Netflix appeared to buckle under pressure once again as the series finale of Stranger Things arrived on the platform on Thursday. The final episode of the Duffer Brothers’ sci-fi juggernaut premiered at 5 pm PT, 6.30 am IST, prompting a surge of viewers that seemingly led to a short-lived crash on the streaming service.

Several users reported being unable to play the finale, titled Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up, and instead encountered an error message that read, “Something went wrong. Sorry, we’re having trouble with your request. You’ll find lots to explore on the home page.”

Frustrated fans were quick to voice their reactions on X. One viewer complained, “Waking up since 2 am just to watch Netflix crash during the unreal Stranger Things craze finale,” while another wrote, “NETFLIX CRASHES JUST AS IT HITS 1AM. OFC IT DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIID.”

This isn’t the first time Stranger Things season five has overwhelmed Netflix’s servers. A similar issue occurred on November 26, when Volume 1 of the season dropped. Addressing that incident, Netflix had told The Hollywood Reporter at the time, “Some members briefly experienced an issue streaming on TV devices, but service recovered for all accounts within five minutes.”

Season five of Stranger Things was rolled out in three stages: Volume 1 premiered on November 26, followed by Volume 2 on December 25, with the series finale landing on December 31. The final episode is also being screened in select theatres in the US, adding to the global frenzy surrounding the show’s long-awaited conclusion. The final episode streams for a runtime of 2 hours and 8 minutes.