After five seasons, Netflix's hit series Stranger Things has finally come to an end. The series finale, "Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up," brought the iconic horror series to its climactic concluding clash against Vecna and the Mind Flayer, following it up with an emotional farewell to the main characters, many of whom audiences have literally watched grow up.
During its run, Stranger Things developed a reputation for sentimentality in regard to its main cast. While many fans expected a bloodbath at the end of each season, for the most part, all of Stranger Things' main characters survived until the bitter end, excluding Eleven's ambiguous ending. While Stranger Things occasionally killed off its characters, the show's victims were usually introduced in the same season in which they died, such as Bob Newby (Sean Astin), Dr. Alexei (Alec Utgoff), and Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn).
As such, the Stranger Things finale proved to be a crowded affair. The show tasked itself with fitting in satisfying conclusions for its core main cast, as well as this season's new additions, such as Derek Turnbow (Jake Connelly) and Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton), and its older characters who stepped into the spotlight towards the end, like Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) and Kali (Linnea Berthelsen).
While it might seem like Stranger Things 5 was too filled to the brim with characters to include any more, a couple of key figures in past seasons completely sat out for season 5. These fan favorites were nowhere to be seen during the final season.
Dr. Owens
Stranger Things would often pay homage to its '80s setting by casting icons from the era. One early example of this is Paul Reiser's Dr. Sam Owens, who first joined the cast in season 2. After a brief guest appearance in season 3, Reiser returned again in a bigger role in season 4.
Dr. Owens serves as the replacement for Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine) at Hawkins Lab, working to clean up the mess his predecessor made. In season 2, he helps Will cope with the lingering trauma from his Upside Down abduction. In season 4, he proves instrumental to Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) regaining her powers.
However, Dr. Owens disappears from Stranger Things after season 4. He's last seen chained to a pipe in a military base that Eleven promptly destroys. Since he's not even mentioned during season 5, his ending is as uncertain as Eleven's. Although it would have been difficult to squeeze in another important character into Stranger Things 5, a confirmation of Dr. Owens' survival, or otherwise, would have been a more dignified send-off for a hugely important figure in the series' mythos.
Suzie
Throughout season 3, Dustin hypes up his girlfriend Suzie, who he met at camp, as "hotter than Phoebe Cates." When Suzie (Gabriella Pizzolo) finally shows up in the season 3 finale, her appearance confirms to Dustin's friends, as well as the audience, that he wasn't just making her up to impress Steve.
Suzie returns in season 4, when she unknowingly helps Mike, Will, Jonathan, and Argyle (more on him later) locate Eleven. However, this marks her last appearance in the series, vanishing from Stranger Things before she can even share the screen with Dustin.
Due to Dustin's mourning Eddie at the start of season 5, he's in a rough place, so it's easy to assume that he wasn't able to maintain a long distance relationship amid his grief. Gaten Matarazzo suggested that this is likely the case. However, confirming Dustin's relationship status with Suzie would have added more context to his depression, and given Suzie's arc closure, rather than leaving it as a never ending story.
Officer Powell and Officer Callahan
Aside from the main cast (and Steve Harrington, who was still considered a guest star back then), the only characters to appear in every episode of season 1 were Officer Powell and Callahan, played by Rob Morgan and John Reynolds. The two cops helped Hawkins feel lived in, and they provided stronger insights into Hopper as a character.
However, as the series progressed, Powell and Callahan became less and less needed, especially since Hopper's storyline took him far from the Hawkins Police. By the time of season 5, the duo had vanished from the show altogether. While it'd have been nice to say a proper goodbye to these two, their absence from season 5 illustrates the extent to which the military's takeover of Hawkins transformed the town, with recognizable figures nowhere to be seen.
Dmitri
"Enzo," better known as Dmitri (Tom Wlaschiha), made for a fantastic addition to Stranger Things' fourth season. The Soviet prison guard played an instrumental role in Hopper's escape from Kamchatka, and his eventual return to Hawkins.
However, despite his prominence in season 4, Dmitri doesn't even receive so much as a mention in the show's fifth season. Given that Dmitri has a family in Russia, he had no reason to leave, making his absence easier to explain than some other missing characters. Still, it would have been nice for Hopper to give his ally some sort of shoutout before Stranger Things came to a close.
Argyle
While living in California, Jonathan befriends Argyle (Eduardo Franco), a hilarious pizza deliveryman for Surfer Boy Pizza. Throughout season 4, Argyle provides comic relief, advice, and transportation for Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), Will (Noah Schnapp), and Mike (Finn Wolfhard), eventually bringing them back to Hawkins just in time for the season finale.
However, given the quarantine placed on Hawkins just after the events of season 4, it doesn't totally make sense how Argyle was able to return to California so quickly. Keeping Argyle around for the finale as an outsider trapped in the locked down Hawkins would have made for a fantastic subplot. Sadly, Argyle's disappearance isn't brought up, and the character in never mentioned again.
All eight episodes of Stranger Things 5 are now available to stream on Netflix.