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I know I'm not the only one who thought that Stranger Things season 5 was a bit of a disappointment. After 10 years of build-up, and a fairly promising Vol. 1, the show's final chapter wrapped things up with a lackluster final battle, an overlong epilogue, and a frustratingly ambiguous farewell to Eleven – and, ultimately, dropped the (Magic 8) ball.
While it can't tell us whether Eleven did really sacrifice herself in 'The Rightside Up', given that it takes place between seasons 2 and 3, new animated series Stranger Things: Tales From '85 goes some way to making up for that forgettable final showdown with Vecna, with an epic battle sequence that deftly blends action, suspense, and heart. Warning! Major spoilers to follow.
Having uncovered the mystery and fallen into the ground underneath the Baxter house at the start of episode 10, Mike, Will, and co find themselves facing off against The Queen and her army of plant-y minions in Tales From '85's fast-paced finale. Her Royal Nastiness, as The Party dub her, gets a power-up when she eats Mrs. Baxter's sticky-fingered boyfriend Daniel and the vials of botanical-boosting serum he was holding at the time, and starts opening a gate to the Upside Down. With that, the gang vow to pull out all the stops to take her down – and the 20 minutes that follow are genuinely thrilling.
Unlike Stranger Things season 5's big fight, which saw certain characters just standing around while the likes of Dustin, Steve, and Eleven took on Vecna and the Mind Flayer, Tales From '85's manages to give every hero a moment to shine. Will, armed with a mallet, new kid Nikki modified just for him, bats off beasties to buy the latter time to fix her light blaster. Elsewhere, Lucas and Max use Dustin as bait to ambush a couple more, slingshotting them in the eyes or burning them from below as they weave in and out of their legs, while Eleven uses her telekinetic powers against The Queen.
Moving moments... and monsters
Since it's animated, and therefore doesn't have to contend with dangerous, expensive, or CGI-reliant stunts, the action is kinetic and colorful, as the camera darts around, oscillating between sped-up and slow-mo shots. Backed by a gloriously dramatic score, it is SO much more engaging than its live-action counterpart, even when we know that all of them are going to make it out of the sewers alive…
What struck me most, though, is how writers Ryan Little, Kevin Burke, and Chris Wyatt find the time for genuinely emotional beats in amongst all of the chaos. One sequence sees both Max and Lucas pinned down by two monsters, and the former yells out, "Lucas, get out of here! I told you, 'I can take care of myself!'" "And I told you, I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you," Lucas shouts back. Now, if you're a franchise fan like me, then the line will likely make you whimper, as the image of Caleb McLaughlin's solemn-looking Lucas holding the hand of Sadie Sink's unconscious Max flashes in front of your eyes.
If the cynics among you think that the lines are only effective thanks to our Stranger Things-loving history, then think again, too, because another touching scene sees Nikki – who has spent the last nine episodes opening up on how difficult it has been to move around constantly – cry out to her nomadic mother as she struggles to patch up her light blaster. "I can't do this. We need to just run and get out of here," she says with teary eyes. "Baby girl," her mom replies, "I have been running my entire life. Not you, never you. You never run. You do this, "she continues, handing her tinker daughter a screwdriver. "Now take a breath, and create." Genuinely lovely stuff. Five hours ago, I didn't even know Nikki and Mrs. Baxter, but in true Stranger Things fashion, they won my affections in an instant.
Turn it up to Eleven
The best thing about Tales From '85's climax, though, has got to be Eleven dealing a final, fatal blow to The Queen.
While some people seemed to vibe with it being Winona Ryder's Joyce who lopped off Vecna's head with an axe in Stranger Things season 5, I personally felt like it was a little random. Here, after the others have weakened the Queen, a shrieking, bloody-nosed Eleven levitates into the air and slams each side of the widening gate onto the neon-lit villain, squishing it into a giant puddle of green goo. "I love her!" Mrs Baxter shouts as the kids collapse into a group hug. Same here, and it's something the Duffer brothers would've done well to remember when they were concluding the flagship series.
So, okay, maybe the events of Stranger Things: Tales From '85 don't matter, in the sense that the characters never talked about Jerk O'Lanterns or the pink-haired punk they made friends one winter outside of it. But it reminded me of Stranger Things' glory days – and for a franchise built on nostalgia, that seems fitting to me.
Stranger Things: Tales From '85 is streaming now. For more, check out our picks of the best Netflix shows for some watchlist inspiration.
