A ‘Stranger Things’ Reflection on Ending Cycles Without Ending Yourself There are moments in stories when something breaks through the screen, when a character isn’t just speaking to another character, but to every person watching who has ever carried pain quietly and for far too long. The season finale of Stranger Things gave me one of those moments. When Eleven believes the only way to end the cycle of violence is to die with the Upside Down, Hopper’s response hit me in the