Netflix subscribers and Stranger Things fans found themselves looking more and more forward to the holidays in 2025. That's because the streamer made it clear that it was planning to unveil the second half of the beloved show's fifth and final season (along with the finale, which was set for a separate premiere on New Year's Eve). And that has meant that they got to spend the holidays in Hawkins.
That sounds as exhilarating as it does terrifying and it certainly goes to show you just how committed Netflix knows fans of the show are. Christmas might be the most wonderful time of the year, but it's also one of the busiest. And yet, you just knew the fans were destined to watch - which they did in their droves.
The emotional series finale sought to wrap up the legendary show's many storylines in bumper-sized two-hour runtime. It accomplished that for the most part (save for a few loose ends fans aren't happy with). But it also created one or two of its own issues during its closing moments. One of those involved the fate of a beloved newer character.
Vickie doesn't appear in the Stranger Things finale epilogue (but her presence is alluded to)
The Stranger Things season 5 finale was undoubtedly one of the most emotional episodes in the show's decade-long history - which is a lot considering that we're talking about a show with a lot of emotional episodes. Focused on concluding the arcs of each main and significant character, it had an ambitious 40-minute epilogue set 18 months in the future that had audiences feeling all of the feels. But one character who didn't get the emotional send-off treatment was Robin Buckley's girlfriend Vickie Dunne.
Vickie is nowhere to be seen in the epilogue despite Robin (Maya Hawke) herself having quite a bit of focus throughout - something that made fans raise a few eyebrows. And yet, in Robin's own dialogue seemingly lies the clues as to why Vickie isn't mentioned.
"Rockin' Robin" shares an emotional scene with best friends Steve Harrington, Nancy Wheeler, and Jonathan Byers as they reminisce on the good old days of saving Hawkins from monsters. They then make a plan to meet up at least once a month in a neutral city to catch up more often, opting for Robin's uncle's house in Philadelphia. Robin, who was studying at Smith College in Massachusetts, then exclaimed: "To nothing ever keeping us apart... Including overbearing significant others."
The comment implies that Robin and Vickie have either broken up or aren't in a good place at the moment. Needless to say, fans of the couple - who really stood out this season - aren't happy about that.
Portrayed by Amybeth McNulty, Vickie had a small role in the fourth season of Stranger Things when Robin made it clear that she liked her. The chemistry between the two in the season finale suggested that we would be seeing more of her in the future - which we did, all throughout season 5 as the pair enjoyed some romantic moments here and there between all of the monster-hunting.
Although the light focus on their romance did serve a purpose to the overall arc of the show early on (as Will seeing them kiss ultimately started his journey towards coming out), Vickie actually had an increased role later in the season. Not only did she find out about the dangers of the Upside Down, why Robin had been lying so much, and the fact that Demodogs were, in fact, a real thing, she also helped Max readjust to her life after waking up from a coma and was even present for the gang's final showdown with the military.
Taking all of that into account, increasing Vickie's role in the final season only to jump forward and allude to the possibility that it didn't work out between her and Robin is a little disappointing. Like we said, it could just imply that Vickie worries a lot - which we know that she does - but the complete lack of reference to her has fans convinced that the pair did indeed break up. And if that's the case, it's a shame as the character was right at home in the bigger role.
Stranger Things 5 is now streaming on Netflix.