5 Reasons ‘Stranger Things’ is Great

It sticks the landing 

The problem with serialized shows is that if the ending doesn’t work, the entire series can be spoiled. Thankfully, “Stranger Things'” season finale is near perfect.

The resolution of the show’s main mysteries is great, giving every character a key role to play. Eleven gets to be the badass and also sacrifice herself for her friends. Hopper and Joyce bring Will back from the Upside Down. Nancy, Jonathan and Steve destroy the monster. The show earns its emotional beats; the flashbacks to Hopper’s daughter’s death were touching without being overdone, and I liked the tender final (??) moments between Eleven and Mike. And it ends on a note of uneasy happiness, with enough threads left dangling to set the stage for a possible second season.

It all ends satisfyingly, like the wrap-up to a good movie or novel. Despite the lingering threads, I don’t necessarily need more of the story. I like the idea that there could be mysteries here we just don’t need to know the answer to, and the suggestion that Will is haunted by his time in the Upside Down is the type of stinger King would have thrown in. Sure, I want to know who Hopper was talking to in the car, and I want to know if Eleven is still alive. But part of me is happy just to imagine answers.

Because here’s the thing: “Stranger Things” is a special show, and there’s a part of me that worries a second season would miss something important. Will the kids’ chemistry change as they hit puberty and lose their youthful exuberance? Will delving back into the show’s mythology overwhelm the strong character work? Will the Duffers double-down on the references and turn it into an Easter Egg hunt? I feel very protective of this show and the characters I loved so much.

Then again, I loved the characters and can’t deny I’d tune in for another trip to the Upside Down. The Duffers pulled this off with wit, creativity and charm; I don’t doubt they can surprise us again and find new ways to expand this world and new, creepy stories to tell.