Fans are all making the same complaint about the new season of Stranger Things.
After years of anticipation, the hit Netflix series has officially entered its endgame.
The show, which first launched in 2016 as a nostalgic love letter to 1980s adventure films and coming-of-age stories, has grown into one of the biggest TV franchises on the planet.
Throughout its run, it’s received critical acclaim, and many publications consider it to be one of the greatest television shows ever made.
But following the drop of the final season, many viewers and critics have been making one particular comment.
Millie Bobby Brown addresses David Harbour relationship amid bullying allegations
In the weeks before the release of season 5, it was reported that Millie Bobby Brown had allegedly filed ‘harassment and bullying’ against her co-star David Harbour ahead of filming the show’s final installment.
Yet the pair put on a united front at the premiere of Stranger Things season 5, smiling, hugging, and publicly showing unity.
Now, in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Brown has opened up about her ‘friendship’ with Harbour.
When asked why it was ‘important’ that she and Harbour put on a united front amid the reports, the actress said: “We’ve been doing that for the last 10 years. I mean, we have always been united in that. We love this show with everything, and we value our friendship more than anything.”
Brown added that it was ‘so nice’ to be able to ‘come back together’ with Harbour and shoot the final season.
“It was quite nostalgic because it reminded me so much of Season 2 and 3, where we’re both kind of butting heads and she’s growing up, she’s trying to find her own voice and he’s trying to parent, and that dynamic definitely comes back into play once again, and I’m really excited for people to see that,” she explained.
But this isn’t the only drama Harbour has faced in the lead-up to season 5…
Harbour and Lily Allen breakup
Harbour and singer Lily Allen broke up in early 2025 after four years of marriage, and the ‘Smile’ singer has since dropped the album ‘West End Girl,’ which seemingly dives into the unraveling of their open marriage.
Allen’s viral breakup album explores being a woman who has given her partner ‘all my power,’ and there are also scathing lyrics such as ‘been no romance since we wed,’ followed by: “But you let me think it was me in my head, and nothing to do with them girls in your bed.”
The album certainly raised questions about their breakup, especially for listeners who honed in on the lyrics about a woman named Madeline.
Harbour hasn’t publicly reacted to ‘West End Girl’ or spoken of the end of his relationship to Allen; however, in a November 2025 cover story interview with Esquire Spain, he alluded to ‘mistakes’ and ‘slip-ups’ in his life.
What happens in Stranger Things season 5?
Warning: This section of the article may contain spoilers
Netflix split the final season of Stranger Things into multiple parts, a strategy it has increasingly used for its biggest shows.
Volume 1 consists of the first four episodes of season 5, reuniting viewers with Eleven, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, Max, Hopper, and the rest of the Hawkins crew following the events at the end of season 4.
The town is shattered, the Upside Down is bleeding into the real world, and the villain Vecna remains the central threat.
But viewers may also recognize that actress Linda Hamilton has joined the Stranger Things universe – and she looks unrecognizable.
Hamilton debuted in the first installment of season 5 episodes, playing the antagonist Dr. Kay, a military scientist who is hunting down Eleven.
“She’s got a special agenda there that is kind of withheld throughout most of the season,” the actress told Tudum.
“And that’s all I can say about that. But she was great fun to play. They gave me some good stuff to do. Got to mix it up a little bit.”
Season 5 debuts with all-time low Rotten Tomatoes score
Despite there being a lot of hype around the final installment of the Netflix series, the reaction so far has been somewhat lukewarm.
USA Today‘s Kelly Lawler said the show ‘seesaws between thrilling and annoying,’ while Sophie Gilbert from The Atlantic described it as being ‘largely joyless and grim.’
Still, The Guardian‘s Jack Seale declared it to be ‘this luxurious final run will have you standing on a chair, yelling with joy.’
Meanwhile, Ed Potton awarded the season four stars in The Times, calling the opening run of episodes: “Richly entertaining stuff with proper jeopardy and bags of emotion.”
The first season of Stranger Things debuted with almost perfect reviews, debuting at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.
And while season 5’s debut score of 87% may not seem low, it is in terms of the show’s history – so perhaps it’s coming to an end at the perfect time.
Fans are making the same complaint
Warning: more spoilers…
While critics’ reviews have been mixed, there is one particular complaint that the everyday viewers have been making.
Fans expected a brutal body count in the final season – and it just didn’t happen.
Instead, several near-death moments in volume 1 end with characters surviving in ways some viewers feel strain credibility.
One fan fumed: “Way too many non-deaths in the first volume… Eleven literally blew up a part of that guy’s mind and he is just fine?
“Hopper’s fake-out sacrifice for the end of volume reveal is also cheap… deaths raise the stakes. I also think Max should have just died last season but that’s just me.”
Another remarked: “And once again, Stranger Things didn’t have the courage to kill off its characters.”
“I will say Stranger Things is so scared of killing off important characters, like it’s been 5 seasons and still the most central character to die has been Billy, which is crazy cause he wasn’t even like a main character,” a third wrote.
Meanwhile, others have leapt to the show’s defence.
One person commented: “Idk why people are so infatuated with killing off main characters. S***s weird and 9 times out of 10 makes the show worse.”
In agreement, a second said: “Killing main characters is usually hacky, a cheap shock button that ends the character’s potential and sidesteps the far more challenging and rewarding work of letting them live through consequences.”
With volume 2 still to come, the biggest question now is whether the final chapters can bring both sides back together – or whether Stranger Things will go out as one of the hottest debated endings in modern television.
Watch the trailer for season 5 of Stranger Things below…
All seasons of Stranger Things are available to stream on Netflix. Stranger Things volume 2 drops on Christmas Day.
