Before I started writing this, I went back to check: Stranger Things definitely ended on Netflix. Season five was the last. In the finale, they definitely killed Vecna and destroyed the Upside Down. I was pretty sure all of that happened, but I started to doubt myself because even though it’s been almost a year since the 1980s-inspired show ended, it has never really gone away. From spinoffs and Halloween Horror Nights, to box sets and new ways to watch old episodes, the series continues to creep back into our lives. This latest revisit is the silliest one yet, because it’s hard to take cosmic horror seriously while watching a Stranger Things 5 blooper reel.
The final showdown with Vecna and his demo-minions might have been intense during the last season of Stranger Things, but the set itself wasn’t nearly as pressure packed. Filming the highly-anticipated swan song to a cultural phenomenon didn’t keep the cast from having fun. This Stranger Things 5 blooper reel shows that. It features countless moments when its stars couldn’t get through a scene, even some of the most intense. In fairness, it’s not always easy to stay in character when you’re hitting yourself in the head as often as they did.
Of all the fun moments in this reel, a certain one stands out. None come close to the absurdity of seeing Jamie Campbell Bower in his full Vecna costume acting normal. Every blooper with him, except for one, is tied for second best in this montage. The top spot clearly goes to the scene when he is nose-to-nose with a vine enwrapped Noah Schnapp.
You can control an entire dimension, Vecna, but you can’t control a loose prop? No wonder you lost. And he did lose! I checked and everything.