'Stranger Things 4' Finale Is So Popular, It Literally Broke Netflix

So, how are we all feeling? Yesterday, the day finally came - the final two episodes of Stranger Things’ fourth season premiered on Netflix. And don’t worry, dear reader, as someone who’s yet to delve into them, I promise you this is a sweet, spoiler-free zone. 

Those who binged the first seven episodes when they became available in late May have had quite a wait on their hands to see how this season ends, and clearly, they were ready to very eager to dive into the highly-awaited conclusion, because the surge of fans descending upon Netflix to watch it quite literally broke the streaming service. 

ICYMI... check out the trailer for Stranger Things' season four finale right here.

As reported by ComicBook, outage-spotting website Downdetector saw a spike in user-reported problems at 8am UK time, which, you guessed it, was the precise time that the two new episodes first became available. Apparently, around 13,000 errors were reported, but thankfully, Netflix were on the ball, and everything was up and running smoothly again within just half an hour. 

The runtime of the finale is ginormous, by the way - the season’s eighth episode will take viewers a lengthy hour and 25 minutes to complete, while the ninth and final episode will lasts a whopping two and a half hours - that’s longer than a lot of movies (including Thor: Love and Thunder, which is coming out next week). So, with a total of about four hours of content to go at, I don’t think anyone was cramming these in before work, with or without a half-hour outage.

If you just can’t get enough Stranger Things in your life (and who can blame you), then fear not. Apparently, the series could be getting another crossover with Dead by Daylight, and introduce the fourth season’s Vecna to the game. Back in 2019, the survival horror title saw Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington, and a Demogorgon all thrown in for a special event in which players traversed the halls of Hawkins’ labs, so we already know that the collaboration works, and there’d definitely be a whole load of fans who’d love to see it happen again, with some season four spice.