Will Stranger Things 5 turn our lives 'upside down'?

As we wait for the new year and the fifth and final season of Netflix's Stranger Things, we have to wonder why the show has had such a hold over us for eight years, through controversies, delays, and even a pandemic.

The show, the myth, the legend

The friendships that weave through the show tie it all togetherNetflix.com

When Stranger Things premiered in 2016, it captured the imaginations - and hearts - of 14.07 million viewers aged 18 to 49 within a week. Across its four seasons, the show has managed to accumulate 5.1 billion viewing minutes. Which, as you can imagine, is a lot of people. And a lot of viewing minutes."

What is it about Stranger Things that makes it so compelling? It isn't just the nostalgia alone. Because of course we're reeled in by the Stephen-Kingesque opening, the synthwave title track, or the massive callbacks to the '80s that sketch in the show.

It's just that—and you might not fully agree, but you might partly—Stranger Things brings a lot of hope. No matter how dire the straits the Party is in, you know as long as they have each other, it's going to be alright. That's really what the best kind of horror does: throws you into the worst circumstances, but gives you hope you'll make it through to the other side.

But it hasn't all been smooth sailing for the show

Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers, appeared in a video with Zionist overtonesNetflix.com

Sentiments toward the show cooled when Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers, appeared in a video in November 2023, weeks after the assault on Palestine began. Schnapp was filmed laughing and recording people holding up stickers that said "Zionism is sexy" and "Hamas is Isis."

Fans called for Schnapp's removal from the cast and a boycott of the show's final season. Critics called the video insensitive and pointed out that open support for Israel was accepted, while any pro-Palestinian sentiment was often labeled as anti-Semitic, leading to serious consequences for those expressing such views.

And now, we reach the end

Is it just the end of the show, or really the end of innocence?Netflix.com

When we left them last, Hawkins had suffered a natural disaster, the gateway to the Upside Down was open, and Max was severely compromised.

Since then, we've been teased with behind-the-scenes clips and snippets from season 5, and actor David Harbour, who plays Jim Hopper, has promised an emotional finale.

"We just did a read-through of the last episode, and the amount of crying... the episode is very beautiful," he said in a recent interview.

We can speculate about how the show will end, but all we can do is hope for the best. 2025 is just a few months away.