‘Stranger Things’ is over, but did they get the ending right?

NPR | By Linda Holmes,

Eric Deggans, Ronald Young Jr., Carly Rubin, Kayla Lattimore, Mike Katzif, Jessica Reedy

Published January 6, 2026 at 4:28 PM CST

Millie Bobby Brown in the final season of Stranger Things. — Millie Bobby Brown in the final season of *Stranger Things*.

After five seasons and almost ten years, the saga of Netflix's Stranger Things has reached its end. In a two-hour finale, we found out what happened to our heroes (including Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard) when they set out to battle the forces of evil. The final season had new faces and new revelations, along with moments of friendship and conflict among the folks we've known and loved since the night Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) first disappeared. But did it stick the landing?

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