STRANGER THINGS: It’s Not Quite Over Yet |

Stranger Things: It’s Not Quite Over Yet

There’s still One Last Adventure, a movie about the making of Stranger Things: Season 5. Oh — and something else too … maybe.

Just like so many others, I watched Season 5 as the episodes were released, and then experienced the final movie — Season 5 Episode 8 — on New Year’s Day. My thoughts on the season in general were mixed, to be honest, but I thought the Duffer brothers nailed the final thirty minutes or so.

HUGE Spoilers

I’ve been soaking up the online theories about the “ending.” Fans seem to believe two things. First, that it’s not the real ending, and that Vecna has actually imprisoned the gang in a fantasy world. Essentially, they’re all in a trance. The reasoning is based on evidence like the orange grad gowns, representing prison outfits, the fact that people in the audience were all sitting with hands joined in front, just like Vecna/Henry, barely audible clock chimes, identical engagement rings, Vicky’s absence from grad, and so on. It’s pretty compelling, to be honest. And second, online theories are exploding that there is a secret ninth episode that will be revealed this Monday, or at least announced.

I don’t think there’s a secret episode, but I do believe that the Duffer brothers have set things up for a future movie. Based on the evidence, that seems pretty clear.

Now, let’s talk about the ending that we did get. Specifically, the final few scenes in Mike’s basement.

When the crew put their D&D binders on the basement shelf and walked away, I felt a true sense of understanding and connection with the show. I also graduated Class of ’89, and the final few scenes really resonated with me. I played D&D when I was younger (when I was 12 or 13 years old), and in high school I was reading, watching movies, and playing video games. Recently, I read something online that really affected me. To paraphrase:

When we were young, we played video games in the arcades. Those were large cabinet machines. We often said, “Just one last quarter.” And then, one day, it really was the last one … and we never even knew it.

I felt the same pang of heartbreak and loss when the boys put their D&D binders up on that shelf. Mike seemed to understand that it really was the final campaign. Regardless of what the season managed or didn’t manage, that finale nailed the ending of childhood and the loss of simpler times. The show as a whole showed perfect symmetry, bookending start and finish with D&D games, and then we watched the younger generation come in to sit at the table, start their own campaign, and in essence, replace the cast. I’m seeing that happen now, as my own children are growing and following similar patterns, and in some ways it’s heartening, and in some ways it’s crushing.

Yes … that last half hour of Stranger Things was incredibly emotional for me, and likely for many people of my generation.

Now comes a final movie about the making of Stranger Things: Season 5 from Netflix. It’s a documentary feature, titled One Last Adventure, and it’ll be on Netflix this Monday, 12 January 2026.

From Netflix.com:

“A decade after rewiring pop culture, Stranger Things returns for its final chapter. One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things Season 5 is a sweeping behind-the-scenes chronicle that follows the cast, creators, and crew as they bring the final season to life — and say goodbye to the show that changed them forever.”

The behind-the-scenes documentary premieres on Netflix this Monday. Will it also announce a future movie? Or a mysterious “Episode 9?” We’ll find out soon. Here’s the trailer:

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A Blanket of Steel by Timothy S. Johnston and from Fitzhenry & Whiteside, LTD. is the recipient of the 2024 GLOBAL Thriller Award GRAND PRIZE and the 2024 CYGNUS Award First in Category.

— Timothy S. Johnston, 6 January 2026

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Praise for Timothy S. Johnston’s A Blanket of Steel

“Fans of Clive Cussler’s NUMA Files will be delighted with Timothy S. Johnston’s undersea novels. Truman McClusky and Dirk Pitt are cut from the same adventurer’s cloth.” — Nick Cutter, author of The Deep and The Troop

“Action that ranges from close range combat to torpedo-fueled attacks. The result is a thriller that keeps moving from confrontation to confrontation … with constant danger and the vast depths of the ocean as a setting, there is always reason to keep reading.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Read the book and prepare to be blown away by one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure to read. Timothy S. Johnston is simply amazing.” — FIVE Stars from Readers’ Favorite

“A Blanket of Steel is not simply a ‘daring do’ thriller … It’s prescient.” — Amazing Stories

“A priority selection. An action-packed story that is hard to put down. A Blanket of Steel is outstanding.” — D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“Innovative technology, Mac taking risks no one else would dare and thinking his way through to brilliant solutions … But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is it. The countdown to the final battle … Johnston does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut as he plays with the reader’s perceptions of characters we thought we knew and trusted …” — SFcrowsnest

“Expect to be left breathless. Trust me here. Please. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.” — Michael Libling, author of The Serial Killer’s Son Takes A Wife and Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels

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A BLANKET OF STEEL is out now!

WATCH THE GRIPPING BOOK TRAILER HERE.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

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A Blanket of Steel from Timothy S. Johnston and Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd.

Book Cover & Jacket Copy:

AN UNSTOPPABLE THREAT!

A mysterious assassin has murdered Cliff Sim, Chief Security Officer of the underwater colony, Trieste. Cliff was a mountain of a man, highly trained, and impossible to defeat in combat. And yet …

Someone brutally beat him and left his broken body in a secret Chinese facility at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

And included a calling card for Truman McClusky, Mayor of Trieste.

Taunting him.

Mac has led the underwater colonies in their fight against the world’s superpowers. Climate change has devastated the surface; nations suffer famine, drought, rebellion, rising waters, and apocalyptic coastal flooding. But now, as Mac leads the underwater colonies to freedom and independence, he’s faced with the gravest threat of his life: a Russian assassin, hellbent on killing Mac and everyone he cares for. Now Mac must uncover the identity of the killer, face him in combat, and at the same time lead people in battle against the largest underwater force ever assembled. It’s Mac’s final test, and to win the war, he must use every tool at his disposal, including the most surprising and devastating underwater weapons ever invented.

If Mac fails, all hope is lost for the future of human colonization on the ocean floors.

But the assassin could be anyone …

Watch your back, Mac.

A Blanket of Steel is the most gripping thriller yet in The Rise of Oceania.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

The other books in The Rise of Oceania series by Timothy S Johnston:

The War Beneath 9781771484718
The Savage Deeps 9781771485067
Fatal Depth 9781554555574
An Island of Light 9781554555819
The Shadow of War 9781554556007