Season 5 ends on an epic emotional note

• Warning: This article contains spoilers for the final episode of Stranger Things

“Stranger Things” comes to an epic and emotional finale, with the two-hour drama bringing Netflix’s servers to a standstill.

The final episode, which aired at 01:00 GMT, bringing an end to the sci-fi horror series’ 10-year run, has viewers rushing to watch it.

Some fans also attended special film screenings of the finale in cities across the United States and Canada, several of which featured stars of the show.

Set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, “Stranger Things” premiered in 2016 and stars Millie Bobby Brown, Winona Ryder and David Harbour.

The dramatic two-hour series finale, titled Chapter Eight: Heads Up, Netflix servers initially overloaded.

Some fans said they received an error message when trying to play the game – something that happens often with big new releases on streaming platforms.

But the episode was quickly revived, and viewers were treated to a finale that featured massive battle scenes and emotional tributes from all five seasons, bringing closure to the characters we’ve fallen in love with over the years.

The ending keeps you on the edge of your seat at times and makes you cheer and cry among others.

Much credit goes to Netflix and The Duffer Brothers for creating this 1980s-style, monster-filled interdimensional series. The end of any beloved series comes with anticipation and criticism.

So far this season, fans have picked out scenes and looked back at past seasons to try to piece together how it all might have ended in the Upside Down.

Audiences were quick to point out gaps in the story or problems they felt in the writing of the script, pointing out flaws in Will Byers’ coming out scene or things like that Holly Wheeler’s jacket features Under Amour logo (the brand wasn’t created until 1996) appeared on the screen.

The countless theories discussed on social media are just hyping up the ending of the saga.

Fans have speculated about possibilities like time travel (after all, the clock has been a major plot point for multiple seasons), placed bets on the possible deaths of the main characters, and some have had far-fetched ideas about Henry Creel “Vecna” mind-controlling the character this season to explain various holes in the storytelling.

Finally, some theories are correct. Others, not at all.

If you don’t want to know what happens in the Stranger Things finale, don’t read on.

In the finale, we saw an epic final battle that required all characters to finally defeat Vecna ​​and the Mind Flayer before the worlds merged, with Hawkins, Indiana, and Earth as we know it being taken over.

While we did see the death of Carly (Eight), we didn’t see the dramatic demise of the core star we’ve come to love for five seasons.

However, what happened to Eleven has yet to be explained. She faced an impossible choice.

Initially, viewers believed she chose to remain in the Upside Down as it exploded and was permanently dismantled to eliminate the possibility of being used to create more children with powers like her.

But then, in a lengthy epilogue scene, Mike Wheeler gives us another possibility – Eleven using Carly’s hallucinatory powers to make it look like she died before the big escape.

He said he thought she had finally reached the place they had talked about escaping to – a place with three waterfalls.

Mike says that’s what he wants to believe – and every member of the Dungeons & Dragons team – Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max – agrees that they believe it too.

It’s a fitting ending, leaving open the possibility for Eleven to have a happy ending as well.

The epilogue takes us 18 months after the Upside Down was destroyed and Vecna ​​and the Mind Flayer were defeated.

We see Hooper and Joyce getting engaged and the older teens talking about their college lives and careers.

It’s a happy ending for everyone.

But even with such an epic ending, there were definitely holes in the story that weren’t fully explained in the final episode.

It’s certainly an ending that will satisfy some fans and leave others wanting more.

In the United States and Canada, the finale was released theatrically as a full-length movie.

Fans in Los Angeles stood in the rain for hours outside the Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Boulevard to watch the film at one of Netflix’s own theaters.

The streaming giant, which is currently trying to acquire Warner Bros., renovated the historic 1922 theater and now uses it to host premieres and special screenings of projects.

Many fans dressed up as characters or monsters and took photos in the “Stranger Things”-themed lobby. Netflix distributed special merchandise such as T-shirts and statues.

While waiting for the special screening, fans in the theater swapped theories about who might die or how it would all end. Many people have mentioned the popular theory of Steve Harrington’s death and firmly believe that he survived the final battle.

Liv Valdez and Alina Valdez dressed up as fan-favorite pals Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson and said they’re really happy with how it all turned out.

“It’s basically been 10 years,” Liv, wearing a Harrington’s Scoops Ahoy ice cream shop uniform, told BBC News outside the theatre.

“The Duffer Brothers did a great job of giving the audience what we needed and maybe not necessarily what we wanted.”

They all appreciated the sometimes happy, sometimes bittersweet ending.

“It’s been a roller coaster ride,” Alina added, noting that Eleven’s unexplained ending was perfectly done.

“It’s just a lot of emotion,” Diana Espinoza told the BBC as she stood in the theater lobby holding a new Demogorgon stuffed toy.

“I can’t control my tears!”

She donned an eye-catching gown for the screening and said she had tried in vain to fend off various fan theories going viral on social media because she wanted to be “blown away” by the final episode.

There is no greater joy than being in a theater screaming and crying with other fans during key scenes.

“I love the ending. There’s no better way to end it all,” she said, calling it bittersweet and touching and the “happy ending” everyone deserves.

Additional reporting by Steven McIntosh.