plus episode delivered high-stakes action, nostalgic callbacks, and tearful farewells as the Hawkins crew confronted Vecna in a final bid to seal the Upside Down for good. Yet, in the days since its premiere, social media has erupted with complaints about logical inconsistencies, dropped storylines, and lore elements that went unexplained, drawing inevitable comparisons to other divisive series finales.

Audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes for Season 5 have slid to around 58%, the lowest in the show’s history, while critics maintain a solid 84%. On platforms like Reddit and X, threads dissecting “plot holes” have garnered hundreds of thousands of views, with users compiling lists of issues that they argue undermine the carefully built mythology.

One of the most frequently cited complaints is the swift defeat of Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), portrayed across seasons as an nearly omnipotent force with god-like ambitions. After years of buildup, his demise in the finale occurs relatively quickly – involving gunfire, flames, and a decisive strike from Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) – without the massive monster army or prolonged battle many anticipated. “Vecna wipes out military forces effortlessly but loses to kids with basic weapons in minutes?” one Reddit user posted in a thread with over 250 upvotes. Others noted the absence of Demogorgons or other creatures in the climactic showdown, despite earlier teases of Vecna summoning reinforcements.

Will Byers’ (Noah Schnapp) lingering connection to the Upside Down and Vecna also drew scrutiny. Established in Season 2 as making him a potential “spy” for the Mind Flayer, this link is largely ignored in the planning and execution of the final assault. Characters openly discuss strategies in Will’s presence without caution, prompting questions about why Vecna doesn’t exploit the vulnerability. “It’s a massive oversight – they treated it like the connection vanished after Season 4,” commented a fan on X.

Hopper’s (David Harbour) return to his role as police chief raised eyebrows as well. Officially presumed dead since the Season 3 mall explosion and absent for much of Season 4, his reappearance and seamless reinstatement – complete with authority in the quarantined Hawkins – lacks explanation. How did he reclaim his position without public scrutiny or bureaucratic hurdles? Similar questions surround minor characters like Suzie, Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman), and Mr. Clarke, whose arcs taper off without epilogue mentions.

A mysterious stone artifact, introduced earlier in the season as potentially tied to deeper Upside Down origins or Henry Creel’s (Vecna’s) backstory, vanishes from the narrative entirely. Discovered in a cave by a scientist, it hinted at pre-existing dimensional threats, but the finale offers no resolution or even acknowledgment. Fans speculated it could connect to broader lore, perhaps even real-world conspiracy inspirations like the Montauk Project, but it remains dangling.

Eleven’s (Millie Bobby Brown) fate adds ambiguity that some view as evasive. Her apparent sacrifice to close the gates is undercut by Mike’s (Finn Wolfhard) narration suggesting survival, leaving her status open-ended without clear confirmation. Joyce and Hopper’s reactions – or lack thereof – to major revelations, such as Vecna’s identity as Henry Creel, also puzzled viewers.

The extended epilogue, set 18 months later during graduation, focuses on emotional closure for the core group but sidelines supporting players like Vickie and others, fueling accusations of rushed wrapping. Production delays from strikes and the pandemic contributed to a three-year gap between seasons, leading to time jumps and aging cast members that required narrative adjustments, but some argue these compounded pacing issues.

The Duffer Brothers have defended the choices in interviews, emphasizing themes of growth, letting go, and avoiding gratuitous deaths. “We wanted stakes without a bloodbath,” Matt Duffer said, noting intentional ambiguity to mirror real-life uncertainties. They promised no “Red Wedding”-style shocks, prioritizing character arcs over exhaustive lore dumps.

Defenders counter that not every detail needs explicit resolution, distinguishing “unanswered questions” from true plot holes (direct contradictions). “The show was always about the characters more than the mythology,” one supporter posted. Nostalgic elements, like the final Dungeons & Dragons game and needle drops including David Bowie’s “Heroes,” earned praise for evoking the series’ roots.

Viewership remains astronomical, with Netflix reporting record-breaking numbers and brief platform outages from demand. Theatrical screenings of the finale in select markets added to the event atmosphere.

As the dust settles, Stranger Things cements its legacy as a cultural phenomenon that launched stars and redefined ’80s nostalgia horror. Planned spinoffs, including an animated series, may address some lingering threads, but for the main saga, these debated inconsistencies ensure the finale will haunt discussions for years.

Whether these are genuine flaws or acceptable ambiguities in a sprawling ensemble story is subjective, but they’ve undeniably kept the conversation alive long after the credits rolled.

All seasons of Stranger Things are available on Netflix.