The final battle in the Upside Down awaits.
Redhawks watch from their homes with popcorn and Eggos.
Doors are left three inches open.
This winter break, Redhawks ventured into Hawkins from the comfort of their homes and theatres as the final episode of Stranger Things concluded on New Year’s eve, bringing an almost decade long series to a close.
“I thought the ending was satisfying,” assistant principal Richard Sabatier said. “I think a lot of people were expecting a lot more death of main characters, but that’s never been thematically on brand for Stranger Things. Stranger Things has always taken its thematic cues from 80s movies and Dungeons and Dragons. In both of those media, the heroes prevail against impossible odds and save the day. It’s never been a matter of if the heroes will win, but how the heroes will win. I think too many people were expecting a Game of Thrones-like tonal shift. But I found it to be a satisfying, if safe, ending. As someone who’s played Dungeons and Dragons with my friends for a long time, I found the last scene of the kids putting away their DnD books and the next generation picking right up where they left up very impactful.”
Others felt that the show left behind too many questions, especially amidst Conformity Gate theories that suggested the possibility of another episode.
“I believe there were some questions that were just left unanswered,” junior Ezza Abbasi said. “By the time the second volume came around everything just felt very rushed. And as much as I wanted to believe in the Conformity Gate, I knew the show ended with episode 8 and so I didn’t believe in it just because of the fact that they released the finale in theaters and I think if there was going to be a secret episode they would’ve released that in theaters.”
Being available to watch with friends and family made the experience more memorable.
“I just watched the finale with my friends and so experiencing it with them was really special,” Abbasi said. “Especially when that one Steve scene came up we all screamed like crazy. And also Max and Lucas finally making it to their long awaited movie date was a really special detail.”
Although final seasons usually focus on tying up loose ends, there was still room for unexpected character growth.
“I really enjoyed Will’s transformation,” sophomore Tanmayee Bodla said. “He went from being kind of weak to a strong character and that came as a surprise.”
For others the show is more than just the plot or characters.
“The ending was very sentimental for me,” Sabatier said. “When the show first premiered, I was in my first year of teaching right out of college. My wife, fiancée at the time, watched it together on the couch in our first apartment. Now, ten years later, we watched it together on the couch in our house while our infant son took a nap nearby. It was a neat full circle moment.”
