Stranger Things Season 5 Betrayed Its Best New Relationship

by

Despite a strong connection between Robin and Vicki throughout the fifth season of Stranger Things, the show’s ending felt like a letdown for the pair. Now that the final season of Netflix’s popular sci-fi series has aired, fans have had a variety of reactions – and many were disappointed with how things concluded.

After the finale aired, opinions were sharply divided. Some viewers loved every aspect of the ending, believing it was a fitting conclusion to the series. Others latched onto the “ConformityGate” theory, a fan speculation that suggested a different, hidden finale would be released soon.

Viewers were deeply unhappy with the finale, feeling it was rushed and didn’t make sense. Some even thought it was a deceptive plot device created by the villain, Vecna, to mislead both the character Mike and the audience. Unfortunately, rumors of a hidden extra episode to resolve things never came true. Despite this, the fans were right to criticize the finale’s weaknesses.

Robin and Vicki Should Have Stayed Together In Stranger Things Season 5’s Ending

Image via Netflix

The fifth season of Stranger Things quickly established a connection between Robin and Vickie. Throughout season 4, Robin leaned on her friend Steve for encouragement as she tried to find the courage to ask Vickie on a date. While Robin had come out to Steve in season 3, she hadn’t been able to confess her feelings to Vickie yet.

At the start of season 5, Robin announced she was dating Vickie by dedicating a song to her while working as the town’s radio DJ. However, that wasn’t all Vickie did during the season.

Interestingly, the new character ended up having a more significant supporting role than any of the other newcomers from season 5, including Derek and Dr. Kay. After initially keeping her distance because of the trouble with the Upside Down, Robin finally shared everything with her girlfriend just before a tense showdown involving Lucas, Max, Robin, Vickie, and a Demogorgon.

Fortunately, Mrs. Wheeler arrived just in time to protect the group from Vecna’s creatures. But Robin accidentally revealed too much, and Vickie quickly found out about Eleven, the Upside Down, Vecna, and why the military had taken over Hawkins. Because of this, Vickie became an important part of the climax of Stranger Things.

Vickie looked after Max while the others went into the Upside Down, and she also tried, without success, to protect her from Dr. Kay and her soldiers. That’s why it was so puzzling to see Robin and Steve at the group’s graduation in the final flash forward – Vickie wasn’t there at all.

Robin and Vickie’s Fate Mirrored Jonathan and Nancy’s Ending (But Badly)

MovieStills DB

While Stranger Things season 5 didn’t directly show the couple breaking up, it strongly suggests they did. Vickie was absent from the graduation ceremony and wasn’t with the group at the radio station afterward, leading viewers to believe their relationship ended.

Despite giving Jonathan a satisfying story arc in its final season, Stranger Things revealed ongoing weaknesses with how it handles relationships, particularly with Robin and Vickie. When questioned about their breakup happening off-screen, co-creator Matt Duffer explained that it’s unrealistic to expect high school romances to last.

Their heartbreaking, yet believable, ending felt similar to the way Jonathan and Nancy’s relationship concluded. Jonathan had thought about proposing, but they ultimately split up right before the show finished. What truly made this sad scene work, though, was the specific situation they were in.

Jonathan and Nancy finally understood their relationship had only been held together by the difficult experiences they’d both gone through. Once they recognized this, they were able to separate without any hard feelings. However, Robin and Vickie had started dating before Vickie knew anything about the strange things happening in Hawkins, and they genuinely shared a lot of common interests, unlike Jonathan and Nancy.

Robin and Vickie’s Fate Highlights Stranger Things Season 5’s Biggest Problem

Image courtesy of Everett Collection

As a fan, I was a little disappointed with how things went with Robin and Vickie this season. It reminded me of the ending with Eleven – a key moment happened offscreen, and it felt like the show was doing that a lot. Honestly, it feels like Stranger Things just had too many characters by season five. They tried to juggle everyone, and unfortunately, some relationships, like Robin and Vickie’s, didn’t get the attention they deserved.

It was always going to be challenging to give proper conclusions to all the characters in Stranger Things – Mike, Eleven, Dustin, Will, Max, Lucas, Joyce, Hopper, Murray, Robin, Steve, Nancy, Jonathan, Derek, and Holly. Adding Robin’s girlfriend complicated things further, as the show had limited time. Ultimately, this meant the only significant LGBTQ+ relationship in the series ended without a satisfying resolution.

Read More

2026-01-17 21:10