What was that? Did it all really end? When Stranger Things closed its final chapter with Season 5’s New Year’s Eve release, the moment was overwhelming. After nearly a decade of Demogorgons, government conspiracies, and psychic warfare, the Duffer Brothers delivered an emotional farewell. It tied together Hawkins’ fate and the Upside Down’s collapse. 

While the emotional beats hit hard, a lot of fans have noticed the Duffer Brothers left major plot threads dangling. And here are the top seven plot holes that are burning up the fandom. 

Mike never meets Kali. He is not present for any part of Eleven’s Chicago arc, including Kali’s illusions, her manipulation tactics, or her final rejection by Eleven. Even Eleven never explained these details to him on-screen. How does he know about Kali’s final choices, her illusions, or how she might have faked certain events around Eleven? 

This gap in narrative logic feels real, not just poetic license, especially given the finale’s reliance on Mike’s interpretation to frame Eleven’s fate.

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And that is just the first crack in a finale that leaves more questions than answers.

Suzie’s hilarious “Mornings” duet with Dustin in the previous season was iconic, but Season 5 never officially shows or mentions a breakup. They just stop appearing together. There is no scene, no closure, and no explanation of where their relationship stands in the final epilogue. For characters fans have followed since Season 3, that vanishing act feels abrupt and unresolved.

Will’s psychic connection does not actually break canon rules, but it exposes a long-standing ambiguity. Season 2 establishes Will’s link to the Mind Flayer as parasitic and traumatic, while Season 4 clarifies that Vecna is not the Mind Flayer itself but a controlling entity operating within a larger system. Nowhere does the show state that killing Vecna would automatically erase all residual psychic effects.

What is missing is a clear explanation of whether Will’s sensitivity is ongoing damage or an active power. The lack of clarification leaves viewers unsure whether the rules changed or were never fully defined.

Vecna’s fixation on Will is implied but never explicitly explained. Will is the first human taken into the Upside Down, the longest-exposed survivor, and the only child to survive prolonged possession. Season 4 establishes Vecna’s pattern of targeting emotionally vulnerable individuals, which aligns with Will’s history.

However, the show never verbalizes this motive clearly, leaving the audience to infer intent retroactively. This is less a plot hole than a missing piece of explicit dialogue.

The finale of Stranger Things Season 5 heavily centers on Dr. Kay and her military program trying to weaponize powers. Yet after the Upside Down collapses and the big fight wraps, fans never get a final status on her. Did she die in the chaos? Was she arrested? Fans are left guessing.

Robin makes a passing quip about “overbearing partners,” which seems to reference her relationship with Vickie. But in the epilogue, Vickie does not appear, and the exact status of their relationship is unclear. That is strange for any subplot that had emotional import earlier in the season.

Max’s family, particularly her mom, was involved in earlier arcs. Even during Max’s Season 4 coma arc, emotional weight is carried by Lucas and Eleven rather than her family. While this is a deliberate tonal choice, the scale of Max’s trauma makes the lack of family follow-through more noticeable than in earlier seasons. But in the finale’s wrap-ups, she is barely mentioned.

Season 5 of Stranger Things delivered epic battles, emotional payoffs, and a finale built for nostalgia. But at the same time, it hobble-stitched lore threads that had been built over five seasons. 

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What do you think is the biggest plot hole in Stranger Things? Share your theories below.