Stranger Things animated series review: Mike and Eleven heal Season 5 ending damage, but not enough

It has barely been five months since Stranger Things on Netflix ended with a script more upside down than the actual Upside Down (the one that took our beloved Eleven away, sniff, sniff, we still talk about you El). The ending didn’t go down well, to put it bluntly.

To be even more blunt, the fandom was so divided that large sections were feverishly convinced there had to be a secret Episode 9. There was no possible way, that Stranger Things, Netflix’s flagship series once so full of heart and care, could just end on such a sombre, morose note, especially after what felt like the final erasure of the telekinetic fiery protagonist Eleven, a character who had already endured more than enough abuse and trauma across the series.

She didn’t get her happy ending with the earnest Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), who was fighting tooth and nail to take her to a land of waterfalls. But well, her ending was left ambiguous. Did she survive? Did she die?

Who knows?

Unfortunately, that was the ending nobody needed or deserved, and for the Mike-Eleven fandom, there was a demand for closure. And so, the cutesy animated series Stranger Things: Tales from 85, serves as a rather timid apology to the ‘Mileven’ fans. It’s not much, but they’ll take it for now.

Set between Seasons 2 and 3, the animated series takes us back to Hawkins, Indiana, snow-dusted, familiar, and once again under threat. There are monsters (of course there are), eerie disturbances, and the comforting rhythm of the gang back together, which the last two seasons lacked. But for a show built around the idea of 'tales,' it feels oddly unsure of itself.

Is it an anthology? Not quite. A continuous arc? Not really. Instead, it hovers somewhere in between, introducing a central threat that feels reminiscent of what we’ve already seen. The opportunity to explore smaller, stranger, more experimental stories, perhaps even ones without a looming monster, feels missed. (Oh, yes I said that out loud). But after five seasons of escalating danger, a character-driven detour might have actually felt refreshing.

Instead, the show leans heavily on familiarity. And that’s not entirely a flaw, it just depends on what you’re looking for.

If you’re hoping for answers, clarity, or even a retroactive softening of that Season 5 ending, this isn’t it. The series doesn’t attempt to fix the narrative gaps or address the emotional loose ends. New additions, like Nikki Baxter, arrive with little explanation and even less integration into the larger canon. But then again, by the final stretch of the original series, continuity itself had started to feel... a tad flexible. So perhaps that’s the least surprising part.

If at all Tales from ’85 does land for some, almost deliberately, is in nostalgia. Perhaps not the heavy, lore-driven kind, but the softer, more intimate moments that viewers have been missing. The characters are frozen in time, preserved in animation, voiced by a different cast but still recognisable in spirit. We did miss seeing the entire squad together sorely in Season 4 and 5, so this was a commendable throwback to the times when they spent time with each other, without over 40 people in the vicinity. And what's more endearing, is the humanisation of Eleven again: The last season flattened her to a noble superhero, completely shutting off her childhood for good. The El of the older times almost returns to us, with her childlike wonder of the world. For instance, getting excited over an orange stickies. Sigh.

Nevertheless, the show returns to its most consistent emotional thread: Mike and Eleven.

The show is a Mileven feast for the wounded. It reminds you of the little sweet innocent moments that filled the Seasons, at least up to Season 5. You are reminded of Mike’s unconditional love and protection about Eleven, and vice-versa. She fiercely protects him at every chance that she gets, too. And she also stands up for herself against Mike during their arguments, too, before talking it out later.

The sweetness is in the gestures: Eleven wakes up in the morning to meet Mike before school, meets him later, and the two spend all their time together. And after all the life-threatening battles, a tearful Mike is overwhelmed on seeing her alive, reaffirming his worst fear: Losing El.

And then the memory of Stranger Things Season 5 finale returns, with Mike's piercing screams as watches Eleven disappear with the Upside Down.

Oh animated Mike, you have no idea what the writers have written for you. Maybe it's best that you stay animated and remain in these confusing timelines.

So, what's the final verdict on Stranger Things Tales from 85? Well, it doesn’t challenge the story. It just offers gentler lens on characters and relationships that once carried the show. For some, that will be enough. For others, it might feel like a missed opportunity to do something braver with the format.

So is it good? That depends entirely on the kind of fan you are.

If you’re here for answers, you will leave empty-handed. If you’re here for coherence, you might have questions. It might make the wound worse too.

But if you’re here because you miss the feeling of Stranger Things, the warmth, the friendships, the fleeting moments before everything fell apart, then Tales from ’85 might just give you something to hold on to.

Even if it’s only temporary.