# Stranger Things - Final Season
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, netflix
**Created:** [July 16, 2025, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926 "2025-07-16T17:13:16Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2025, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/21 "2025-12-01T04:15:16Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#):
>
> I was surprised that this latest season is a bit scarier than most (which I think is good for the series).
I don’t know if I think it’s much scarier, but it’s definitely very violent so far!
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### Author:  [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2025, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/22 "2025-12-04T05:49:19Z")
Happy to see Murray is back and I love how quickly they managed to turn Derek Turnbow into a member of the team.
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### Author:  [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2025, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/23 "2025-12-04T15:45:20Z")
Not sure if we are spoiler-tagging everything in this thread or what, so I won’t go into specifics.
But after those 4 episodes, I’m very worried that those of us that are mainly watching at this point just to get a satisfying conclusion are going to be disappointed. They seem to be going down the Lost path of just throwing out more questions and mysteries rather than trying to answer the old ones. And then resolving them with lots of special effects and moments of badassery rather than actual answers.
But I guess they have 5(?) more episodes to make it all make sense.
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### Author:  [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2025, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/24 "2025-12-05T02:48:08Z")
So I guess Argyle either got out of Hawkins (somehow) before the quarantine or he’s still gathering mushrooms?
> [@Jas09](#):
>
> But after those 4 episodes, I’m very worried that those of us that are mainly watching at this point just to get a satisfying conclusion are going to be disappointed.
It feels like everyone has moved on to Pluribus.
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### Author:  [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2025, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/25 "2025-12-05T03:16:48Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#):
>
> Happy to see Murray is back
He had my favorite line of the season (so far) when he gave the name “Austin Millbarge” when he was driving his truck in through the fence.
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### Author:  [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2025, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/26 "2025-12-05T03:28:46Z")
> [@DigitalC](#):
>
> The problem is that the four main kids now look significantly bigger and older than the two “older” kids Jonathan and Steve.
Yeah, it’s not very convincing when the “nerds” getting picked on are now full-grown 30 year old dudes.
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### Author:  [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2025, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/27 "2025-12-05T04:19:20Z")
> [@SunUp](#):
>
> He had my favorite line of the season (so far) when he gave the name “Austin Millbarge” when he was driving his truck in through the fence.
When I heard that name, I immediately thought “where’s Emmett Fitz-Hume?”
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### Author:  [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2025, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/28 "2025-12-05T04:37:28Z")
On the road to Dushanbe.
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### Author:  [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2025, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/29 "2025-12-05T13:11:26Z")
> [@Jas09](#):
>
> They seem to be going down the Lost path of just throwing out more questions and mysteries rather than trying to answer the old ones.
I’m trying to think of which questions are still unanswered other than “where has Vecna been hiding?” and “what’s the deal with that wall?” (neither of which sound like they will require more than 7 hours of TV to solve, IMO).
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2025, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/30 "2025-12-05T13:17:59Z")
The main kids (not counting older brother Jonathan) are all 21-24, so you can subtract a year for when it was filming. But, yes, Jonathan Byers’ character is 31 now IRL. He’s almost the Andrea Zuckerman (90210) of Stranger Things.
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### Author:  [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2025, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/31 "2025-12-05T14:02:56Z")
> [@hogarth](#):
>
> I’m trying to think of which questions are still unanswered other than “where has Vecna been hiding?” and “what’s the deal with that wall?”
Hm, perhaps things have been explained better than I am aware then. I guess a lot of it can be just be explained with “A wizard (Vecna) did it”. I guess we are supposed to just write off everything from Seasons 1-3 that way, even though he wasn’t really introduced as the villain until Season 4.
My big question is “who/what created the Upside Down?” We saw Eleven send Henry there during their big battle, so I don’t think Vecna created it. It also seemed the Russian (and Americans too?) where investigating it. So what is it? Is the Mind Flyer in charge there? Did Vecna somehow conquer it when Eleven sent him there?
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### Author:  [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2025, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/32 "2025-12-05T15:32:56Z")
> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> The main kids (not counting older brother Jonathan) are all 21-24, so you can subtract a year for when it was filming. But, yes, Jonathan Byers’ character is 31 now IRL. He’s almost the Andrea Zuckerman (90210) of Stranger Things.
