For nearly an entire decade, we've witnessed a group of common day-to-day people fight against cosmic threats beyond anyone's comprehension. Of course, heroes like Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Will also had the help of a literal superheroine in the form of Eleven, who is able to move things with her mind. But even then, they have all fought from a disadvantageous position.
Throughout the years, we've seen the group grow old, kill many Demogorgons, pet a Demodog, come face-to-face with the Mind Flayer, and stand against Vecna and the monster's forces. But, at long last, we'll have to do something we hadn't before: bid our farewells.
The Stranger Things Season 5 finale is finally here, and with it, also comes the end of an era. After discovering that the Upside Down is really a wormhole, the group devised a plan to stop Vecna and his plan to merge The Abyss and Hawkins into one. They simply need to go into the Demogorgon's homeworld, rescue the 12 missing kids, go back to the Upside Down, leave behind a bomb that will forever close the bridge between worlds, and go back to Earth. Sounds simple enough, right? Now, it's finally time to discover whether they managed to save the day, or if things took a dark turn that no one could have seen coming.
Eleven, Eight, and Max launch an attack on Vecna's mind
Once the group finally makes it to the Upside Down after the events of Episode 7, Hopper, Murray, Eleven, and Eight head straight to the Hawkins Lab while the rest of the group heads to the WSQK radio tower. See, the plan was to get Eleven into the sensory deprivation tank that she used to open the Upside Down all those years ago for the very first time, and use it to launch an attack on Vecna. Once she was inside the tank, she started to look for Henry in order to invade his mind, but this time, she wasn't alone. Eight was able to share Eleven's mind, and the two then used their powers to find Max, who also joined them on their oneiric crusade.
Eventually, the three heroines were able to find Vecna and get into his mind, journeying through the maze of memories that Max once had to escape to survive. The only problem? While Max's mind wanders through the villain's past, the military searches the WSQK station, where Max's body lies.
Meanwhile, on the radio station located in the Upside Down, the group discovers a horrifying truth. See, their plan was for the radio tower to perfectly line up with one of the cracks in the ceiling of the Upside Down, creating an entrance into the Abyss. The only problem? The tower didn't line up, meaning the descending planet right above everyone's heads would crush them.
Eleven saves the day (yet again)
Just as Dustin, Will, Mike, Jonathan, Steve, Robin, Nancy, Joyce, and Lucas were about to be crushed by an entire planet, Eleven found Henry Creel, who had just started the ritual to merge the Abyss and Earth. Fortunately, Jane used her powers right in the nick of time to push Vecna through a window in the Creel house, severing his connection with the 12 missing kids.
The two worlds stopped drawing any closer, and the gang finally had a means to traverse into the Demogorgon's homeworld. Better yet? Max finally had a chance to speak with the kids and reveal that she isn't really a monster, and that the true bad guy this whole time has really been Mr. Whatsit.
Kali used her powers to turn the children, Max, and herself invisible to the eyes of Henry Creel. It is then that the kids finally see Vecna for who he truly is, as the monster invades Eleven's mind right in front of them to figure out what the plan to stop him truly is. At that very moment, the kids escape the house while El and Kali try to kill their brother once and for all, to no avail.
Vecna gets the upper hand
Unfortunately, Venca figured out that he could lose the fight that was happening in his own mind. As a result, he decided to divert his attention elsewhere. Back in the Upside Down, Hopper was protecting Eleven's body, which was inside the sensory deprivation tank. So, Henry decided to play tricks on the former sheriff's mind and make him see a terrifying truth: Kali and Jane had agreed to sacrifice themselves after the 12 kids were saved and the Upside Down was no more.
Enraged, Hopper shot his weapon at a vision of Vecna, only for him to discover that he actually shot his own adoptive daughter. Hopper then proceeded to hit the tank repeatedly until he broke it, and just when he thought he was holding Eleven's corpse in his own arms, another twist took place. See, Hopper never really shot a real gun in the first place. El was completely fine, but since her father broke the sensory deprivation tank, she was suddenly pulled out of Henry's mind along with Max and Eight, leaving the 12 missing kids all on their own.
