If you hated Stranger Things season 5, the documentary could change everything

I’ll admit it – the final season of Stranger Things wasn’t perfect.

This might sound like an obvious statement with hindsight, but I had been personally convinced after watching season 5 volume 1 that it was going to be the best of the lot.

It started off so strong, with two of my favourite moments in the TV show’s history – mama bear Karen (Cara Buono) viciously defending her daughter Holly (Nell Fisher) from a Demogorgon, and Will (Noah Schnapp) developing powers to become the sorcerer.

However, as the new documentary that’s been released on the streaming platform today reveals, deciding how this epic show was going to end was an extremely stressful responsibility for the Duffer Brothers. 

So much so that when they started filming the beginning of season five, they hadn’t even written the ending yet. I’ll admit that I could tell that the direction of the finale felt last minute, but I hadn’t realised how last minute it really was..

Watching them wrack their brains trying to figure out how to conclude the series with the other writers, and seeing how frazzled this lack of certainty made other departments like the special effects teams, made me question why on earth they started filming season five without a clear end in sight.

Yet I don’t believe that the final batch of Stranger Things chapters are as bad as some fans make out. 

Sure, there weren’t any major character deaths (aside from the mystery of whether Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven actually survived in the end or not). 

The finale was definitely too safe, the cinematic final battle against the monstrous Mind Flayer too short, and the incredible Winona Ryder was left with basically nothing to do as Joyce all season, aside from chopping Vecna’s head off while the hitherto indestructible villain (Jamie Campbell-Bower) lay impaled.

I didn’t feel that emotional tug on my heart that the supernatural sci-fi had previously given me. I expected to be in floods of tears, but my eyes were completely dry by the time the final credits came around.

But even though I’ll accept I was wrong to assume it would be the best season ever, I’m not going to sit here and claim that Stranger Things ended in a dumpster fire of misery. 

Because it didn’t. Just because it isn’t perfect doesn’t mean I’m going to lie and claim that I didn’t still enjoy it.

Watching the documentary about the creation of the final season makes me feel even stronger that the Duffers and everyone working on the series should be applauded for how they dealt with the conclusion.

Of course I would have preferred for twins Matt and Ross Duffer to have the grand finale of Stranger Things mapped out before filming in season five began.

Seeing how haphazardly the final moments of the show came together makes me feel more validated that I didn’t feel wholly satisfied by the end.

There are several members of the crew featured in the documentary who appear completely at a loss about how they’re going to complete the monumental task ahead of them.

After a meeting with the Duffers when they outlined the end of the series, co-executive producer Tudor Jones said: ‘I can’t tell from my branch of government if I need to raise an alarm bell in terms of the amount of shoot days that I foresee, just from that meeting in absentia. I don’t know if you have enough intel from that to raise an alarm bell. I can’t get these sets ready in time.’

I don’t envy their stress whatsoever. 

They have an entire global fandom that they can’t let down, and at times apparently given very little direction about what the next few months of work will look like for them. None of us know what that pressure feels like. 

But seeing that Duffers are in that boat alongside them, and watching the wrap speech that the brothers gave to the crew at the end of production, you can feel the heart and soul that was poured into the final season from everyone in the room.

Plus, I did get the impression that all of the various departments, from stunt coordinators to hair and makeup, care about Stranger Things as deeply as the most devout fans around the world. 

You might disagree with me that the final season was entertaining, if not the pinnacle of the show. You might still feel that it missed the mark completely. 

But you can still acknowledge what a monster (please excuse the pun) the grand finale of Stranger Things was to tie up into a lovely bow, and the documentary is essential viewing to prove that point – and perhaps shatter any notions that the brothers were phoning it in. 

By no means did Stranger Things fall into the territory of being as rightfully criticised as the final seasons of shows like Game of Thrones, The Umbrella Academy or How I Met Your Mother. On the other hand, too many brilliant shows are cancelled before they have the chance to give viewers a satisfying conclusion.

The Duffers could have certainly given us a season five that pushed the boundaries and wasn’t afraid to make devastating sacrifices. 

They did play it safe, but perhaps that leaves more room for experimentation in the upcoming spin-off, which we’ve been promised will explain some lingering mysteries, like the glowing rock that the young Henry Creel found in the cave.

I’ve loved Stranger Things ever since it started in 2016, and I refuse to let people who hated the final season change that for me.

If you’re one of them – this documentary could yet turn your opinion upside down. 

Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

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