Stranger Things Fans Question Holly Wheeler’s Surprising Season 5 Spotlight
Stranger Things season 5 has sparked debate among fans over the unexpected focus on Holly Wheeler, with many feeling the main cast was pushed aside. Despite her expanded role, Holly won’t appear in the upcoming spinoff, which will introduce new characters and mythology.
As the dust settles on the final chapter of Stranger Things, fans are reflecting on the series’ last season and the choices that shaped its conclusion. While the show left plenty of mysteries unsolved and kept viewers guessing about Eleven ’s ultimate fate, one character’s sudden rise to prominence has become a hot topic online. Many longtime viewers are voicing frustration over the amount of attention given to Holly Wheeler, arguing that her expanded role came at the expense of the original cast.
On Reddit, one fan sparked a lively discussion by asking,
“Did you feel Holly really needed to be one of the main characters in the last season? Most of the screen time was usually taken by the OGs, which I always loved and wanted to watch. Did the shift from the older kids to now younger ones made sense to you or do you think show could've ended just fine with the same focus on the older cast?”
The post quickly gained traction, drawing hundreds of comments from viewers who felt that, while Nell Fisher delivered a strong performance as Holly, her storyline felt shoehorned in.
“I think the Duffers wanted to bring the S1 vibes with a new set of kids not realizing they just sidelined the main cast to tell this new story to connect the show as a whole,”
one user wrote.
Fans Miss the Original Cast’s Dynamic
Many fans agreed that the heart of the show had always been with the original group, and that introducing new leads so late in the game disrupted the chemistry.
“The storyline should have been about El and/or Will contacting Max and helping her escape from Vecna 's mind. Adding essentially two new mains to an already bloated cast was a mistake. No shade on the kids though, they did a great job,”
another viewer commented. Others felt that Holly’s arc could have been folded into Max’s journey, rather than standing on its own.
“Her entire storyline could've been just wrapped into Max finding her way from Vecna's mind and Holly could be totally removed from the storyline.”
For many, Max’s character suffered the most from the shift in focus.
“Holly should have been a secondary character to Max. Holly should have had a smaller role compared to Max and the show should have explored more through the lens of Max,”
one Redditor suggested. Another added,
“It came at the expense of our main cast. We could have had much more interactions between our main cast and given members of the main cast more to do. I don't think Steve and Eleven have ever properly interacted. Same with Eleven and Robin. Same with Nancy and Max. I would like to have seen Nancy and Lucas interact a bit more, and Nancy and Dustin as well.”
Mixed Reactions to Holly’s Expanded Role
While some viewers appreciated Holly as a character, they felt her storyline was too isolated from the rest of the group.
“I actually like Holly. But the problem was it took away from the main characters in the final season. When we've seen newer characters before like Max and Billy they joined the main cast. But Holly's story was just her own with a bit of Max involved,”
another fan observed.
Despite speculation that Holly might headline her own spinoff, the show’s creators have confirmed that the upcoming Stranger Things spinoff will introduce a completely new cast and mythology. Ross Duffer clarified,
“It's obviously not Holly and the kids or anything like that. It's something much smaller than that.”
What’s Next for the Franchise?
The entire Stranger Things saga is now available to stream, and fans are already looking ahead to what’s next. With the spinoff set to explore new territory, viewers are left to wonder how the legacy of the original cast—and the debate over Holly’s role—will shape the future of the franchise.