The Stranger Things Season 5 Vol. 2 Finale Echoes Buffy the Vampire Slayer Ending

by

After nearly ten years, the popular series is wrapping up after five seasons. It first launched during Netflix’s early days of original programming, offering a fun, retro take on the classic game Dungeons & Dragons. Now, fans are eager to see how the story of Mike Wheeler and his friends will conclude.

The show blended typical teenage experiences with supernatural elements, as the characters dealt with real-life problems while also fighting dark forces. It’s a storyline many will recognize, particularly those familiar with the popular series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Both shows focus on teenagers navigating life and simultaneously protecting the world from a powerful evil.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Ended on a High Note

Looking back at great TV shows, few have a more satisfying ending than Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The show was a unique blend of comedy and horror, and its success wasn’t guaranteed. It followed Buffy Summers as she navigated a new high school, and despite the uncertainty, it became a fan favorite and a lasting cultural touchstone.

Sarah Michelle Gellar took over the role of Buffy, and it launched her to stardom. The first season focused on Buffy’s second year of high school at Sunnydale, which just happened to be built over a portal to hell. This attracted all sorts of vampires, demons, and other dark forces, constantly putting Buffy and her friends in danger. Despite being a popular show with a dedicated fanbase,

Okay, let’s talk about the end of Buffy. Season 5 delivered a genuinely shocking moment – Buffy sacrificing herself to save her sister, Dawn, and, you know, the world. Honestly, it felt like a natural ending. But UPN, the network, thankfully decided to give us two more seasons. The show ultimately wrapped up after Season 7, and while it was great they let it finish on its own terms, the final season wasn’t always smooth sailing and didn’t entirely deliver on everything the series had to offer, leaving some fans a little disappointed.

While not everyone in the fan community was thrilled with how things ended, the finale provided a satisfying conclusion to the series. The final season brought many character arcs full circle, and it was a nice touch to see Sunnydale High rebuilt after its destruction in Season 3 by Buffy and her friends.

This time around, the principal’s office was built over the Hellmouth, not the library, and high school truly felt like a nightmare. Buffy took a job as the school counselor—even though she hadn’t finished high school herself—to watch over her sister and prepare for the new wave of trouble Sunnydale was about to face.

As a huge fan, I can tell you this was seriously the biggest, baddest villain ever. This ‘First Evil’ wasn’t just trying to take out Buffy, it was going after every potential Slayer – anyone who could even become a Slayer. It was a total attempt to wipe out anyone who could fight back against the darkness, meaning evil would just completely take over. The pressure on Buffy was insane, but she faced it all with her usual cleverness and humor, which is exactly why I love her!

Ultimately, Buffy was a show about choosing hope even when facing difficult times, and the series concluded with the destruction of the Hellmouth. It remains to be seen if Stranger Things will have a similarly hopeful ending, but the childhood of the kids in Hawkins, Indiana, is nearing its end.

Stranger Things Has Also Gone Through Some Growing Pains

Hawkins, Indiana, shares some similarities with the town of Sunnydale, despite lacking a literal Hellmouth. Its troubles began with secret experiments on children, leading to the creation of Eleven, a girl with extraordinary powers. Like Buffy, Eleven quickly became a symbol of strength and independence. However, her abilities came at a cost, as they were developed through stressful and forced circumstances.

The military attempted to control Eleven as things in Hawkins spiraled out of control. The Upside Down opened a gateway for monsters like the Demogorgon and Vecna, who first made their presence known by abducting Will Byers. Will was trapped in a bizarre, otherworldly space for the entire first season and endured a great deal of hardship. But even after his rescue, this group of kids would repeatedly have to defend their town from dangerous forces.

Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stranger Things has had its ups and downs, with not every season being a hit. While the first season was a huge success, the second season wasn’t as well-received – many fans didn’t like that Eleven was separated from the core group and moved to Chicago. The show bounced back with a strong third season, and although the fourth season wasn’t flawless, it was generally enjoyed by viewers. Overall, the series has skillfully built upon its story with each installment, even when some seasons haven’t resonated as strongly with audiences.

Season 5 could be the thrilling conclusion to the entire Stranger Things series, if everything goes according to plan. It truly feels like the end is near, not just because Netflix has decided to wrap things up, but because the danger is greater than ever before. Finally, storylines and characters are getting the focus they deserve, like when [character name] had a fantastic showdown against Vecna.

The children have figured out how to prevent these events from happening again, which would naturally conclude the story and make further installments unnecessary. This ending feels satisfying and well-deserved. However, the series could be truly perfect with just one final, impactful moment to fully tie everything together.

Stranger Things Can Earn Its Ending With the Destruction of the Upside Down

Shows like Stranger Things and Buffy were structured so the story could have wrapped up at any point. Buffy almost ended after Season 5 when Buffy died, but the show was picked up by a new network. While Buffy’s death could have been a fitting end, it wouldn’t have been as satisfying as destroying the Hellmouth – the source of all the problems in Sunnydale, California, which truly needed to be eliminated.

Subscribe for Finale Deep Dives in Our Newsletter

Subscribe for Finale Deep Dives in Our Newsletter

When you sign up, you’ll receive emails about our newsletter and special offers, and you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You can stop receiving these emails at any time.

Like many shows, Stranger Things suffers from being stretched out too long. It could have been a fantastic, self-contained limited series, but continuing it diminished its impact. Ultimately, the only satisfying way to conclude the story is to completely and permanently defeat the source of all evil.

A strong ending requires satisfying resolutions, and Stranger Things is building towards that. The show has already hit several key emotional moments, which were crucial for its development and allowed it to grow beyond what was possible in the first season. While the final season will likely be remembered for many things, a major focus will probably be Will Byers’ journey with his sexuality and a positive coming-out story for his character.

Sometimes, even characters who share a deep connection need to go their separate ways. These two were brought together by difficult experiences, but they ultimately recognized the importance of growing as individuals, which was a very mature choice. Despite their love for each other, they needed space to find themselves. Meanwhile, Dustin and Steve had a surprising moment of connection while battling for survival in the Upside Down. They’d been clashing since the start of Season 5, and a painful, honest conversation finally revealed the reasons why.

As a huge fan of Stranger Things, I think the show is heading in a good direction, but if it wants a truly great ending, it could learn a lot from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A finale for a show like this shouldn’t just be about a happy ending where everyone survives. It needs to be triumphant, yes, but also feel earned – and that often means some real sacrifices. Buffy always managed to balance big victories with heartbreaking losses, and that’s what made its ending so powerful. Stranger Things could really benefit from that kind of emotional weight.

In a world like this, death is unavoidable, and true victory often requires great sacrifice. Completely defeating the darkness—like destroying the Upside Down—demands a real cost. This is what made the ending of Buffy the Vampire Slayer so powerful: it was sad, but the sacrifices made to close the Hellmouth felt earned and necessary. Finality is key to a satisfying conclusion. The current Netflix series seems to understand this, following in the tradition of impactful finales, and appears to be heading in the right direction with just one episode left.

Read More

2025-12-27 17:38