With no one else to guide them, Holly successfully leads the group of kids back to the caves, where Henry can't get them. Of course, it wasn't without a close call, as Vecna nearly captured Holly, but delightful Derek stepped in to save the day. Unfortunately, the kids only managed to spend a few minutes of peace, as Henry decided to finally face his fears and step into the cave that had been tormenting him for years now.
Hopper, Eleven, Eight, and Murray get attacked in the Upside Down and big deaths take place
While Holly was leading the missing kids to the caves where she and Max found the way out of Camazotz, things weren't going well for the team residing in the Upside Down. See, the military arrived at the Hawkins Lab located in the Upside Down to get ahold of Holly once more, and finally kidnap Eleven once and for all. As if that wasn't enough, they had a military chopper that had one of those sonic "Hedgehog" devices that renders Eight and Eleven weak.
Hopper gave his all to keep the group protected by shooting and killing multiple soldiers. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough, as Lieutenant Akers entered the scene and proceeded to attack Hopper and capture Eight.
See, Akers' goal has been really simple since the beginning: Find and kidnap Eleven. So, he proceeded to interrogate Hopper on her adoptive daughter's whereabouts. Since Hopper didn't want to talk, Akers shot Kali as a means of intimidation. Fortunately, Murray stepped in to save the day and threw a granade to the helicopter with the Hedgehog device, finally bringing down Eleven's Kryptonite and allowing her to reach his father and use her powers kill all the military men in the room (including
Akers). The only downside? It was already too late for Kali, who was fatally shot by Akers in the stomach.
The truth behind Henry Creel's powers is finally revealed
Remember how we mentioned that Vecna finally ventured into the caves to find Holly and the rest of the missing kids? Well, it is then that he finally comes face to face with a truth he had been trying to avoid for years now. Henry came across the memory of when he was just a kid and came across a wounded scientist in a cave. Holly and Max had already stumbled upon this memory, but they didn't stick around to find out the truth.
Inside the scientist's metallic briefcase was a black rock from the Abyss—a single object containing the Mind Flayer's essence. When Henry touched the rock, he had a vision of the Mind Flayer, telling him to find it. It was at that very moment that Henry's blood was mutated, and he developed psychic powers. Will, using the Hive Mind to see into Henry's eyes, then pieces all the story together.
The Mind Flayer and Henry have been in a symbiotic relationship for years now. They both need each other, and they both have agreed to take over the world in a twisted collaboration that is unlike any we've seen in the world of Stranger Things so far. After witnessing the memory of his origin story in full, Henry's mind returns to his real body back in the Abyss, and it is then that it is revealed that his lair has actually been a monstrous spider-like monster waiting to be awakened (likely being the Mind Flayer, reshaped).
The final battle against Vecna and the Abyss
Back in the Upside Down, Eleven discovers that she can jump over the countless floating rocks present in the wormhole and get all the way up to the Abyss. Fortunately, she (quite literally) jumps into action right at the nick of time, as in the Demogorgon's homeworld, the rest of the group was running for their lives.
Seeing as Eleven had made it to The Abyss, Mike, Dustin, Jonathan, Nancy, and the rest of the gang decide to shift strategies. Instead of running, they would launch a frontal assault on Vecna and the Mind Flayer to end their reign of terror once and for all. While Nancy acted as bait, the rest of the group proceeded to launch Molotov cocktails at the terrifying monster and use flame throwers on it. Meanwhile, Eleven and Will joined forces to directly attack Vecna, impaling him in one of the spires where the missing kids used to be and breaking his bones.
Once the giant monster finally came down, Joyce and the rest of the gang entered it to find a weakened Vecna barely breathing, with Eleven standing victorious in front of it. Joyce then grabbed an axe and decapitated Henry Creel to end his reign of terror once and for all. At long last, the nightmare was over, and the entire group proceeded to head back into the Upside Down. But just when everyone was going to escape back to the real world through one of the gates, the military appeared once again.
Bam Smack Pow is recapping the finale of Stranger Things Season 5 live, and more content will be added to this article as the episode progresses. So be sure to stay with us! In the meantime, be sure to catch up with our coverage of Stranger Things Season 5: