Fans of hugely popular TV shows understand the bittersweet experience of watching their beloved characters’ journeys conclude, often in unexpected or unsatisfying ways.
Anyone who followed Game of Thrones knows this all too well; the showrunners hastily rushed through pivotal scenes and character arcs, leading to a bewildering and weak conclusion.
But audiences of Stranger Things, anticipating the series’ fifth and final season, are taking action to avoid similar disappointment after the latest episodes left them desiring more character depth.
Over 300,000 fans have now supported a petition urging Netflix to make significant changes, with their main request being: “We want the unseen footage of Stranger Things.”
Longtime fans believe crucial character development moments were disappointingly overlooked. One such instance was so controversial that the show’s creators, the Duffer brothers, felt compelled to offer clarification.
Following a perplexing scene involving Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers, where they seemed to break up and get engaged simultaneously, viewers were left uncertain about the status of their relationship.
The Duffer brothers clarified to PEOPLE, “That’s a breakup,” adding, “They have broken up. It’s hard to recall when exactly that idea came, but I think us – and the writers – all felt that Nancy needed to end up on her own and be independent and have an opportunity to find herself.”
With significant content seemingly missing from the final edit, speculation has surged regarding hours of unseen footage being cut from the season—something a large number of fans find unacceptable.
This frustration has led to the petition, which argues: “I believe it was more to the episodes and we didn’t see them either due to Netflix or the team of stranger things cutting them. This has been a long 10 years process and this is what we get. They must have cut out a lot of scenes from volume 2 and from our loved characters. I believe we as fans should stand up and take the initiative to get the footage and make the decision.”
Rumors quickly spread online that Netflix is withholding a substantial amount of cut content, with Google Docs circulating that allegedly detail entire stories left out of the final version. Fans began scrutinizing pre-season interviews with the show’s actors, uncovering several inconsistencies.
Nevertheless, Netflix has not confirmed these speculations.
Randy Havens, who portrays Scott Clarke on the show, has dismissed these rumors entirely, stating: “There is no Snyder Cut of the show, please don’t believe everything some random a** tells you on the internet.”
Stranger Things fans will have to wait until New Year’s Day (January 1) when the extended Season Five finale airs to discover how the much-loved series will conclude.