After building up momentum in Volume 1, Stranger Things Season 5 came to a screeching halt in Volume 2. The second part of the final season of Netflix’s mega-hit sci-fi series spent far too much time stalling the action with grueling, cheesy heart-to-hearts, riddled with awkward dialogue, all nuance and subtext be damned.

Warning: spoilers for Stranger Things season 5, volume 2. Stranger Things season 5 volume 2 has prepared the ground for the series finale, and it has made me realize a harsh reality about Max’s (Sadie Sink) fate.

Stranger Things season 5 ended on a huge twist, with the fate of Millie Bobby Brown's lead character up in the air. But, fellow star Sadie Sink, who plays Max Mayfield in the show, has her own take on what happened to the super-abled hero.

So instead, upon seeing that Ted is alive and well, one only has to assume that his grief was entirely focused on Eleven, which then allows for his optimistic outlook to have peak impact. If he'd been too much of an emotional wreck during graduation day, it might have made his D&D-tethered theory sound far more desperate and nutty than idealistic.

Stranger Things has arrived at its much-awaited finale at last! The last episode of Stranger Things Season 5, after a long journey of supernatural mystery, friendship, and emotional development in Haw

Questions remain about the fate of Eleven, and talk of a secret 9th episode on Jan. 7 has bubbled up on social media.