By James Tyler Robertson

The Netflix show Stranger Things garnered hundreds of millions of fans worldwide over the past decade and historians of religion should take note.

On New Year’s Day 2026, the series finale debuted, garnering impressive viewership.¹ Critics of the final episode were underwhelmed by the ways in which the five-season show concluded its various story arcs. For some, this spawned a theory that the final episode was actually a ruse and the real finale was still to come.

People took to social media to make connections, show still frames, dig into lines of dialogue for double meanings, expose plot holes, and even used numerology to argue a second finale was on the horizon. January 7th was predicted to be the date for the return of Stranger Things and, when that day came and went without verifying such theories, I was struck by the similarity between this event and various apocalyptic movements throughout Christian history.

The need for humans to find hidden messages in popular cultural constructs is not something that disappeared with the lessening of Christian influence in the West. The need to be the forerunner of novel interpretations also remains a prevalent and problematic human trait. In the apocalyptic movements of preceding generations, communities believed they were the only ones able to read messages in the scriptures. When other believers critiqued their perceived findings, such groups were rarely swayed; choosing to view such challenges as proof they were some form of a remnant, or blessed, group. They argued their community embodied a truer faith because they could understand Jesus’ real teachings while so many of their co-religionists remained blind. They were the elect; the others were deceived “sheeple”.

But such groups faced the same issues the “Secret Finale” fans did on January 8th when no new episode appeared. Our Society colleague, Dr. Mark Steinacher, summarized this conundrum succinctly when he said, “What does a community, built around the idea that the world will end on Monday, do when everybody wakes up on Tuesday morning?”

For the most part, these groups evolved their teachings, lost some members, recalculated their previous findings, and went forward in the world. The same appears to be true for the fans of Stranger Things. As the days have gone by, rumours about a spin-off series are now beginning to abound and most seem willing to forgive those who advocated for the “true” finale. Conversations are shifting from secrecy and revelations to simply celebrating, or critiquing, a show that captured the imaginations of hundreds of millions around the world.

While the content and context of a television show is different than Christian beliefs, to dismiss the similarities is to miss an interesting moment in present-day culture. We are inundated with multiple, conspiratorial theories about the happenings of the world. Due to social media, novelty and rapidity have usurped deliberation and reflection and communities dedicated to a so-called new/truer teaching can spring up overnight. Sometimes, the incorrect theories posited are harmless, like in the case of Stranger Things. Other times, espoused theories impact policies and promote harmful theologies; like the spread of Christian nationalism or racism couched in so-called biblical teachings.

Apocalyptic visions are always compelling and in times of perceived upheaval they become even more so. The Stranger Things finale offers an innocuous example of the human tendency to construct more hopeful narratives in times of grief (like the ending of a favourite show); to support such narratives with dubious facts pulled from a variety of unconnected sources in order to give the impression of cohesion; to interpret the criticisms of such narratives as attacks from those who are not “in the know”; to become entrenched in a specific worldview; even how the failure of the apocalyptic vision to manifest is unable to wholly dislodge the faithful from their perspectives—the communities pivot, but they remain. While a television show finale lacks true importance, this strange moment has allowed us historians of faith a chance to witness the evolution of a “Great Disappointment” playing out in real time.²

And there are relevant lessons in that.

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James Tyler Robertson, PhD, is Associate Professor of Christian History and Director of Distributed Learning at Tyndale University

Endnotes

1. According to the “Hollywood Reporter” the finale, “stands at 105.7 million views, good for ninth place on the all-time list.” As found on https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/stranger-things-5-finale-netfllix-ratings-top-10-all-time-1236465845/
2. Millerite leader, William Miller, preached that Jesus would return on 22 October 1844. When this did not occur, he and his followers were disappointed. This is one of my favourite historical descriptors for that moment, but it is important because the Millerites’ Great Disappointment was also the beginning of the Seventh Day Adventist Movement.

**The views of this Blog represent those of the author, and not necessarily the CBHS.**