Stranger Things fans divided over controversial ending to season finale

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Stranger Things finale

Netflix may well have dropped the Stranger Things finale at 1am UK time on New Year's Day but that hasn't stopped millions of fans around the world from already watching.

After more than nine years of the huge 1980s-inspired hit, fans finally had everything explained to them in the final few episodes of what has become one of the biggest TV seasons in history.

What had happened so far in Stranger Things season five?

Theories were rife as the show approached its denouement, with fans desperate to understand how the Upside Down was created, why the Demogorgon took Will Byers and how Vecna initially got his powers.

The first seven episodes of season five, which dropped earlier this month, had answered some of those questions, while any especially keen fans will have already known what was in Vecna's briefcase thanks to the stage version Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

But there was still plenty to be decided in the two-hour long finale, which we already knew was going to see the gang head up the radio tower into the area known as 'The Abyss', thanks to Steve's ingenious beanstalk plan.

There, they would take on Vecna and whatever else awaited them, while Eleven, Hopper and Kali attempted a different assault from afar, using the water tank in Hawkins lab.

Much of season five has been focused on Vecna and his origin story, while he also stole 12 different kids from Hawkins to try and bring about a doomsday plan which would essentially see the Abyss crash into Hawkins to create a new world.

What have the actors said about the Stranger Things finale?

We've obviously seen some of the actors grow up on the screen, so it was always going to be an emotional ending as we say goodbye to the likes of Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, Max and Eleven.

Millie Bobby Brown has probably enjoyed the biggest rise to fame thanks to her performances in the starring role, and she certainly hyped things up ahead of the finale.

Speaking at the premiere, she told Associated Press: “I truly trust the Duffer Brothers with everything in me and I have for 10 years. I’m not going to doubt them on their last go, but let me tell you, they land the plane and everybody is going to lose their damn minds.”

Hopper and Eleven remained a team throughout (Netflix)

While David Harbour, who plays chief Jim Hopper suggested that the whole cast were left crying after a particularly poignant table read.

He said: “The end of this episode, when we were reading it — just us reading it — about halfway through, people started crying.

“Then, about the last 20 minutes, it was just uncontrollably crying, waves of different people.”

What happened in the Stranger Things finale?

After nearly 10 years of waiting, fans would finally see a winner in the battle between Vecna and the gang.

While things got a little hairy as they climbed the radio tower, the gang thankfully made it through safely into the Abyss, where they quickly realised that Vecna wasn't the only enemy they would have to face.

It became clear during the episode that the 'mind flayer' we see in season two has become one with Vecna, after he first came into contact with the mysterious monster during his visit to the cave as a boy.

This is where he attained his powers and after he was banished to the Abyss by Eleven during the Hawkins massacre, the two worked together to get revenge.

Vecna and the mind flayer were essentially one (Netflix)

Although the gang were starting to be overwhelmed by the gigantic 'mind flayer', Eleven soon turned up to help and battled it out with Vecna inside the beast, eventually taking him down with some help from Will and his new-found powers, and Joyce and her new-found axe.

A combination of bullets and fire brought an end to the mind flayer and everything seemed set for a happy ending, with Kali the only notable death after she was shot by the military.

However, as they headed back to Hawkins it became clear that Eleven planned to sacrifice herself in order to ensure that the military couldn't use her blood to create more kids like her, as we saw with the pregnant women that were being experimented on in the lab inside the Upside Down.

She reappeared inside the Upside Down as the military threatened the show's heroes, who had successfully managed to bring the 12 children home after Vecna's plan had failed, appearing to sacrifice herself before the gate to the other dimension finally shut.

The show then wrapped everything up with the kids graduating from high school and heading off to university or college, before a final Dungeons and Dragons campaign left fans wondering if Eleven might have actually used a clever plan to escape.

What did fans think about the Stranger Things finale?

Fans were certainly expecting to see some big characters die in what was supposed to be an epic stand off with the villains of the show, but it seems as if a few have been left disappointed with the relatively easy manner in which they eventually defeated the mind flayer and Vecna in the Abyss, with no real twists or turns in the final hour of the show.

One X user said: "Stranger Things 5 had one of the weakest series finales I have ever seen."

There was a big nearly moment for Steve (Netflix)

Another wrote: "The duffer brothers saying no one predicted the stranger things finale when it was the most predictable finale ever."

However, not everyone was eager for a violent end to the series and many seemed happy with the emotional way in which the characters were able to say goodbye, with Joyce and Hopper also getting the happy ending they deserved.

One fan wrote: "That was super emotional. Thank you, Stranger Things team and cast, for this beautiful show. It was a perfect ending, as sad as it is to see it end. Bravo."

A second added: "I loved the ending to Stranger Things so much i don’t know what you’re all talking about."

It certainly split opinion among fans, with many deeming the ending a little controversial or underwhelming but it was never going to please everyone, and the show will go down in history as one of Netflix's best.