Stranger Things' finale has been and gone, and while the Duffer Brothers clearly had high hopes for the TV event of recent memory, it seems the finale fell more along the way of Game of Thrones than it did Breaking Bad. Perhaps not as terrible as Thrones Season 8, but even one of the show's stars couldn't help revealing his criticism.
When asked on Instagram (via DiscussingFilm) whether he liked the finale, Matthew Modine (who played Papa AKA Dr. Martin Brenner in Season 1, 2, and 4 of Stranger Things) said a simple "Nope."
<social>https://x.com/DiscussingFilm/status/2020604229032067334</social>
Then, when asked if he believed in the conspiracy that there was a secret ninth episode that was the true finale, he wrote that he was "hoping so for the fans." It's not the most scathing criticism, but any belief in there being a secret extra episode due to the weakness of the proper finale shows just how many fans were unhappy with how Stranger Things closed its final chapter.
Modine was of course not part of Stranger Things Season 5, but even without being involved in the show he can see from the outside how it hasn't pleased everyone. Either way, I wouldn't put money on there being an actual ninth episode out there in the wild.