Much like millions of others out there, I too spent my New Year’s Eve with eyes glued to my TV, Kleenex box clutched in my hands, and crying for a little over two hours. Man, what a great Stranger Things finale!
Not much else can be added to what has already been said about Stranger Things’ fifth and final season and its tear-jerking final episode, but I’ll add that it was rather spectacular. We got satisfying endings to some wonderful character arcs, answers to some burning questions, and plenty of fanfiction material to keep this fandom happy for a long time. It was while watching the series finale for the second time, specifically, the “boss fight” in which the gang kicks the Mind Flayer and Vecna’s butts, that my husband said out loud what I was thinking: “This fight plays out exactly like a D&D boss fight.”
It sure does, doesn’t it? For those who don’t partake in Dungeons & Dragons, fret not. I’ll break it all down for you. Let’s take a closer look, from party composition to combat style.
Stranger Things is very much a D&D campaign, as we saw the series play out over the years. Multiple sidequests, right hands to the baddies, close calls, miraculous turns of events, traumatizing moments, the death of the most lovable NPCs (RIP Bob, Eddie, and company), and more. Those are some of the classic elements that separates the epic campaigns from the regular modules. When a group, or party, gets together for a D&D campaign, the players choose from many different classes while creating their characters.
In Stranger Things, every member in Eleven’s party has a very specific class. Dustin is your classic Artificer; he makes gadget after gadget to aid the party in their endeavors. Mike is the party’s Paladin. He protects the innocent (Eleven, Will) and smites evil. Lucas is the Fighter with proficiency in ranged weapons. Eleven is the party’s Sorcerer, using her own powers to destroy her enemies and protect her friends. Max is the Rogue of the party, sneaking in and out of places stealthily and being speedy. Will, unlike the popular Sorcerer label, is a Warlock. He draws powers from his Patron (Vecna), unable to produce his own.
Now, let’s talk about that quick yet exhilarating fight between our favorite group of kids and the Mindflayer/Vecna. Everything about that fight screams D&D, like Vecna starting out as a lieutenant. And, in true D&D style, becoming one and the same with the Big Bad Evil Guy (BBEG). But this boss fight is a classic D&D boss fight from the beginning. The hive mentality, the sharing the damage, the teamwork it took to bring both of them down.
It was awesome watching the party literally take turns, much like in D&D combat. They made each turn count as they complemented each other perfectly. Each member had their own kind of strike or skill, and they were able to mimic the tag-team mechanics we often see in D&D as players give their all to bring down baddies perfectly. The party taking the time to discuss their strategy before they began to strike, each member’s strength shining when it mattered most. Every element in that fight echoed one from Dungeons & Dragons, and I will never stop praising the Duffer brothers for the way they basically ran a ten-year campaign on Netflix.
Stranger Things is over, but it has left its mark on pop culture. It told a fantastic tale about friendship that knows no bounds. It made Dungeons & Dragons more popular, and brought the game to folks who would have never known of it otherwise. And, for us nerds, it brought us so much nostalgia and warmth. Memories of playing in epic worlds with our best friends, when nothing else in the world mattered to us, ghosts of happy and innocent emotions. It gave us all a hell of a D&D campaign.