Mistakes in Stranger Things - Season 5

Stranger Things 5: A Train Wreck of Lazy Writing and Brand Blunders

When Stranger Things first dropped in 2016, it was a masterpiece of atmosphere and tight storytelling. It felt like a love letter to the 80s. Fast forward to Season 5, and that love letter has been shredded. What we got instead was a bloated, nonsensical mess that felt like the creators were just checking boxes to get it over with. It wasn't just a disappointment; it was a total collapse of the logic and stakes that made us care about Hawkins in the first place.

The CGI Mess and the "New" Holly

Right out of the gate, the technical quality was a slap in the face. They tried to do these de-aging flashbacks of Will from Season 1, but the CGI was straight-up "slop." In an era where teenagers are making flawless deepfakes on their phones, seeing a multi-million dollar Netflix show produce a rubbery, uncanny-valley version of Will Byers is embarrassing.

Then there’s the whole Holly Wheeler situation. They recast Mike’s sister with a much older actress and suddenly pushed her into a central plotline. Why? We’ve spent four seasons barely knowing she exists, and now, in the final hour, we’re supposed to care about her separate journey? It felt like a desperate attempt to add "new blood" because the writers realized they had run out of interesting things for the original cast to do.

The Under Armour Anachronism

Speaking of Holly, the production team clearly gave up on historical accuracy. In a massive oversight that went viral before being quietly edited out of some versions, Holly is seen wearing Under Armour gear. Under Armour wasn't even a thought until 1996. For a show that built its entire brand on "authentic 80s nostalgia," seeing a high-tech performance brand from the late 90s on screen is the ultimate sign of a lazy crew. It breaks the immersion completely. It’s the "Starbucks cup in Game of Thrones" moment for Stranger Things, and it proves that no one was really paying attention during filming.

A Scenariul Leneș: The 18-Month Skip

The decision to jump a year and a half into the future was the cowards' way out. Season 4 ended with the world literally ending—the ground opened up, the Upside Down was spilling into reality. Instead of showing us the fallout, the writers hit the "Fast Forward" button. We find out what happened through a radio broadcast by Robin. That’s it.

The logic is non-existent. You’re telling me that in a tiny town like Hawkins, where a giant glowing rift is swallowing buildings, the military can just "quarantine" it and the residents are still mostly clueless? It makes the stakes feel fake. If the characters aren't panicking, why should we?

The Death of the Upside Down’s Terror

The biggest crime, however, is what they did to the Upside Down. In the beginning, this place was a toxic, suffocating nightmare. You needed a hazmat suit just to breathe the air. Now? It’s basically a campsite. Seeing Eleven and Hopper sitting around eating turkey ham in the middle of a literal hellscape was the moment the show died for me. It’s not a threat anymore; it’s just a purple-tinted basement.

The monsters have been nerfed into oblivion too. The Demogorgon, which used to be an unstoppable apex predator, now moves with the speed of a tired toddler. We see characters attacking it with glass bottles. A glass bottle! It’s insulting to the audience’s intelligence.

The "Scooby-Doo" Finale

The final "showdown" with Vecna was a joke. We waited years for this, and it was over in ten minutes. The plan was basically the "Zurli" gang going on a hike. They climbed some rocks and used gasoline-filled balloons. Where was the epic war? Where was Vecna’s army? He has legions of Demodogs and Bats, yet he just stood there while a group of teenagers climbed a hill to poke him.

Nancy has somehow become a world-class sniper who is more competent than the actual US Army. Speaking of the army, the scene where they surround a monster in a circle and start shooting is one of the stupidest things ever put on film. If you fire in a circle, you hit the guy on the other side. This isn't just bad sci-fi; it’s a failure of basic common sense.

Empty Ends and Missing Faces

By the time the credits rolled, the show had left so many holes it looked like a block of Swiss cheese. Where was Argyle? Where was Dr. Owens? These characters were massive parts of the previous seasons, and they just... vanished. No mention, no closure.

And don't get me started on the lack of emotional weight. Hopper returns from the dead—again—and shows up at a graduation ceremony, and everyone just kind of shrugs. "Oh, hey Jim, thought you were ash, anyway, congrats on the diploma, kids." The show has become so obsessed with "Plot Armor" that death has no meaning, and because death has no meaning, the story has no soul.

The Verdict: Season 5 was a cynical, rushed mess designed to pivot into spin-offs rather than give the fans a real ending. It traded atmosphere for brand placements and logic for cheap one-liners. It’s a sad end for a show that used to be great.