What happened after the ‘Stranger Things’ finale will haunt us forever
Author: Chris Snelgrove Published
this stranger things 2025 ended with more of a whimper than a bang, giving us a very divisive series finale that fans couldn’t stop arguing about. While there were a lot of problems with the final episode, the one I found most distracting was that it was filled with weird plot holes that threatened to turn this epic, action-packed series into a disappointing farce.
If you don’t believe it (and don’t mind some Serious spoilers), go grab a slice of Surfer Boy pizza and read on to discover the worst-case scenarios stranger things The plot of the series finale will haunt us forever!
Why did the military let our heroes go?
in our stranger things The heroes defeat Vecna and the Mind Flayer (more on that later), and they escape the Upside Down, only to be captured by the military. It looks like all hope is lost, and then the unthinkable happens: When the Upside Down explodes, Eleven stays (unless you believe Mike’s theory that she survived). The young girl’s self-sacrificial goal is to ensure that the government can never continue its gruesome research without access to the Upside Down or her super-powered blood.
Everything was fine, but then something crazy happened. The army told everyone to go! Remember, these characters killed tons of military personnel and wreaked insane damage to federal buildings, and they were the only ones with the knowledge and experience to help the government get anything useful out of years of experimentation. However, the Army (including Dr. Kay, whose origins are never really explained) suddenly agree to involve everyone in a harebrained plot to give stranger things Happy ending.
How did Hopper get his old job back?
As part of the show’s aforementioned happy ending, Hopper (who surprisingly didn’t seem upset by Eleven’s death) regained his old position as Hawkins’ chief of police. He even used the job and the influence of his old friend to get a new, better-paying job as a police officer, and he and Joyce (now engaged) could move closer to where her children went to school. It’s all sweet and touching, but this stranger things The ending never answers a very basic question: How on earth did Hopper get his old job back?
As far as anyone in the community knew (including his fellow police officers), Hopper was actually dead after the end of season three. If they were aware of his recent activities, they would know that he has been breaking the law, killing soldiers, and raising government fugitives. Combined with the fact that he was an alcoholic in season 1 and barely did his job, it makes absolutely no sense that he would never be able to work in law enforcement again, let alone get two different police chief jobs at once!
Where are Mogogan?
Part of the reason is stranger things The series finale is so exciting (at least on paper) that our heroes head into the abyss armed to the teeth to take on the Vecna and the Mind Flayers. There, they faced an unexpectedly easy battle. Although Vecna was more powerful than ever and the Mind Flayers were god-like beings from across the universe, they were both defeated by a massive Scooby gang. Of course, the fight is made easier by the absence of Demogorgon, and the fact that they are nowhere to be found means nothing.
If you haven’t paid attention to the show’s intricate story, Demogorgon is living in the abyss (as seen in the show) Stranger Things: The First Shadow) and enter the real world through the Upside Down Gateway. Theoretically speaking, the abyss should definitely be crawl and these guys (who have been the series’ most iconic villains since the beginning), but they’re completely absent. Some fans speculate that Vecna absorbed all of these people to increase his own power, but there are two problems with that theory: 1) there’s no point in destroying your army when the enemy is closing in, and 2) this, like so many other things, is never explained on screen!
Sorry, Duffer Brothers: If fans have to come up with their own answers, that’s a sure sign that your writing is terrible.
Why are Vecna and the Mind Flayer so weak?
Perhaps the most confusing thing is stranger things The series finale is that our two big bad guys just shockingly Weak. Vecna is supposed to be stronger than ever now, but he can’t even successfully pull Holly away from a fat, foul-mouthed kid. Eleven later proved to be an absolute pushover in the final battle, despite being much more powerful in their showdown in the season four finale (remember, he was supposed to be much less powerful at the time).
Meanwhile, the Mind Flayer is defeated by a combination of flamethrowers, guns, flares, and slingshots. It wouldn’t have been so insulting if it had been done earlier. stranger things The scene doesn’t establish that a minion like Demogorgon is more or less invulnerable. Suddenly the Mind Flayer is much weaker than his minions, just like Vecna (also the bulletproof guy) is suddenly vulnerable to a middle-aged woman wielding an axe.
Hopefully someone at Netflix takes notes here: When you make your main villain really weak in the final battle, it makes it hard to deal with the bad guys or The heroes are very serious.
