We’re officially seven episodes into the eight-episode final season of Stranger Things After watching episode 5, 6, and 7, I’m loving the season, the story, and these great characters, but I can’t help but feel like something—or better yet, someone— is missing.
So much of the season has revolved around what Vecna is planning, where he took Holly and the other kids, and how the heroes of Hawkins can finally stop him. We’ve spent seven episodes learning something that a key character has known since the beginning, since before Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) went missing.
He likes it when they call him “Papa." The character I’m talking about is not Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) or Argyle (Eduardo Franco); it's Dr. Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine).
Dr. Brenner knew the mysteries of the Upside Down this whole time
Stranger Things 5 desperately needed Dr. Brenner to team up with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Hopper (David Harbour), and the rest of the gang to help them understand what Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) is up to, where Holly (Nell Fisher) really is, and how they can stop him.
Dr. Brenner died, we believe, after helping restore Eleven’s powers after the military attacked the secret base in Nevada.
Had he conveniently lived, he could have explained the wormhole, exotic matter, and the backstory of his father’s journey into the Abyss during Project Rainbow. That information is crucial to what Eleven and Kali and the rest of the gang are going to try to do to stop Vecna in the finale.
Stranger Things 5 has so many characters, storylines, and loose ends to tie up in so little time. I understand why we can't just include another character or bring Dr. Brenner back from the dead again to explain a few things that Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) was able to figure out. It really feels like this big mystery about what the Upside Down actually is could have been explained in one scene with Dr. Brenner, and then we could have had a little more fun with these characters than they are having right now.
Would that have been too convenient to have Brenner pop up with some answers to key questions? Sure, but it’s better, to me, than Dustin flipping through some notes and literally Steve “The Hair” Harrington (Joe Keery) putting the plan together to save the world by taking the fight to Vecna in the Upside Down.
There’s a lot of scientific stuff happening that I do not fully understand, but the Duffers had the opportunity to explain it all very quickly. Instead, they killed off Brenner, or so we think, and the one shot of ending this rather smoothly.
Plus, Brenner’s inclusion could have given us an incredible Brenner-Henry Creel showdown that we have been waiting for since the days at the Hawkins National Lab.
Could Dr. Brenner still be alive? If so, he will be in the finale
Dr. Brenner looked very dead in Stranger Things 4, but perhaps, he was rescued and resuscitated by the military. It could explain why Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton) seemingly knows as much as she does and why she is so set on finding Eleven. What if they were holding Brenner somewhere in Hawkins?
Then, when Kay learns Eleven is going to the Upside Down, Brenner could be set free to help fix this gigantic mess that could destroy the world.
Jamie Campbell Bower did tease some returnees for the Stranger Things finale. While I think many fans would love to see Dacre Montgomery, who played Billy, or Quinn, who played Eddie Munson, it’s much more likely we’ll see Modine or even Paul Reiser, who played Dr. Owens, return in the finale.
Stranger Things 5 needs more Dr. Brenner, and even though I don’t love his character, I think. Let fans will agree with that assessment. He has all the secrets; let him share them.
Watch the Stranger Things 5 finale on Dec. 31!