On Endings.

Waterfall #1 (somewhere in Tongariro National Forest, NZ) - 29 Jan, 2023

Ok friends, 

Forgive my clickbait. It's not how it sounds, I pinky promise. This is my blog and if my posts about Russian Lord of the Rings films or trippy ‘70s soundtracks have not tipped you off already, I get to write about what I want to write about here. With that said, if you are NOT looking to have the series finale of Stranger Things spoiled, turn away now. You have been warned! (And if you’re not interested in Stranger Things at all, this post may still intrigue you)

SPOILERS AHEAD —-------------------------

The end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026… it meant only one thing: that after nearly a decade of fandom, the much beloved show, Stranger Things, was finally coming to a conclusion. I spent a good deal of time (about twelve hours, I believe) binge-watching the final season in preparation for the finale, which I saw last night at the movie theater with a friend. 

One thing that this friend and I enjoy doing is complaining about all of the ableism we encounter in our daily lives, school, and the ever looming job hunt… We talk a lot about writing and storytelling, too. Both of us feel the need to present our realities to the world. We want to make sense of our hardships and defend our place in society as something (anything) more than an “inspiration.” Both of our writing projects are perpetual works in progress, doomed by the realities of the disorganized mind. They (ironically) lack concsuions. We disscused these projects in great depth before heading to the theater, our conversations still fresh in my mind. 

The episode started out strong. The cast, notably Eleven (El — yes, like my nickname in band) faced off against terrible peril, blundered the plan, but still managed to save the day in the end. Unfortunately for our heroes, El’s super-human abilities still posed a danger in the hands of the government. She makes the choice of self sacrifice in the name of the greater good. 

I thought this scene was very well performed. The cast, once child actors, have grown into masters of their craft. The theater was alive with sobs (myself included). It was hard to feel grief, hear cries, and otherwise be moved by death and ending. Particularly challenging was the goodbyes between the El and her love, Mike. Although Mike could have (should have?) been preparing for the worst for some time now, the panic in his mannerisms was honest and moving. It was uncomfortable. But despite the fantasy setting, it felt human. 

It was, at that point, a very strong ending. I really wish it would have stopped there. 

My quarrel was in the next 38 odd minutes of “loose ends” if you will. The time dedicated to every. single. character. I was expecting it — it's been said that The Return of the King does the same thing, I suppose.*

After endless exposition, we finally find our group of young heroes around a table in the basement, enjoying one final game of D&D. Dungeon Master Mike finishes his campaign with some (more) explanations of the core cast: Max and Lucas continue dating, Dustin goes to university, Will moves away from small town Indiana, and Mike writes stories. Present at the game in spirt, he ends with the legend of Eleven and hints to how he can never tell her full picture honestly.

You see, despite the neat ending, despite there being less than 5 mins of screen time remaining, El lives— maybe. She is imagined to be in a remote village, surrounded by green space and "three waterfalls." 

Waterfall #2 (my t-shirt reads "Rings of Pupper." I do love a good pun.) - 30 Jan, 2023   

The feel good moment of the year? If I am being honest, it made me a bit sick to my stomach. 

Waterfall #3 (36 points if you know where this waterfall is from, or why I have no less than 100 photos of it on my camera roll...) - 29 Jan, 2023

As someone who has faced 'certain' death and a shortened lifespan, I’m forever perplexed by the need to see the finality of death as a bad thing. I am disheartened by it. I more than sometimes feel that my worth to society is reduced to a model of survival — where any accomplishment I achieve is forever tainted by the fact that I 'beat death,' and that any ending besides happily ever after is inherently tragic. It’s as if my value is defined by offering hope, however misguided it may be. (Think Harry Potter, the 'Boy Who Lived,' only to carry the weight of his world’s anxiety.)

In these narratives, as in my own, I see beauty in fragility. If there were no hardships, there would be no good stories. Compelling naratives follow an arch, not a straight line. Likewise, stories cannot drag out indefinitely. There is always a possibility, I suppose, for a sequel or an epilogue. That was maybe the worst part of my experince: the gray space between life and death, the years wasted waiting around for illness to take the final word. 

But to be clear the ‘ending’ that I take issue with in Stranger Things was just that, the end. There is not going to be another season. El’s survival was purely for the comfort of its viewers, so that they would be spared the pain of grief and the finality of death. 

Perhaps it is just my point of view — the strange circumstances of my life or unique perspective I carry regarding dying, but I see value in endings. Death does not subtract from life. Grief is natural, not tragic. After all of the hardship the writers put these characters through, it seems such a disservice to underwrite the conclusion so haphazardly. To draw out their suffering beyond this season framed as 'hope.'

The gift of a good conclusion: one sad about the end, grateful for the journey, and excited for the next adventure all at the same time.** These emotions are not exclusive. The [final 38 mins of] Stranger Things missed the mark for me, I'm afraid.

-Hannah (Eleven) Kiresuk. 

*Peter Jackson and co. were working under wildly different conditions when adapting Tolkien. The amount of source material they needed to fit into a single film was enormous. I would also argue that this is why showing Frodo, Bilbo, and Gandalf leaving for the West was so important: it provides a kind of closure that Stranger Things failed to deliver.

** "To die would be an awfully big adventure." J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan.

Reuse of the same photo, but seemed fitting in the converstaion of Stranger Things, LotRs, and character deaths (RIP Bob) - 2014