Rather than creating yet more hype for the conclusion of one of its flagship shows, season five volume two has proven disappointing for viewers, many of whom were hoping for a little more action and at least one shock death<\/a> thrown in for good measure. The situation has not been helped by volume two\u2019s \u201cTwixmas\u201d release date, which has meant that many Stranger Things fans have little better to do than spend hours on social media, descending into a frenzy over what may have gone wrong and how the latest episodes could be retrospectively improved.<\/p>\n This backlash cycle follows an all-too-familiar pattern. <\/a>It typically starts with a streaming service releasing the latest season of a much-hyped series, which then sparks an outcry over some perceived issue with a character or plot point, to be swiftly followed by a change.org petition<\/a>. Signing an online document might seem futile, but given that similar petitions have succeeded (Exhibit A: Zack Snyder\u2019s Justice League), you can\u2019t blame fans for trying. Some Stranger Things castmembers, though, have already had enough. Randy Havens, who plays Hawkins Middle School teacher Scott Clarke, shared a rather snarky post to Instagram that said: \u201cThere is no Snyder Cut of the show, please don\u2019t believe everything some random a** tells you on the internet.\u201d<\/p>\n And while Netflix has never issued a fresh edit of a show in response to fan uproar, the streaming service does have a history of embracing its audience\u2019s wants, paving the way to this hell of their own making. Stranger Things\u2019 showrunners, the Duffer brothers, recently revealed which characters were nearly killed off. <\/a>It turns out that fan favourite Steve Harrington was only supposed to be in the first series, but they ended up keeping him alive long enough for him to form an adorable friendship with Dustin Henderson. Well aware of how much fans love the pair, Netflix have been actively teasing their fate in promotional materials for series five. <\/p>\n Elsewhere, it has revived programmes following fan-led petitions, including heavy-hitter Arrested Development and fantasy-comedy-drama Lucifer, which was dropped by its original broadcaster Fox after three seasons. Netflix\u2019s rescue allowed for a proper conclusion instead of ending on a cliffhanger, and it was rewarded as the show became one of its biggest hits. But, as it is being reminded now, if you indulge fans too much, you run the risk of nurturing a dangerous sense of entitlement. If a fandom is left unimpressed \u2013 having been led to believe they have sway over a show\u2019s development \u2013 you can soon have a revolt on your hands.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n \u2018Stranger Things\u2019 fans have been pleading with the Duffer brothers to spare characters Steve (second from left) and Dustin (third from left) (Netflix)<\/p>\n I do have sympathy for those who feel let down by a narrative arc; believe me, I\u2019ve been there. Back in 2019, I was one of the millions left burnt by the truly disastrous final season of Game of Thrones.<\/a> My excitement level had been so high that, fuelled by a fear of seeing spoilers, I essentially adopted a medieval sleeping pattern, setting an alarm for 2am each Monday so I could wake up and watch the newest episode before going back to bed, then getting up again and going to work. <\/p>\n The dimly lit scenes and mind-boggling plot decisions I saw in those bleak, nighttime hours cast a shadow so large that I still can\u2019t bring myself to rewatch any GoT episodes. There were, of course, petitions for a do-over signed by almost a million fans, something actor Sophie Turner, who played Sansa Stark, branded \u201cdisrespectful\u201d<\/a>. She\u2019s right: being a fan of something does not, and should not, grant you any kind of sway over how a show unfolds. Enjoying any form of culture means putting your faith in the showrunners, actors, musicians, directors or writers to deliver. Sometimes they pull through, sometimes they don\u2019t. Hey, not everything can end as perfectly as Succession<\/a>. <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n \u2018Game of Thrones\u2019 fans petitioned for an alternative ending to the final episode (HBO)<\/p>\n And besides, pure fan service never works. Sherlock writer Mark Gatiss leaned in a little too hard<\/a> as Benedict Cumberbatch marked his final outing as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle\u2019s much-loved detective, explicitly referencing Sherlock-Moriarty fan-fiction with a near-kiss and even introducing fan characters who were obsessed with Holmes in the show. It was \u2013 everyone but the most diehard of fans agreed \u2013 overkill. Netflix\u2019s animated series The Legend of Korra faced similar accusations over its final season, while Pretty Little Liars\u2019 curtain call featured a dizzying roster of returning guest stars and cameos that clearly put online engagement before the storyline. <\/p>\n So how can showrunners find a balance? I\u2019d suggest tuning out the noise altogether, which means not indulging it, pandering to it, or even reading it in the first place. Netflix has fanned the flames of the Stranger Things audience so much that the Duffer brothers must have been left wondering how on earth they were going to satisfy everyone. They\u2019re already starting 2026 with detailed breakdowns of their creative decisions<\/a>, which \u2013 if Game of Thrones-gate is anything to go by \u2013 they\u2019ll likely have to defend for months if not years to come. Happy New Year, indeed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":379580,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[88,92],"class_list":{"0":"post-379579","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\u2018Stranger](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/T_6_Unit_02910_R-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\u2018Game](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1767175749_681_newFile-3.jpg\")
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