Stranger Things fans blast finale after it leads to Netflix crashing… as the fate of every character is revealed

This article contains spoilers for the series finale of Stranger Things.

Stranger Things finally came to an end on New Year’s Eve after five seasons spread over nearly a decade.

But fans on social media were anything but pleased by the season five finale — titled Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up — after many at-home viewers had their experience interrupted when Netflix crashed after the episode was made available.

The platform, which released the finale beginning at 5 p.m. PT, likely experienced an influx of viewers that overloaded its servers.

Many fans who tried to watch the finale instead saw a message flash across their screens: ‘Something went wrong. Sorry, we’re having trouble with your request. You’ll find lots to explore on the home page.’

The Daily Mail has reached out to Netflix for comment but hasn’t yet received a response. 

Many fans who tried to watch the finale instead saw a message flash across their screens: ‘Something went wrong. Sorry, we’re having trouble with your request. You’ll find lots to explore on the home page.’

Viewers who took to social media to vent were particularly annoyed, as the series finale promised to reveal the fates of all the show’s primary characters after their battle with the villain Vecna.

On X, several viewers posted shots of the error messages they received from Netflix when they tried to watch the show.

‘Waking up since 2 am just to watch Netflix crash unreal craze stranger Things finale [sic],’ wrote one disappointed fan who included a picture of the error message.

‘Yea my Netflix is cooked,’ wrote another user who got the same message.

One furious viewer posted a gif of Family Guy’s Peter Griffin destroying his TV and then smashing up his living room. 

‘NETFLIX CRASH JUST AT IT HITS 1AM OFC IT F***ING DIIIIIIIID,’ they screamed in all caps.

Others joked that the Upside Down from the series had taken its revenge on Netflix. 

‘The Upside Down just claimed Netflix,’ one person wrote, while another joked, ‘Netflix really said: Upside Down servers.’ 

On X, several viewers posted shots of the error messages they received from Netflix when they tried to watch the show

One furious viewer posted a gif of Family Guy’s Peter Griffin destroying his TV and then smashing up his living room

 

Others joked that the Upside Down from the series had taken its revenge on Netflix

Some posters were surprised that Netflix would have crashed, as many fans were posting about how disappointed they were by the finale, suggesting that some people may not have even made it to the end. 

‘I thought stan twitter hates it???’ wrote one puzzled poster. 

Others pointed out that the issue was likely just that a huge number of Stranger Things fans decided to start the episode all around the same time.  

‘Thats a bummer brosky guess everyone wanted to see it at the same time,’ one person suggested, while another wrote, ‘Everyone rushing to watch at the same time broke the internet.’ 

Some posters didn’t understand how others could even be shocked by the crash, considering Netflix’s history of repeatedly crashing during high-profile premieres. 

‘Who’s even a little bit surprised by this?’ wrote one jaded user.

One fan noted that the crash didn’t augur well for Netflix’s aspirations to expand beyond just streaming films and television series. 

‘Netflix crashes on stranger things but wanna be in the video game market,’ they wrote. 

Some posters were surprised that Netflix would have crashed, as many fans were posting about how disappointed they were by the finale, suggesting that some people may not have even made it to the end

 

Others pointed out that the issue was likely just that a huge number of Stranger Things fans decided to start the episode all around the same time

Some posters didn’t understand how others could even be shocked by the crash, considering Netflix’s history of repeatedly crashing during high-profile premieres

One fan noted that the crash didn’t augur well for Netflix’s aspirations to expand into video games

And some posters joked about other reasons Netflix might have crashed

And some posters joked about other reasons Netflix might have crashed.

‘Netflix didn’t crash because of stranger things it’s because everybody is trying to rewatch derry girls,’ joked one user. 

The fifth and final season of Netflix was released in three batches, with Volume One consisting of the first four episodes, which arrived on November 26, the day before Thanksgiving, while Volume Two consisted of episodes five through seven and arrived on Christmas Day.

Volume Three was a single feature-length episode that dropped on New Year’s Eve to the frustration of fans who weren’t able to watch it smoothly. 

