Sincerely, Saskia

My God, you simply can’t have nice things anymore.

If you spent the smallest iota of time online in the first 12 days of the year, you would have seen an endless stream of posts dedicated to the highly anticipated Stranger Things finale. And once your algorithm had kindly dropped you in the eye of the fanatics, it would have taken even less time to come across the hoards of fans who were so disappointed with the finale, that they damn near made up their own – all in the form of Conformity Gate. 

Now, I am one of the millions of people who stayed up on New Year’s Eve to witness TV history being made, and I too was underwhelmed by the final offering. Maybe if being in the UK I’d had the option to watch it in the cinema it would have been different. Maybe it was the New Year’s Eve atmosphere, the fact that I’d been drinking since 6 p.m. or the fact I was hoping it would finish before my boyfriend came back from the fireworks and ruined the flow. Regardless of what it might have been, something wasn’t giving. When I sat down to watch ‘The Sorcerer’ (episode 4, vol.1) I had got some bad news on the same day and you would never have known because I was so gripped, for that brief moment, the only thing I could think about was that scene.

With a little common sense and a little less conspiracy, I came to the conclusion the gap between volumes killed the momentum and I decided to rewatch the whole season in one sitting – as let’s face it, shows made for Netflix don’t exactly fit the same the arc of shows that release on a weekly basis.

Once I’d done that, it all clicked and I was able to see the ending for what it truly was… I’m sorry guys, but I liked it.

I understand the disappointment of not having an all-out battle scene, but the fight against Vecna was a two-season long affair – the fight against the Mindflayer, five. Vecna went out like Voldemort, not with a bang but with a whisper, weakened to the point where there was never going to be a way out for him.

Those we love got a happy ending and knowing that fans weren’t going to be happy with death of El, the brothers even gave you the opportunity to make up your own mind as to whether or not you believe. Just as an FYI, I don’t. El’s death has been hinted at from the beginning if you ask me, and Mike’s theory, as sweet as it is, doesn’t hold up. But it’s OK, guys, it was a necessary evil.

If you look at the events of season five in a snapshot, it’s as disappointing as it is anticlimactic, but it’s not meant to be looked at as a snapshot. It baffles me how all the fans online can dissect the absolute crap out of the ‘number seven’, but not take a minute to stop and think about this.  

The irony around Stranger Things is that the finale the Duffer brothers decided to go with would have done better among audiences of the 80s and 90s, when a little end of season ambiguity didn’t send the world into a deep depression. Take The Sopranos ending for example; a simple cut to black that fans interpreted as Tony T’s death because of his description of death in a previous season, would never cut it today… fans simply don’t have the patience or bandwidth for such an ending. 

Even Nancy and Johnathan’s very obvious ‘un-proposal’ had fans scratching their heads and dubbing the scene inconsequential, simply because they couldn’t read between the lines. Bear in mind, these lines were practically zebra crossings at this point – did you not see her throw the ring on the floor?

“OMG, Joyce and Hopper didn’t acknowledge Vecna is Henry.” Stop expecting everything to be spelled out for you. Considering that storyline largely comes from the play anyway, perhaps they included the school hall scene in the show as a nod to the play. Perhaps, the fact that Hopper and Joyce used to go to school with Henry is irrelevant considering he’s since tried to kill their kids and their kids’ friends multiple times? What do you think would have changed? As far as we know from the show (not the play), there’s nothing Joyce or Hopper could have told the kids to help them. They knew about the Creel House already, the murders, they visited his father… honestly, it’s so irrelevant. 

The endless theories and overanalysing followed by the endless complaining has completely ruined the hype we should have all been riding over the end of this crazy, entertaining 10-year ride. 

The emergence of Conformity Gate and all the attention it got was the most unnecessary slap in the face to the cast and crew I don’t think anyone could have seen coming. It got so out of hand; after watching it I couldn’t even bask in my appreciation for the show as a whole because the noise online was so loud – and obnoxious.

It’s my own fault, in the run up to the final season I engaged with every video that came across my page and I’d unintentionally trained the algorithm to make it think I’d be interested in any and all content, leading me to the inescapable hellscape of Stranger Things fandom. 

I mean, guys, you annoyed them so much they had to change their Instagram bio, just to let you know that ‘ALL’ episodes were currently playing – the biggest ‘you’re not getting anymore episodes so please stop this nonsense’ I’ve ever seen.

You had the brothers apologising for interviews they’d done straight after the release, begging for you to cut them some slack – like, what?

The documentary that released yesterday, One Last Adventure, included a scene where the writers were discussing that final episode, Eleven’s ending, and you could see how conflicted – almost nervous – they were to even make a move. A pressure they, of course, would have expected but the reception they got from the final read through says it all. The actors were brought to tears by their character’s endings and the wave of applause for the Duffer’s seemed genuine.

I can’t imagine having my life’s work ripped apart (in part unnecessarily) to the point that fans are so convinced it was a joke, that there must be another episode coming out. We have all seen worse finales, worse seasons, worse shows and Stranger Things doesn’t deserve to be in the same camp. 

And it’s not to say you have to agree with how they ended the show, have your opinions, of course, but this feels like something different entirely. The endless dissecting of the show and endless theories are a giant buzzkill. Even if the ending was an absolute train wreck, scream about it for a day online, in your forums, with your friends and just let it go. Love it, hate it, watch it again or don’t but for the love of Vecna, please stop ruining it. 

P.S, even though I watched and am a fan of the show, Zionism is not and will never be sexy. Free Palestine. 

Image credit: Netflix