For the first time in shows history Stranger Things Season 5 gets an audience score on Rotten Tomatoes

For the first time since Stranger Things began in 2016, a season of the show has received a rotten audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Season 5, which has been one of the most talked-about seasons of the series, now sits at 58% audience rating, according to a post shared by Film Updates on X. This is a major drop from the very strong audience reactions that the show's earlier seasons enjoyed.

The score has surprised many people because Stranger Things has always been seen as one of Netflix's most reliable hits. Up until now, fan feedback for prior seasons of this show has been overwhelmingly positive, as reflected by each of the Rotten Tomatoes Audience Scores posted in relation to these Four Seasons: Season 1 (96%); Season 2 (90%); Season 3 (86%); Season 4 (89%). It is now with Season 5 that fans' views have sharply declined from prior seasons.

There is currently a great deal of discussion regarding the decline in scores. Many fans are expressing their discontent with this season on social media, comparing their feelings about Stranger Things season 5 to those of the final season of Game of Thrones. Fans have different reasons for their dislike of Season 5, with some stating the show has changed too much, others stating the plot has become too confusing, and that the emotional scenes were not as expected.

While the audience has begun to express their dissatisfaction with Season 5, they will soon see the answer to many of their questions in the Season 5 Finale on December 31, 2025. Many viewers are left contemplating whether or not the final episode will provide them with any answers to the questions that they have raised about Season 5.

Why fans say Stranger Things Season 5 has dropped in quality?

After the release of Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 2, there was a significant spike in criticism. Episode 7, "The Bridge", was highlighted among critics and fans as one of the most talked-about episodes, but for all the wrong reasons. The current IMDb score for the episode is 6.5/10, which puts it as the second lowest-rated episode in the entire series, nearly matching the Season 2 episode "The Lost Sister", which has a Score of 6/10.

Fans expressed multiple reasons for being disappointed in this episode. One complaint is the very convoluted story arc. Viewers feel that there are too many parts throughout the episode where various characters are taking several minutes throughout the episode to give long explanations to explain to the viewing audience what they already know, and as a result, the explanations do not help make the complicated plot any clearer, but rather just slow down the pacing of the episode.

Another area of criticism is how some character moments were approached. For example, many fans have commented on how the breakup scene of Nancy and Jonathan felt poorly timed and didn't have enough emotional significance. Fans felt that the breakup scene happening just prior to a pivotal point of life and death made it feel very out of place.

Many fans expressed concern about the increased importance placed on Holly Wheeler. Holly was only seen at a minor level during earlier seasons and seemed not to have any importance at the time. As a result, many fans were confused by Holly's more pronounced role within Stranger Things Season 5 and felt like the other main characters would continue to drive the narrative.

Along those same lines, fans have been critical of the performances of Mike and Eleven, the two characters who previously carried the emotional weight of the show. Many fans feel that in Season 5, Eleven and Mike have become emotionally disconnected from each other and the overall storyline.

Will Byers has received much attention for the way that he comes out to everyone in the final episode. Although it was supposed to be a very powerful moment, many fans did not receive it the same way. In fact, Noah Schnapp, who plays Will, even joked in an interview about how he felt the moment he came out to be more like a press conference with all the people present rather than a private moment. Because of all these issues, a growing number of longtime fans are feeling frustrated.

What does this mean for the Stranger Things finale and the show's future?

At this point, Stranger Things has just two hours left to wrap up all the plot threads introduced through numerous episodes, creating a sense of urgency. While some viewers believe the finale will restore the emotional impact that drew many people to the show, others suspect there is not enough time for the finale to fix what's wrong in their minds with how the storyline has developed thus far.

A lot of people have said some not-so-nice things about the quality of Stranger Things on Netflix, but even though there are many negative comments, it still remains one of the top shows on Netflix by ratings and also the most important, as it has a major influence on pop culture with the show's settings and characters. A good number of fans seem to be waiting to see the final episode before making their final judgement on Season 5 as a whole.

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The Season 5 rotten score will play a very important part in defining how much expectations have grown for the series as a whole, as well as how many people have become attached to the characters and stories, and just how much people really care about how the series ends.

All eyes are on the Stranger Things final season now that it has been confirmed, and while the final score on Rotten Tomatoes could still change, Season 5 is currently the first season of Stranger Things that has not met fans’ expectations. Therefore, this season has already become a monumental moment in the history of the series.

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