Stranger Things Update Means Season 5 Is Avoiding The Biggest Mistake With Its Unsolved Mysteries

Stranger Things is under enormous pressure ahead of its hotly anticipated final season, but an update from star Maya Hawke suggests that it will successfully avoid its biggest potential mistake. Understandably, given the stakes involved, Hawke has refrained from providing any specific details about the Stranger Things season 5 story. However, even from her deliberately vague comments, it’s possible to glean some important information about the sci-fi series’ finale.

After a dramatic season 4, Strange Things has several unanswered questions that need to be resolved. The surviving characters have been left dealing with the aftermath of Eddie Munson’s death, worrying whether Max will ever wake up from her coma, and what the approaching storm seen towards the end of the season means for the future of Hawkins. All of these mysteries, and many more, mean that Stranger Things season 5 has to provide answers as well as expand the story. Fortunately, Maya Hawke’s update suggests that it will do just that.

Maya Hawke’s Update Hints Stranger Things Season 5’s Finale Won’t Be An Info-Dump

In an interview with Collider, Maya Hawke teased the “extremely exciting” opening episodes of Stranger Things season 5. Despite having not seen any scripts for the final two episodes, she confirmed that the mystery is “wonderful“, adding:

“I do know what happens before then and it’s extremely exciting. It’s always wonderful when the kind of riddle of a world that gets built, starts to get resolved and questions start to be answered. I think it was mind-bogglingly wonderful for me and I think audiences will feel that way too. It’s really an emotional thing to go into filming this last season, so I’m excited.”

On one level, Hawke’s comments give little away in terms of actual answers to Stranger Things‘ most pressing mysteries. Nevertheless, the fact that episodes ahead of the overall finale feature storylines that mean key “questions start to be answered” means that the last two episodes will not have to do all the heavy lifting as far as exposition is concerned. As a result, it’s clear Stranger Things will not be storing up all its loose ends for a convoluted sprint to the finish, allowing what should be a poignant finale to do more than simple exposition.

Stranger Things’ Final Episode Should Be More About The Characters Than Answering Mysteries

On one level, Stranger Things has found huge success because of its compelling, many-layered mysteries. From the very first episode, the nature of the Upside Down, the Demogorgon, and Eleven’s powers all had viewers hooked, with the various answers to the show’s riddles one of its strongest selling points. However, even though Stranger Things‘ mysteries have been a key attribute, they are not the true source of the show’s strength and should not take center stage in the finale.

Instead, Stranger Things has secured legendary status among sci-fi fans because of its compelling characters. The charming dynamic between the original friendship group has since expanded to include a vast roster of supporting stories – all of which add depth to the drama. If the characters at the heart of the show weren’t likable and engaging, Stranger Things‘ mysteries would feel flat and inconsequential. Because the characters are what really makes the show so popular, it’s only right that they dominate the final few episodes. The alternative is overstuffed plot exposition that distracts from the resolution of their stories.

Stranger Things Season 5 Being Too Ambiguous Would Invite Major Backlash

In ensuring that some of the show’s mysteries “start to get resolved” before the final two episodes, Stranger Things season 5 is avoiding one of the biggest potential pitfalls in television. Especially where mystery shows are concerned, failing to provide satisfactory explanations for events can taint what would otherwise be an enduring popular legacy. Over the years, many successful series have fallen foul of fanbases who felt that mysteries were set up only to receive rushed and ill-conceived resolutions in the show’s final moments.

A classic example of this reaction is arguably the original sci-fi mystery show, Lost. In the end, the J.J. Abrams series left so many loose ends that it couldn’t possibly satisfy audience expectations, leading to a finale that has become one of the most notorious in TV history. Other recent examples, like True Detective: Night Country, reiterate that trying to cram all a show’s answers into one final episode is all but guaranteed to spark a backlash. While there are still other areas where it could go wrong, Maya Hawke’s remarks suggest Stranger Things season 5 won’t be making this crucial mistake.