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Credit: NetflixWhat’s going on with Stranger Things Season 5’s “secret episode” (click here for more)?
Stranger Things Season 5 Finale Faces Backlash
It’s a great time to be a Stranger Things fan right now — unless, of course, like many others, you weren’t impressed by the Season 5 finale.
“Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up” hit Netflix on December 31 (New Year’s Eve) and was simultaneously released in hundreds of theaters across the US and Canada. It marked the end of a global sensation that started in 2016, but unfortunately, reviews have been mixed.
Most of the criticism points towards the script itself, with some feeling that it was rushed, particularly where the final battle against Vecna/Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower) is concerned. Fans have also taken aim at the lack of major character deaths and low stakes, while some have been left frustrated with Eleven’s ambiguous fate and the many loose ends.
Online Petitions and Fan Theories Grow
Hundreds of thousands of fans have even signed a petition demanding that Netflix release an extended cut of Season 5 or the finale (although there’s no evidence to suggest they exist).
Meanwhile, another army of fans is convinced that the streamer is preparing to roll out a “secret episode” (today, January 7) that would serve as the “true ending” to the fifth and final season, branding “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up” as a “fake ending”, a theory which proposes that the epilogue is nothing more than a telepathic simulation created by Vecna.
Some fans are backing up this theory with countdowns or timers that have no official basis.
A New Stranger Things Chapter Is Coming
As of January 7, the finale remains the most recent Stranger Things entry on the service.
The Season 5 documentary “One Last Adventure” releases on Netflix on January 12, although the “fake ending” crowd is equally convinced this might be the alleged secret episode. That’s the only Stranger Things project in Netflix‘s January pipeline, although there is another releasing on January 27, but not on the streaming service.
The asymmetric online multiplayer survival horror video game Dead by Daylight, developed and published by Canadian studio Behavior Interactive, has officially unveiled its second Stranger Things chapter, which follows the first DLC from 2019.
Dead by Daylight has become well known for featuring characters and locations from other popular franchises, including Halloween, Scream, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Silent Hill, and even non-horror IPs such as Tomb Raider and Dungeons & Dragons.
Now, the studio is cashing in on the Stranger Things resurgence and the trailer feels like it’s teasing an actual episode of the Netflix series. With Dustin Henderson, Eleven/Jane Hopper, Robin Buckley, Steve Harrington, and even Eddie Munson (who died at the end of Season 4) back in the fold, along with Vecna himself, this is a Stranger Things event in its own right.
Watch the trailer for Dead by Daylight x Stranger Things Chapter 2 below:
Related: Brand-New ‘Stranger Things’ Experience Allows Fans To Visit Hawkins and the Upside Down
What’s the Story?
Dead by Daylight is a one-versus-four game, in which one player takes on the role of a Killer (in this instance, Vecna) and the other four play as Survivors (Hawkins teens in this case).
“Following the previous Stranger Things Chapter released in 2019, which featured The Demogorgon, Steve Harrington, and Nancy Wheeler, the world of the acclaimed Netflix series continued to expand,” the official synopsis for the game reads.
It continues: “Character arcs developed and new threats were introduced, with the fourth season introducing the most formidable threat to date. Henry Creel. 001. Vecna. The First. He goes by many names, but his goal remains the same: to spread the corruption of the Upside Down and reshape humanity as he sees fit. Though the threat he poses is of a world-ending scale, the people of Hawkins will not stand idly by. Dustin and Eleven have been instrumental in preventing Vecna’s villainous scheme from coming to fruition, proving that heart, wit, and a fair bit of psychic power can turn the tides in the darkest hour.”
“As the story of Stranger Things winds to a close, a dark new Chapter opens in The Fog. Standing at the center is Henry Creel, known in-game as The First…”
Stranger Things Chapter 2 launches on Dead by Daylight on January 27. For more information, visit the official website, which features an official countdown/timer.
More Upcoming Stranger Things Content
The new Dead by Daylight DLC is the second new Stranger Things crossover in gaming lately. Recently, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 added its own extension, which allows players to visit Hawkins and the Upside Down following the events of Season 4.
Outside the world of video games, Stranger Things is also set to return in 3D animated form with Tales From ’85, a spinoff series set between seasons 2 and 3 with an all-new cast.
The franchise continues across all media, just as it has done since its inception in 2016. However, it seems that comic books, tie-in novels, mobile games, VR titles, walkthrough experiences, stage productions, and even the main Netflix series, were just the beginning.
Stranger Things seasons 1 — 5 are streaming on Netflix.
Stranger Things Season 5 stars Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Brett Gelman (Murray Bauman), Nell Fisher (Holly Wheeler), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna/Henry Creel), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), and Linda Hamilton (Dr. Kay).
Will you be playing Stranger Things Chapter 2? What are your thoughts on the Season 5 finale? Let us know in the comments down below!