Stranger Things is one of the best Netflix shows to binge-watch, and is arguably the streaming service's biggest hit series. Those with a Netflix subscription were recently treated to the first chapter in the show's fifth and final season on the air, with fans comparing to say goodbye to their favorite residents of Hawkins, Indiana. But after recently re-watching True Blood, my feelings are changing about Stranger Things ending after just five seasons on the air.
I'm someone who binge-watches TV shows at the gym while doing cardio, and True Blood (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription) was a fun re-watch to distract me during my time on the elliptical. While re-watching the first few seasons was a blast, I can't get over just how weird and bad Season 7 was. And now I'm glad that Stranger Things won't have the ability to sour by running for too long.
True Blood's Seventh Season Is So Bad That It Made Me Glad Stranger Things Is Ending with Season 5
True Blood was a wildly popular show during its tenure on HBO, but it is unfortunately among the worst series finales ever. While I remembered hating the finale, I was surprised when re-watching just how bad the entirety of Season 7 is. Starting by killing Tara Thornton off-screen and then following with Alcide's unceremonious murder and both Bill and Eric contracting Hep V, the seventh season of the beloved TV series is a sorry state of affairs. And this is an issue that lots of shows have when they're tasked with running for over five seasons.
While Stranger Things feels like it's been on forever thanks to its long gaps between entries, five seasons is actually not that long when compared to other long-running titles like True Blood, Game of Thrones, or Dexter. But ending after Season 5 worked great for others like Breaking Bad and Six Feet Under, both of which have some of the best series finales of all time.
Obviously, we don't know how Stranger Things is actually going to end, as the series finale won't be released until New Year's Eve. The pressure is definitely on to stick the landing, but keeping the show's story confined to just five seasons might be what's best for its legacy. The Duffer Brothers created an epic saga, but this helps it go out on top rather than risking a long and meandering run. And titles like True Blood might have served as cautionary tales that inspired the writers to make this choice.
So much of True Blood is an excellent show, so I don't mean to admonish the HBO series as a whole. I adore the characters and the majority of its seasons, which did truly hold up on the re-watch. But if it ended prior to its seventh season, it might have a better reputation these years later. We'll just have to wait and see if Stranger Things manages to craft a satisfying ending for its countless fans out there.
Stranger Things 5 will return for Volume 2 on December 25th, before we get the finale on December 31st as part of the 2025 TV schedule. As for True Blood, you can re-watch that steamy series over on HBO Max.
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