“Where are the demogorgans?”: Zack Peter reacts to the ultimate battle with Mindflayer & Vecna in Stranger Things finale

Podcaster Zack Peter shared his response to the climactic ultimate battle involving the Mindflayer and Vecna within the Stranger Things collection finale, providing each criticism and reward for a way the present wrapped up. On January 2, 2026, Peter uploaded a video to X during which he warned viewers that his commentary would come with full spoilers for the episode.

In his response, Peter argued that the extremely anticipated ultimate confrontation felt underwhelming given how lengthy followers had waited for the collection to conclude. He expressed disappointment that the showdown was temporary and lacked the dimensions he had anticipated after almost a decade of buildup.

Peter steered that the episode devoted an excessive amount of time to secondary emotional arcs, notably involving Nancy and Jonathan, whereas failing to ship a decisive and satisfying endgame battle in opposition to Vecna. Zack Peter remarked:

“And then the final battle, too short. We waited 10 years. We spent more time with Nancy and Jonathan in the melting room. They gave us a confusing non-breakup breakup when I wanted a final showdown with Vecna. And you mean to tell me that this big, bad, evil, mind flayer can’t defeat a couple of 30-year-old kids? And where are the Demi Gorgons?”

Peter additional added that he had beforehand predicted that the Mind Flayer was the one controlling Vecna, often known as Henry Creel, and expressed satisfaction about being “right” about that consequence.

He mentioned that whereas he was pleased with the characters in the end defeating him within the Stranger Things finale, he felt the conclusion may have been “a little bigger” and “a little longer.”

“Like, some of the other unnecessary scenes that were so long, we could have cut those and gave us more action. Like, we had worse battles with the Demi Dog than we did with the mind flayer,” Peter added

Peter additionally defined that he went into the Stranger Things finale anticipating a a lot darker and extra emotionally devastating conclusion. He mentioned he anticipated larger stakes, possibly “a bloodbath” and “some kill scenes” that have been going to “break” his “heart.” However, that didn’t transpire on display.

Despite his criticisms, Peter made it clear that he didn’t dislike the Stranger Things finale general.

“Overall, I’d give it an eight out of 10. It was solid. It was nice. It had room for improvement. We got back to the main characters instead of the 15 other side characters that we didn’t need,” Zack Peter mentioned.

What else did Zack Peter say concerning the Stranger Things finale?

In the aforementioned video, Zack Peter provided his candid tackle the Stranger Things collection finale, weighing in on main character arcs, emotional payoffs, and artistic decisions from the present’s fifth and ultimate season. While Peter acknowledged moments that labored properly, he additionally didn’t shrink back from declaring storylines he felt missed the mark.

Early in his commentary, Zack Peter mirrored on Eleven’s sister, Kali Prasad, often known as Eight, who returned within the finale regardless of being a divisive character amongst followers.

Peter admitted that whereas he by no means grew to love Kali, her arc in the end made him rethink how harshly he had judged her earlier within the collection, particularly given her destiny.

“And when it comes to sister: Kali…I do feel kind of bad because I misjudged her. Now, let me be clear, I still don’t like her, but I do feel a little bad for misjudging her. And you know, may she rest in peace, whatever, I still don’t care,” Peter mentioned.

Peter then moved on to what he described as one of the vital anticipated moments of the finale: Eleven’s loss of life. While he famous that the scene was “sad”, he felt the end result was “obvious” and lacked shock, particularly since he had beforehand speculated it could occur.

Throughout the video, Peter additionally shared the sorts of surprising sacrifices he had hoped to see within the Stranger Things finale.

He defined that he anticipated a significant character to die in a approach that actually raised the stakes, mentioning Will, Hopper, or Nancy as characters who would have made sense narratively. He joked about Nancy’s fixed gun use, suggesting her loss of life would have felt becoming given her reckless bravery.

Addressing aspect characters launched within the ultimate season, Peter mentioned Holly Wheeler, Mike’s youthful sister, who performed a extra outstanding function than in earlier seasons. He felt her inclusion in the end didn’t add a lot, arguing that a number of of Holly’s scenes may have been reassigned to Max and nonetheless felt “sufficient.”

Peter additionally echoed the same sentiment when discussing Derek Turnbow, nicknamed “Dipshit Derek”, a foul-mouthed bully who unexpectedly turned a fan-favorite hero.

While Peter initially loved the character’s humor, he questioned Derek’s general goal by the top, describing him as “completely useless” and joking that his arc lacked a significant payoff.

One of the moments Peter praised most concerned Joyce Byers. He highlighted Joyce’s ultimate confrontation with Vecna as a strong, emotional payoff rooted in her devotion to her son, Will.

“Now, Joyce chopping off Vecna’s head, that was pretty badass. And she did it all for her son, Will. Because guess what? He’s gay,” Peter added.

Given that Will Byers’ popping out was a significant storyline in Volume Two of Stranger Things Season Five, Peter expressed aid that the finale didn’t overemphasize it once more. He mentioned he appreciated that the episode trusted viewers to grasp Will’s identification with out repeatedly underscoring it.

Peter additionally shared his ideas on the epilogue, including:

“The epilogue was nice. I did kind of like that scene. It was a bit long, but I liked it.”

In his ultimate evaluation, Peter admitted he wished the Stranger Things finale had spent extra time on the ultimate battle, however concluded that the ending largely labored.

He praised the closing moments involving Dungeons & Dragons and a brand new technology of youngsters within the basement, saying it was the “perfect way to tie it all up” and pay homage to how the present started.

“Again, I wish we would have spent a little more time in the final battle, but I liked it. I was happy with it. And then the way they ended it with the dungeons and dragons and the next generation of kids in the basement…perfect way to tie it all up and just, like, pay homage to season one and how it all began,” Peter concluded.

Stranger Things Season Five rolled out in a staggered world launch all through fall 2025, with the primary 4 episodes debuting on November 26, adopted by three extra episodes on Christmas Day. The extremely anticipated finale premiered on New Year’s Eve, with adjusted launch occasions throughout completely different areas worldwide.