‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Part 2 Fell Victim to Its Own Hype

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The second volume of the final season of Stranger Things had a lot of anticipation building up to it, and unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to the hype. While the three episodes weren’t terrible, the nearly three-and-a-half-hour runtime felt padded with unnecessary scenes and frustrating dead ends. Many scenes relied too heavily on dialogue and moved very slowly. With one final, longer episode still to come on December 31, 2026, the show needs a strong finish to deliver the satisfying conclusion fans are hoping for.

‘Stranger Things’ Season 5’s Long, Drawn-Out Scenes Fall Flat

Some scenes in the show’s incredibly popular season felt unnecessarily extended and didn’t lead to satisfying conclusions, even when those conclusions involved saving characters viewers feared would die.

Nancy and Jonathan’s Heart to Heart

One particularly intense moment happens when Nancy and Jonathan find themselves trapped in a room within the Upside Down, slowly being covered in a strange, gooey substance and fearing for their lives. They share a deeply honest conversation, revealing their feelings for each other. Jonathan uses the opportunity to return the ring he’d bought for Nancy, realizing they might not be ready for marriage – or perhaps aren’t meant to be married at all. Despite this, he wants to reaffirm their love before what seems like their inevitable end. Surprisingly, they aren’t overcome by the goo; it unexpectedly hardens, saving them until Dustin and Steve manage to break through a wall and rescue them.

Max’s Far-Too-Long, Ill-Timed Pep Talk


Image via Netflix

One of the most stressful parts of the story is when Max and Holly discover a way out of Camazotz. However, it quickly becomes clear that the escape only applies to Max. Holly needs to find her own way to freedom. Before reaching the exit and seeing Lucas next to her seemingly lifeless body, Max spends a full five minutes trying to encourage Holly to find the strength to save herself. It’s difficult to watch Max leave the younger girl behind, and many viewers were urging her to hurry through the opening before it closed – it had already shut once before, so it felt crucial to avoid repeating that mistake.

Even after Max encourages Holly to find her inner strength and her own portal appears, they start walking towards their openings at a slow pace. It’s baffling – why isn’t Max urging her to hurry, considering how close she came to losing her chance before? Maybe Max’s calmness comes from the realization that Holly doesn’t need the music anymore, just her own self-assurance. Max truly believed the portal wouldn’t close this time. However, this conversation should have happened before they even found the portals. By waiting until the last moment, it felt like Max was relying on Holly to escape, then suddenly telling her she had to do it on her own. It felt a bit unfair, like Max was passing the responsibility at the very end.

Will’s Coming Out Was Supposed to be Part of the Story, Not The Story


Image via Netflix

The final overly long scene revolves around Will (Noah Schnapp) coming out to his friends and family. While it was important for Will to finally share this part of himself, and the difficulty of doing so in the 1980s should have been acknowledged, the scene felt underwhelming. Many viewers had anticipated this moment as a major emotional climax, but the reactions from others suggested they already knew, diminishing the impact. It was a positive portrayal of a coming-out conversation, and it made sense that Will felt pressured to reveal his sexuality now, given Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) was exploiting it. However, it wasn’t the powerful, central moment fans were hoping for from this episode and the second part of the season.

As a longtime fan, I always figured Will’s coming out was going to happen eventually. The show had been hinting at it for a while – through his talks with Robin, his obvious feelings for Mike, and how it connected to his powers. Honestly, it felt like something that could have happened naturally after they beat Vecna, maybe just a quiet conversation while they figured out what to do next. But making it the huge emotional climax of the episode, and even the season, felt like it overshadowed other, more important parts of the story. It just didn’t quite land for me the way it could have.

The strength of Stranger Things has always been how the group faces challenges together, not any one character’s individual story – even Eleven’s. This recent episode shifted away from that, and the emotional impact many viewers expected – which they thought would involve a character’s death – didn’t quite land, as it focused instead on resolving Will’s internal struggles.

Small Wins Only Raise More Questions


Image via Netflix

Okay, this episode definitely had some bright spots! It was great to finally see Scott Clarke get in on the action and learn what’s really been happening all this time – he’s been so important to everything without even knowing it! And that plan to shock the Demogorgon and use Will to connect to Vecna’s hive mind? Genius. Dustin figuring out what the Upside Down is – a kind of bridge between Hawkins and Vecna/Mind Flayer’s actual home – was a huge moment too. Plus, Karen Wheeler continues to be the best; her pretending to do laundry at the hospital to distract those Demogorgons was both hilarious and life-saving! Poor Ted, though… still stuck in a hospital bed, completely oblivious. Everyone’s tiptoeing around telling him about the monster he fought with a golf club! I really hope he gets some answers soon.

The major reveal of the villain is surprisingly underwhelming, especially since it doesn’t align with earlier fan theories. It turns out the true threat isn’t Vecna or the Mind Flayer, but Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton), who is essentially taking on the role of Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine). She’s attempting to create another generation of children with powers using Henry’s genetic material. This leads Kali (Linnea Berthelsen) to tell Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) that the only way to stop this cycle is for both of them to sacrifice themselves after defeating Vecna and destroying the bridge between worlds. Eleven’s other option is a life constantly in hiding, endangering everyone she cares about – a fate similar to Kali’s, whose friends were killed by the military to get to her. The military will likely do the same to Eleven, regardless of who is in charge.

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After a lot of hints that didn’t lead anywhere, fans are skeptical that Eleven will actually succeed with her plan. Now that we know how to defeat Vecna, the bigger worry is whether Eleven can do it without sacrificing herself. The possibility of Vecna being redeemed, something Max pointed out by reminding us he was once human, feels less crucial. If Dr. Kay and the military are still a factor, Vecna seems more like an annoyance than a major danger.

Unfortunately, the latest season of Stranger Things has created a difficult situation for the show, and it feels like fans are likely to be disappointed no matter how the story ends. If Eleven makes the ultimate sacrifice, it would make all her previous efforts seem pointless, essentially restarting the cycle with Vecna that she unintentionally began, and also concluding Dr. Brenner’s long-running work. If she survives, the only plausible outcome seems far-fetched – perhaps a complete memory wipe of everyone involved by some outside force, allowing her to start over. Any other character’s death wouldn’t carry the same weight or emotional impact that it would have had earlier in the season.

Despite the disappointing second part, there’s still a chance for things to turn around. We might see Will overcome Vecna and prove him wrong, or Eleven could inspire Kali to choose a different path. Ultimately, the third part needs to be much stronger to make up for the current shortcomings.

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2025-12-27 05:04