By Izzie Hathorn

Since its debut season in 2016, Stranger Things has become nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. After nearly a decade of the show, Stranger Things recently released its fifth and final season, setting the record for the biggest premiere week ever for an English-language show. While the thrilling supernatural themes have only continued to captivate audiences, what sticks with them the most is the character arcs and the themes of growing up. Producers and actors have displayed the power of maturing, holding on, and letting go, all at the same time. 

 

At the beginning of the series, there is a simplicity to the worlds of the characters. While demogorgons and the Upside Down are no small feat, there is still an innocence in everything. Whether it’s riding bikes and playing Dungeons & Dragons, or grappling with first relationships, the Upside Down can’t fully take the innocence away. Although it does inevitably come with time. The Upside Down simply reflects the unknown, and that is what is scariest to kids growing up - the reason why every kid is scared of the dark. But even when faced with that scary unfamiliarity, the characters rely on imagination and friendship, which are core values of childhood. It is a classic tale of good versus evil - the good outwits the evil through purity and innocence.

 

As the seasons progress, the tone shifts, aligning with the emotional growth of the characters. Everything becomes more complicated with relationships, friendships, and loss, all while the monsters become bigger, scarier, and harder to defeat. The characters start to feel the heavy weight of grief, and struggle to cope with it. As they are forced to confront their grief, the characters are able to reach a new level of maturity. This growth even includes the monsters. The big, mysterious, villainous creature is revealed as something more relatable, grappling with its own grief and trauma, just like every other character. As the psychological motivations behind the villain (also known as Vecna) are revealed, it becomes increasingly apparent that children aren’t the only ones who are afraid of things, fear just takes different forms as one grows up. Of course, most people’s fears don’t drive them to destroy the world, but Vecna is just an extreme example of what fear can do to someone! Fear of the dark progresses into fear of failure and loneliness, until innocence is suddenly gone. 

 

In season 5, the fractured town of Hawkins, Indiana returns with the opposite of a slow start. With danger present from the very first moment, there is a constant sense of urgency, similar to the feeling of growing up. The comfort of the small town of Hawkins no longer exists, as it remains a shell of what it used to be, now even more full of danger and people that can’t be trusted. In this final season, the characters have developed into young adults who are making more educated and deliberate choices to defend themselves. While the characters are still scared of monsters and the Upside Down, they have learned how to manage their fear, and they continuously try to move forward. They symbolize that fear doesn’t go away, it progresses with everyone through life, taking different shapes and forms, and you can’t expect to get anywhere or to save the world if you hide behind it. They take bigger steps, make bigger plans, and walk with their fear, relishing in it, and not letting it stop them from accomplishing what they hope to accomplish. There is no going back for the characters and there is no longer a normal, much like growing up and learning to move forward despite fear.

 

The end of the season, and thus the series, is especially centered around reflection and the art of letting go. With the struggle that certain characters have with moving on, one thing becomes evident: you can let go of your childhood without it disappearing. While all of the characters want to hold on to playing D&D in the basement every day, they realize that it is time for that to become a happy memory. Your childhood is something that sticks with you your entire life, hence why the lessons you learn and the decisions you make throughout it matter so much. The characters realize that although they can’t live their childhood again, it can become something that is remembered and looked back on fondly, as they go their separate ways and follow their own paths, while still making time to get back to each other. Just because something is left behind doesn’t mean its impact is too.

 

To sum it up, Stranger Things is not just a story about a bunch of teenagers saving the world - it is a story of adolescents becoming adults. The Upside Down is simply just a metaphor for the fear that teenagers face when growing up, only made a little more extreme!

 

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Sources:

Stranger Things 5 Ratings Record: Netflix's No. 9 English Series Ever

Stranger Things Season 5 First-Look Poster Teases One Last Adventure - Netflix Tudum