Finales of beloved series tend to make waves in popular discourse. The lead up to the finale generates intrigue and theories and the finale itself generates a range of reactions. When “Stranger Things“ wrapped up at the end of 2025, there were a lot of mixed feelings. Those feelings along with some eagle-eyed viewers has led to a theory that ChatGPT was responsible for the writing of the final season.
No finale is going to please everybody, but it seems “Stranger Things” will go down in history as divisive. That’s not to say it reached “Game of Thrones” level of final season infamy, but critics and viewers alike have noted a dip in quality from prior seasons. Hell, dissatisfaction was so rampant, people started believing there was a secret 9th episode that was the “actual” finale. SPOILER- there wasn’t.
What we did get is a 2-hour long scenes featurette, that takes viewers through the making of the final season, and that’s where ChatGPT comes into play.
Series creators Matt and Ross Duffer wrote (along with a writer’s room) and directed much of the series, including the finale. In “One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5,” viewers noticed one of the screens showing the script-in-process had more than one ChatGPT tab open. This has some people convinced the writing quality of the finale was due to the controversial AI “tool.”
Another scene in the bts featurette includes a large whiteboard showing various possible plot points for the final season. These included things like “HOPPER + EL EMOTIONAL FIGHT, KALI OVERHEARS,” and other story beats.
In all fairness, it’s a very common situation for endings to not live up to expectations. Sometimes the build-up is so intense that the finale has no where left to go to wrap things up. Writers can regrettably end up painting themselves into a corner where contrivances are the only way out. Unsatisfying and mediocre endings have existed long before ChatGPT was invented and they will continue to exist as long as human beings tell stories The only difference is how the use of AI gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “deus ex machina.”
While ChatGPT and other AI programs could be used for something like this, they can also be used for researching information, albiet a large percentage of which comes back factually incorrect. Naturally, any presence of AI in and around the writing process is something to consider.
So far, the Duffers and Netflix have yet to comment on the accusation. You can catch all of “Stranger Things,” including “One Last Adventure,” now.
