Stranger Things Finale Shocker: Creators Finally Answer Burning Question!

Warning, the following discusses in detail the conclusion of the final episode of Stranger Things, now on Netflix. If you haven’t seen it yet and wish to avoid spoilers, you are advised to stop reading this article now.

It was the ending many fans feared and many had predicted even before the season finale aired. To protect her friends and to finally put an end to the events affecting Hawkins, Eleven chose to sacrifice herself by staying in the Upside Down.

Stranger Things Heroes Refuse to Accept the Series’ Conclusion

Mike and the others could only watch as their friend disappeared, with the parallel dimension fading away before their eyes. The barrier between the two worlds is now permanently closed, leaving no hope of ever finding Eleven and reuniting the series’ band of heroes.

The End… or is it? In the very last scene of the final episode, the group of friends starts a game of Dungeons and Dragons. This not only brings the series full circle to the very first episode of Season 1 but also shows that Eleven’s loss still weighs heavily on their young minds.

The game ends with the forces of evil prevailing. However, Mike – serving as the game master – has more tricks up his sleeve. As his friends criticize an ending they deem too simple, he presents an alternative. The mage from Saint Markovia, Eleven’s avatar in the role-playing game, might have staged her own death to save her friends.

An Alternative Ending That Plants Seeds of Doubt in Fans’ Minds

A sequence of flashbacks then reveals how Eleven might have retrieved Kali’s powers before her supposed demise. This would have enabled her to create an illusion of herself and distract both Mike and the soldiers. The real Eleven could have escaped and now be living a new life on her own, far from Hawkins and her friends.

However, the series does not provide a definitive answer about the young heroine’s true fate. The other characters choose to “believe” in this alternative ending, and fans of Stranger Things are also encouraged to pick the ending that suits them best: Did Eleven truly sacrifice herself, or did she survive the ordeal?

Why the Show Creators Believe This Open Ending Was Necessary

On the promotional site Tudum, series creators Ross and Matt Duffer discussed the necessity of this open ending. The message symbolizes the end of childhood and the transition to adulthood for all the heroes of Stranger Things:

There was never a version of the story where Eleven would be with the rest of the group at the end of the series. The writers and we ourselves did not want to take away her powers. She represents the magic of childhood in many ways. For the characters to move forward, and for the story of Hawkins and the Upside Down to conclude, she had to disappear.

Described as the “optimist” of the group, Mike has thus chosen to believe in this story as a way of mourning the idea of never being able to contact Eleven again. “It’s the best way for him to keep her alive,” Matt Duffer described in the same interview. Eleven’s survival remains plausible and even highly credible, but it will never be disclosed as such, so as not to spoil the end of the show.

All five seasons of Stranger Things are now available in full on Netflix.

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