However, many particularly dedicated fans steered clear of Netflix and instead bought tickets to watch the finale in movie theaters.

Netflix previously crashed just a month earlier, when the Volume One episodes dropped on November 26.

At the time, the streaming service said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter: ‘Some members briefly experienced an issue streaming on TV devices, but service recovered for all accounts within five minutes.’

Those who did manage to make it through the finale learned the fates of all the major characters.

One particular area of contention from viewers was how few significant deaths the finale contained, which fans thought reeked of fan service and robbed Stranger Things of the emotional stakes they had hoped for

Fans weren’t surprised to see that Vecna was vanquished, and one of the few others to die was Linnea Berthelsen’s character Kali (pictured), who met her end in the final showdown

Fans were upset that Milly Bobby Brown’s character Eleven died, only for Mike to imagine that she had improbably faked her death and moved away in obscurity, which they felt robbed the show of the emotional catharsis of her death

One particular area of contention from viewers was how few significant deaths the finale contained, which fans thought reeked of fan service and robbed Stranger Things of the emotional stakes they had hoped for.

It wasn’t a particular surprise that Jamie Campbell Bower’s villain Vecna was killed off by the protagonists, but the winning side took surprisingly few casualties in what was touted as a battle for the fate of humanity.

One of the few confirmed kills on the side fighting the forces of the Upside Down was Linnea Berthelsen’s character Kali, who met her end in the final showdown with Vecna. 

One of the only other people who apparently died in that final battle was Milly Bobby Brown’s Eleven, but fans complained that the finale was robbed of that emotional development.

At the end of the episode, Finn Wolfhard’s character Mike, who had survived, imagined a future for many of the characters, and he suggested that Kali might have helped Eleven survive and fake her own death.

He imagined her living a quiet, peaceful live apart from everyone else, and when others questioned that idyllic fate, Mike said, ‘I choose to believe it is [true].’

The other survivors agreed with him, even though there wasn’t anything in the episode aside from Mike’s hope that indicated Eleven had survived.

In addition to Mike, his friends Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) and Will (Noah Schnapp) all survived. 

Mike (Finn Wolfhard (second to left) survived, presumably to become a writer, and he imagined the future fates of all his friends and allies at the end of the episode

Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) headed off to college, where he was said to see Steve (Joe Keery) from time to time

Steve opted to stay in Hawkins, where he met a new girlfriend — confirming that he and Nancy didn’t reunite — and he became a sex-ed teacher and baseball coach

Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin; L) and Max (Sadie Sink; R) both survived and were said to still be romantically entwined

Mike’s sister Nancy (Natalia Dyer; center) went on to attend Emerson before putting her schooling on hold to become a trainee newspaper reporter, while her onetime love Jonathan (Charlie Heaton; L) left Hawkins to become a filmmaker 

Maya Hawke’s character Robin (R) also made it out alive and was said to be going to Smith College

Will’s mother Joyce (Winona Ryder; L) and Eleven’s foster father Jim Hopper (David Harbour; R) both lived through the episode and cemented their love by getting engaged

Other more peripheral characters, including Mike’s mother Karen (Cara Buono; R) also survived

Dustin headed off to college, where he was said to see Steve (Joe Keery) from time to time.

Steve opted to stay in Hawkins, where he met a new girlfriend — confirming that he and Nancy didn’t reunite — and he became a sex-ed teacher and baseball coach.

Lucas’ relationship with Max (Sadie Sink) — also a survivor — flourished, and Will moved away for school, where he apparently met a new boyfriend. 

Mike’s sister Nancy (Natalia Dyer) went on to attend Emerson before putting her schooling on hold to become a trainee newspaper reporter, while her onetime love Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) left Hawkins to become a filmmaker. 

Maya Hawke’s character Robin also made it out alive and was said to be going to Smith College. 

Will’s mother Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Eleven’s foster father Jim Hopper (David Harbour) both lived through the episode and cemented their love by getting engaged. 

Other more peripheral characters, including Mike’s mother Karen (Cara Buono), Murray (Brett Gelman), Derek (Jake Connelly) and Holly (Nell Fisher) also made it out of the finale in one piece.