st. christopher, patron saint of travellers — st. theodore, patron saint of soldiers

But since our whole thing is to go crazy together, here goes nothing:

Things are off, the colouring isn't quite right and it's like we are stuck in an alternative reality where Mike does not reciprocate Will's feelings and everyone else ends up living in a conforming version of the life they wanted for themselves.

These are a few examples of grey signalling reality being fake:

• Then we have the hair: Mike and Nancy hair is flat, and we learnt throughout the seasons that their hair got curlier the more they learnt to be themselves.

Also Nancy's hair is identical to Karen's.

Just as Mike is to Ted's, down to the glasses.

Some people pointed this out as well:

• All of the stills at the graduation and at the restaurant (with Joyce and Hopper) are eerie, it's like everyone is staring right at us. And when they clap for the proposal it's like we are in a theatre.

• Then we have the D&D scene in the basement: it seems like everything they say makes fun of our reaction. Because it sure as hell felt underwhelming and not right. Like it couldn't be possible that everything went wrong.

• Dustin at the graduation speech says:

"I mean, It's not who I am. I don't think it's who any of us are."

• There is one thing that really weirded me out, why would Hopper be chief of police again? The town thought he was dead! Maybe it's the same reason why everyone didn't bat an eye when Will mentioned Melvald's or getting lost in the woods.

Also Joyce and Hop's outfits are exactly like their s1/2 outfits. Almost like it's a memory stuck in that period of time -> maybe that is why Vickie isn't present but the girl from the s2 ball is, because Vecna doesn't know Vickie but he has spied on them at the snowball.

• As for weird things said by people (I'll paraphrase this) there is what Robin says at the start of the epilogue? She asks us if we remember her. And she emphasizes that Hawkins is different from the old Hawkins.

• Then we have this in Hop's cabin:

It says "Whatzit".

• Also when Hopper proposes to Joyce he mentions Montauk, and for people who don't know, that's a reference to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which is literally about loved ones forgetting each other, to put it simply.

• Then we have all the Truman Show references:

The stairs being blue and yellow, mind you.

Also Will is wearing a shirt scarily similar to the one the love interest wears in the movie.

• Another thing is that they focused on the Indiana Jones' movie screening times, at first I thought nothing of it but when I checked the time stamp on the movie I laughed, because...really?

You know the X? The X that's missing from Will's heart, the same 'M' marks the spot that Holly says? Which, by the way, says "eyes on me" two times in the finale, exactly like Mike did in ep.4 (remember Max said Holly is Mike).

Then two things happen:

• Mike, who is wearing a fully blue shirt, cries when he puts his binder next to Will's, and Heroes starts playing.

At first I was mad because Heroes, really? The thought of that song playing for anything other than Will and Mike enraged me, but then I thought: when did we hear that song in the show before? When Mike thought he lost Will.

By not admitting his love for Will this is the ending, one where everyone is conforming, Mike is stuck inside a yellow room and Will moves on.

• The last thing we see is "Leaving Hawkins. Come again soon".

"I guess uhm..I guess I just don't really understand"

"No, you don't."

Having a character grow up in solitary confinement and then ripping her away from the only family she's ever known to live a life of solitude once again is not good writing.

Having a character be in love with his best friend and then just compare it to a high school crush is not good writing.

Having Eleven say that Mike has always been the person who truly understood her after showing us in the previous seasons that he only sees her as a superhero IS NOT GOOD WRITING.