- - The Best 'Stranger Things' Memes Following The Finale

Liz DeclanJanuary 2, 2026 at 3:19 AM

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After nearly 10 years, Stranger Thingshas officially come to a close with Season 5 Episode 8, "The Rightside Up." Following the movie-length series finale, the internet has been abuzz with a mix of reactions—some very positive, some very negative and some still working it out. Across that spectrum of responses to the beloved Netflix show's conclusion, these are the best memes that have been shared so far.

SPOILER—This post includes spoilers from the Stranger Things series finale.

It was clear that Stranger Things was building toward an epic showdown between Henry Creel/Vecna and "the whole party," to put it in Dungeons & Dragons terms, in the finale. In the days leading up to the final episode's release, a flurry of fan theories regarding how exactly this could go down spread online. However, few were expecting the final battle to end so early in the episode.

A little more than an hour into the finale—so about halfway—the group had already faced off against Vecna and the Mind Flayer and won the day. While that was a triumphant victory, of course, it meant that there still had to be some other significant plot point coming, and fans were quick to realize that the twist was going to be a painful one.

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Sadly, that impending plot twist was Eleven's devastating fate. Although the Stranger Things ending leaves El's story somewhat open to interpretation, there are really only two possibilities: she either died, or she is living out her days elsewhere, forever separated from her family and friends.

Coinciding with that conclusion is the fact that Hopper is now grieving a second daughter and Mike has lost El once more—this time permanently. Despite the finale's New Year's Eve release date, it's clear that this end to the show left many viewers not quite feeling up to celebrating.

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Not every meme has been doom and gloom, though—far from it. Viewers have found humor in even some of the darkest moments, including the scene in which young Henry Creel takes a rock to someone's head (although, to be fair, the person Henry murdered did shoot first).

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Others took to the internet to point out some odd narrative choices made in the finale, and one of the most commonly called out has been the absence of any Demogorgons, Demobats or Demodogs. With the final face-off taking place in the Upside Down and the Abyss, many were expecting more monsters to get in on the fight. However, they didn't really play a role.

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The absence of Demogorgons in the finale is just one small part of a larger conversation about how the actual ending compared to the many fan theories that have been shared over the years, particularly those that were rather elaborate (many of which became much more complicated in the days leading up to the finale).

In part, this pokes fun at the fans, but it's also poking fun at the show. It's true that fan theories were becoming increasingly intricate in recent weeks—at some points, more intricate than was really possible in a two-hour conclusion—but there are also plenty online who feel the finale could have done more than it did.

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https://youtube.com/shorts/XSBV2FwrBHI?si=8csDws_PqvfRn1nL

Of course, some Stranger Things fans are just relieved to officially be done watching the show and able to return to social media without the risk of major spoilers.

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This story was originally published by Parade on Jan 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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