Recently, on November 26, December 25, and December 31, the fifth and final season of one of Netflix’s most popular TV series, Stranger Things, was released. Fans have had many strong opinions about this entire last season, specifically the finale episode. While this is my favorite show and there are some parts of the season I feel were really enjoyable, some aspects did not completely match my high expectations. Some of the main controversial topics regarding the final season were the plot holes and unfinished, rushed feeling, and allegations about the writers using AI.
To begin, many major questions were left unanswered this season. Just some of these plot holes include Henry Creel going to the same high school as Joyce, Will stating he and his friends got milkshakes from Melvald’s, the build-up of Mike and Will, the Turnbow family, and so many other small details that fans have picked up on. Firstly, in Volume 1 of Season 5, we find out that Henry Creel went to the same high school as Joyce. This led to so many amazing and crazy fan theories between volumes, leading everyone to expect some insane plot twist. But in Volumes 2 and 3, this was never even expanded upon. Why did Joyce never even mention it? Why would this be included if it had no importance? This is the case with so many of these plot holes—the writers, the Duffer Brothers, said that everything in the show was for a reason and nothing was a coincidence, yet there are so many things that were overanalyzed by fans and had no significance at all.
This is also the case for a key detail in Will’s coming-out speech. When Will is explaining all of the things he and his friends like to do together, he mentions “biking to Melvald’s for malted milkshakes.” This is a very obvious inaccuracy, because Melvald’s is now a general store and was only a diner in the 1950s. Everyone thought that this indicated Vecna’s connection with Will, but nothing is mentioned about this detail further in the finale episode. Again, why was this very specific incorrect detail included if there was no importance?
Next—Will and Mike’s relationship. This is not necessarily a plot hole, but just something that was built up since Season 1, just for nothing to happen. The Duffer Brothers put so much emphasis on Will and Mike—the van scene? The rain fight? ALL OF THE GATES??? Personally, I didn’t even really want this relationship to happen, but why was there so much build-up just for nothing to ever happen?
There are many more major plot holes, but one smaller one includes the Turnbow family. What happened to them?! There are so many crazy fan theories about these plot holes, but my friends and I even noticed this one while barely paying attention. The Turnbow family was brought to the barn, but then what? They were literally just left there. Did they die there? This could have been resolved with a quick scene, but instead, what actually happened to this family remains a mystery. Overall, so many details were mentioned but then never actually expanded upon, making fans disappointed and feeling like the show was left unfinished and rushed.
Secondly, there are allegations about the Duffer Brothers using AI for the script. This is partly because, in their documentary, fans spotted that there were ChatGPT tabs open on a laptop, but also just because some of the lines were so awful and corny. AI-generated text is very formulaic, and some resemblance can be seen in phrases like “it’s not x, but y” being used excessively. For example, the lines “It wasn’t a fight. It was a damn massacre,” “This is not a war. It is a search,” and so many more are extremely similar to the format that generative AI produces.
There were also so many crazy “plans” that seemed unnatural and forced. Of course, it’s a science-fiction show, but it felt like in this season more than others, every five minutes there was a new plan that was somehow always right. It feels so fake when everyone is talking, then someone says a word, repeats it, gets an insane realization, and they think of a perfect, accurate plan, then use some absurd metaphor about the Upside Down to explain it. The fact that almost exactly this same thing happens multiple times makes it feel like AI.
Overall, Stranger Things is my favorite show, and I’m realizing now that I was very harsh and critical in this article about this last season. One of the reasons myself and many others were disappointed is likely because everyone was looking forward to it for years, forming much higher expectations. There were many things I enjoyed about this last season, but the main criticisms by myself and many others were the rushed plot holes and the AI nature of it.