I don’t know how old they actually are. The bullying scene just struck me funny as they didn’t look like scrawny little kids anymore.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2025, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/33 "2025-12-05T15:59:50Z")
Yeah, anyone less than 30 to me looks like a late teenager to me these days. 🙂 I’ve also never been good at guessing ages, so this bit of disbelief is easy for me to suspend. When I watch it, I think of them as high school seniors.
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### Author:  [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2025, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/34 "2025-12-05T16:07:19Z")
> [@Jas09](#):
>
> My big question is “who/what created the Upside Down?” We saw Eleven send Henry there during their big battle, so I don’t think Vecna created it. It also seemed the Russian (and Americans too?) where investigating it. So what is it? Is the Mind Flyer in charge there? Did Vecna somehow conquer it when Eleven sent him there?
My understanding is that:
1. Henry was thrown into a pre-existing alternate dimension with pre-existing inhabitants, with the Mind Flayer as the leader of a hive mind.
2. Henry somehow imposed his will on the Mind Flayer and the hive mind.
3. Henry’s actions in the alternate dimension were also responsible for making the Upside Down version of Hawkins.
I think you’re right that they won’t devote a lot more time into expanding those points, but you never know.
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### Author:  [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2025, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/35 "2025-12-05T22:21:33Z")
As it turns out, there was a limited run stage play that touched on Henry’s youth and some incidents with that cave in Nevada that the Duffer brothers decided was canon. I suspect given that almost no one is aware of that play, much less the story points it outlines, they’ll spend some time recapping it. Based on what I know, I think your numbered points are pretty close to right.
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### Author:  [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)
#### Post date: [December 5, 2025, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/36 "2025-12-05T22:47:36Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#):
>
> As it turns out, there was a limited run stage play that touched on Henry’s youth and some incidents with that cave in Nevada that the Duffer brothers decided was canon. I suspect given that almost no one is aware of that play, much less the story points it outlines, they’ll spend some time recapping it.
I just read through the plot of the play on Wikipedia and now I’m more confused than when I started. 😛
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### Author:  [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2025, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/37 "2025-12-13T18:10:55Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#):
>
> As it turns out, there was a limited run stage play that touched on Henry’s youth and some incidents with that cave in Nevada that the Duffer brothers decided was canon.
The play is not limited run, it’s currently playing on both London’s West End and on Broadway. There is a fun nod to the events in the stage show when Max is walking though the Hawkins High School hallway and young Joyce hands her the flyer for the school play. I saw the Broadway show twice but I don’t remember _anything_ about the caves in the play, even though the Wikipedia summary does mention them. I think that scene was maybe just described rather than acted. It definitely did not seem like incredibly important information at the time.
It’s uncanny how much Will now looks like Daniel Radcliffe.
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2025, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/38 "2025-12-13T22:12:19Z")
> [@Jas09](#):
>
> My big question is “who/what created the Upside Down"
When has a story featuring parallel universes ever explained _why_ they exist? They just exist. Wonderland, Oz, Neverland, Narnia… in their stories, they’re just part of the natural order of things. They don’t need explaining.
> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> The main kids (not counting older brother Jonathan) are all 21-24, so you can subtract a year for when it was filming.
That’s still younger than Allison Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon and Charisma Carpenter in Season 1 of _Buffy_, whose characters were supposed to be the same age.
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2025, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/39 "2025-12-13T22:17:18Z")
Anyway, my problem with the season so far is that absolutely nothing surprising has happened. All the big twists and revelations have been visible a mile away. It’s disappointing.
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### Author:  [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)
#### Post date: [December 13, 2025, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-final-season/1020926/40 "2025-12-13T23:40:53Z")
> [@Alessan](#):
>
> That’s still younger than Allison Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon and Charisma Carpenter in Season 1 of _Buffy_, whose characters were supposed to be the same age.
Two things:
1. The _Buffy_ actors were chosen based on the fact that they could portray actors 7-10 years younger than themselves in season 1. The _Stranger Things_ actors were chosen because a decade ago, they could portray kids a year or so younger than themselves, without any notion that they would eventually have that larger age gap - and the portrayals with that larger gap are now less than convincing.
2. We’ve seen the _Stranger Things_ actors age throughout the seasons of the show, and their aging took place across a phase of life when bodily changes are larger and more apparent than in later phases, so it’s more jarring to make that comparison between seasons when there was no record of the earlier phase for the actors of _Buffy_ and hence no comparison to make.
So it make sense that it’s more significant. For me, it didn’t take me too far out of the moment after the first appearance.
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