Overview
- Netflix set a simultaneous theatrical and streaming release for the two‑hour series finale on Dec. 31, with the episode debuting at 5 p.m. PT in the U.S. and Canada and on the platform globally.
- Ross Duffer said more than 1.1 million people RSVPed for cinema showings, with over 3,500 showtimes across 620+ theaters reported as completely full.
- User reaction has deteriorated since Volume 2 dropped, with the Rotten Tomatoes audience score hovering in the mid‑50s and Episode 7 now the series’ lowest‑rated on IMDb with an unusually large number of votes.
- Complaints span writing, pacing and effects, and a penultimate‑episode scene centered on Will Byers has become a focal point for debate alongside claims of coordinated review activity.
- Fans circulated ‘Cutgate’ allegations and a petition drawing hundreds of thousands of signatures, while actor Randy Havens dismissed talk of an alternate cut and the Duffer brothers discussed their intent behind the contentious scene in interviews.