The Stranger Things Documentary Only Made The Finale Controversy Worse

"Stranger Things" fans have torn apart the series finale since it aired on December 31, 2025. The epic final episode, despite running over two hours, has a lot of problems, including forgetting about key characters and plot holes that were hard to ignore. One might hope the new documentary, "One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5" would clear the air, but it's only made fans more exasperated at how things went wrong. For a complete breakdown, check out Looper's video above.

One of the most depressing revelations in the documentary is that creators Ross and Matt Duffer didn't have a finished finale script before entering production, making it feel like important components were decided at the last minute. For example, many fans were confused that there were no Demogorgons (or Demodogs or Demobats) in Dimension X even though that's supposed to be their home. In one scene from "One Last Adventure," participants at a writers' meeting say that the Abyss should really have some Demogorgons. The Duffers shoot this down, citing "demo-fatigue" — even though the finale's aftermath showed that fans actively wanted more Demogorgons.

Another important plot point seemingly left undecided until the last minute? The fate of Eleven, really the only major character who dies in the finale. Again, there are scenes of writers debating the best way she should sacrifice herself or if her dying is even the best move. Making a TV show is undoubtedly tough, but these feel like decisions that should have been made long ago. 

Among the numerous hot takes that emerged following the "Stranger Things" series finale, X user @HannahGraceLong quipped on January 2: "It's like they asked ChatGPT to write a show perfectly calculated to annoy an editor." Similar remarks posited that the finale was written using AI, a controversy only reinforced by a scene in "One Last Adventure" that allegedly showed ChatGPT tabs open on the Duffers' laptop. 

To be fair, that doesn't mean the Duffers used AI to write scripts. But fans are ready to pounce on anything to explain the final episode's lackluster quality. Since the Duffers had Reddit open as well, some fans assumed that the brothers were perusing "Stranger Things" fan theories for ideas. Again, we don't know what Reddit was used for, but one thing the documentary does show is the Duffers inexplicably writing the script in a Google Doc. Final Draft tends to be the gold standard of screenwriting software, so it's a bit of an odd choice for the finale of one of the most popular TV shows of the 21st century to be potentially accessible on Google Drive.

If there's one thing "One Last Adventure" confirms above all else, it's that the Conformity Gate conspiracy theory has been debunked. Fans developed a theory following the finale that there would be a secret final episode that would clear up all the plot holes and baffling character decisions. The documentary demonstrates that's not real, and Looper's video at the top of this article proves it even more.