Stranger Things: the answers to the questions you ask yourself after the finale
The two hours of the last episode of the Netflix series revealed a lot. But a few points still deserve explanations. We tell you everything.
The Upside Down has delivered its verdict. Eleven and her friends took on Vecna and the Mind Flayer in the epic finale of Stranger Things, online since January 1 on Netflix. But fans will undoubtedly still have some questions after closing the portal on Hawkins. Fortunately, the Duffer brothers provide after-sales service. Here are the answers to the questions you are all asking yourself!
Spoiler alert!
Is Eleven still alive?
We saw him die! Getting absorbed by the disappearance of the upside down world… But Mike has a doubt… For the Duffer brothers, ambiguity was wanted from the start. The final moments of the series show Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will and Max finishing their final Dungeons & Dragons campaign before closing the door to the Wheelers’ basement. During this last sequence, Mike explains to his comrades that Eleven was able to escape from the Upside Down and now lives far away, traveling the world… Each of the children decides to believe it. But is this the truth? “We wanted to confront the reality of her situation after all this and see how she could live normally. There are two possible paths for Eleven… Mike is the optimist of the group and chooses to believe in this story,” the creators explain to Netflix. Ross Duffer adds: “There was never a version of the ending where Eleven was just hanging out with the group. She represents magic, childhood…Eleven had to go.” The brothers insisted that taking away his powers or giving him a “clean” ending would have sounded wrong. But they still preferred that the characters and the audience maintain hope: “We thought it would be beautiful if our characters continued to believe in this happy ending even if we didn’t give them a clear answer.” Ross Duffer also points out that during the graduation ceremony, Mike hears the speakers and realizes that there was “kryptonite” going on when Eleven fled. “How could she have reached the door to the Upside Down? How would she have used her powers to bring him into the void? There are a lot of questions. Could Kali have created an illusion for that long? Was she still alive? We like to leave the choice to the audience….” Anyway, the Duffers go further: if Eleven is still alive, she will never tell Mike and the others. “Any contact would risk putting her back in danger and starting the cycle again. So, in Mike’s story, I don’t think he’s considering a reunion one day…”
Why Joyce beheads Vecna
It was the most anticipated confrontation of the series: Eleven against One! And he did not disappoint. Helped by Will and everyone else, the young girl eventually defeated her “brother” from Hawkins’ lab, impaling him in the Mind Flayer. And it was Joyce who finished the job! Largely absent from this finale, Winona Ryder had the last word: “In the writing, we thought: who deals the final blow? It could be any of them. We tested Steve, Dustin… and finally Joyce. It seemed right for several reasons. She is a bit like the mother of the group, the protector. And we had never seen her hit anything with that axe, so it seemed like the most satisfying way to deal the final blow to Vecna” explain the Duffers in Variety. The editing heightened the scene, with flashbacks recalling Bob and building up the anger: “It wasn’t supposed to just be a ‘fuck yeah’ moment. It was also cathartic for our characters, who are purging all the trauma they’ve suffered.”
Why Steve doesn’t die
Everyone was afraid for Steve, the fan-favorite character, who seemed like an ideal victim for this finale. But no, the young man survived. Even if he gave us a big scare when he slipped off the radio tower. He came close to death, narrowly saved by Jonathan! Phew! And promised, “it was not to torture the fans” according to the Duffers who assure that they never had the intention of killing him: “I never really understood this concern around Steve’s death. No, it was just about showing Steve and Jonathan finding common ground. This moment prepares for their conversation in the Abyss where they finally open up about their feelings and their conflict regarding Nancy. Joe and Charlie in real life are very close, and we wanted that this bromance is reflected on screen. We wanted the least expected person to save Steve, that’s all.”
What is this stone that contaminated young Henry Creel?
In the final revelations, we discover this stone from this other dimension, which arrived on Earth we don’t know how and which contaminated Henry boy scout. The boy then gained the telekinetic powers of the Mind Flayer. “How do I describe this stone? I’ll be vague, because the next spin-off series will explore it and explain everything,” the Duffers tease in Variety. “It will be a completely different mythology, very fresh and new. But yes, it will answer some loose threads.” We won’t know more for now.
Did Henry choose to become Vecna?
Vecna’s story shows that Henry was possessed by the Mind Flayer, but he insists that he made his choice, contrary to what Will suggested. In short, Henry was truly a bastard, willing to do anything for power and turn the Earth around: “He’s gone so far that he has to justify everything he’s done. And for him, the only way to do that is to tell himself that it was he who chose. He still believes it. Even seeing the memory of him killing that man in the cave and touching that stone. He’s gone too far to turn against the Mind Flayer.” The creators thus leave the public the choice of whether Henry really decided or if the Mind Flayer was controlling him from the start. But in the end: “In the story, Henry chooses the side of the Mind Flayer. That’s all.”
Why this ending scene?
Stranger Things ends in the Wheeler basement, with a game of D&D. Mike completes the campaign, and goes back into the house, closing the door on his childhood, while his little sister takes over. The Duffer brothers had this end in mind for a long time. They explain in Variety: “When we originally imagined this scene a long time ago, our children would play one last game of Dungeons & Dragons, put away their books and go upstairs. Mike was going to close the door, symbolically, on childhood. That’s the basic idea.” Then, the introduction of Holly and her friends, as well as Derek, allowed for a moment of transmission, a passing of the torch: “Going back to Season 1 allows Mike to reflect on his childhood and be happy that his sister and her friends are having a magical experience, or adventures like theirs — hopefully less traumatic. But as Dustin said, there was so much good in the midst of so much bad. It changed them in profound ways.” Only one thing was clear to the creators of Stranger Things from the start: “Eleven was not supposed to be there. We never imagined her in this scene with them…”
