This post contains SPOILERS for Stranger Things Season 5
It's really the end of an era, as Stranger Things has finally come to an end after five seasons. The two-hour-long final episode aired on Netflix recently, and it was definitely a great conclusion to the series.
In the end, the entire Hawkins gang gathered one last time to defeat Vecna. But as expected, Vecna wasn't the only villain of the story, as the Mind Flayer also made a comeback in the final episode. Honestly, a lot of things happened in the Stranger Things finale, so it's best that we break down every significant event from Episode 8 to figure out the true meaning of the ending.
Netflix's Stranger Things Spinoff Needs To Be Radically Different In Order to Be Successful
Stranger Things season 5 is coming in 2025, and after watching the conclusion to this epic story, fans are curious what the spinoff could be like.
Mind-Flayer Makes A Surprising Return In Stranger Things Season 5
Yeah, Vecna Wasn't The Only Villain
As expected, the final episode of Stranger Things gave us the much-awaited origin story of Henry Creel. We all remember young Henry coming across a man in the caves. This man was holding a briefcase, and after killing the man, Henry opened the briefcase and found a rock from Dimension X. It was at this moment that Mind Flayer merged with Henry, and the young boy got his powers.
Will not only see all of it, but he also senses the tremendous pain and loneliness Henry felt at that moment. Will thought that it was the Mind Flayer who was controlling Henry all this while, and to some extent, that is true. However, it was Henry who gave up on humanity, and yes, he could have resisted the Mind Flayer, but he didn't. In the end, it was Henry's choice to join Mind Flayer on this quest of devouring worlds.
In the final episode, the Hawkins gang enters Dimension X and finally sees the Mind Flayer's true form. While Eleven finds her way inside the Mind Flayer's body to fight Vecna, the rest of the gang hurt the hideous monster from the outside. It wasn't easy, but the Hawkins gang wins the final boss fight, and they not only kill Vecna but also put an end to the Mind Flayer. Now, if the Mind Flayer is the only fearsome creature on Dimension X, there's no one else left to threaten the real world.
Stranger Things Finale Keeps Eleven's Fate A Mystery
She Is Both Alive And Dead
Vecna and Mind Flayer were surely the main villains of Stranger Things, but there was also Dr. Kay. While the Hawkins gang was busy saving the world, Dr. Kay wanted to capture Eleven so she could use her blood to create more super-powered children. Apparently, she wanted to use Eleven's powers to strengthen the U.S. Military.
Kali was under Kay's captivity for a long time, and it was she who discovered Kay's selfish plans. Kali's blood wasn't enough for Kay's plans, but Eleven was the perfect candidate for that. So, Kali came up with a plan: she and Eleven would stay in the Upside Down once they had defeated Vecna. The bombs will destroy the wormhole connecting the two worlds, and Dr. Kay or other people like her can't ever continue their research.
I need you to trust me to make the right choice. I need you to believe in me. - Eleven to Hopper
Sadly, though, in the Upside Down, Kali gets shot and dies right in front of Eleven and Hopper. After that, we see Eleven taking on Vecna head-on, and with Will's help, she defeats the monster for good. But as expected, once everyone returned from the Upside Down, Dr. Kay was waiting for them and Eleven. But Eleven stayed in the Upside Down's gate, where everyone could see her. Eleven users used their powers to talk to Mike and say goodbye. After that, the entire Upside Down gets blown away and Eleven with it. At this point, we all believed that Eleven had indeed died.
We now see an eighteen-month time jump, in which our favorite Hawkins gang graduates, and Dustin delivers a powerful speech on stage. But no one actually moved on from Eleven's death, especially Mike. The boy has been trying hard to make sense of everything, and he refuses to believe that Eleven actually died. Then, while playing Dungeons and Dragons with the rest of the gang, Mike finds a loophole in Eleven's plan. First off, when Dr. Kay captures everyone outside the gate, there are psychic deafeners everywhere. So, how exactly did Eleven use her psychic powers to talk to Mike? Mike thinks that while all this was happening, Kali was still alive.
According to Mike, Kali used her powers to make Eleven invisible so she could remain unseen by Kay and her men. Not only that, but the Eleven who gets blown away in the Upside Down was an illusion created by Kali from a distance. Mike thinks that on that day, it was Kali who died, but not before she helped Eleven escape this hellhole. Of course, Eleven can't ever contact her friends, or Kay will continue her vicious cycle of torturing them to get her hands on Eleven. So, she finds a remote village somewhere far, where she can lead a normal life away from the spotlight.
Sure, this theory of Mike sounds great and all, but it isn't confirmed. It's simply what Mike thinks, and there's no way to confirm whether this actually happened. But one thing is for sure: this theory sounds believable, and this will surely help Mike and the rest of the gang move on. Believing that Eleven might still be alive is better than knowing for a fact that she has died. For the viewers, though, Eleven is both alive and dead. You can believe anything you want, because both scenarios seem logical. It's basically like Schrodinger's Cat, where the Cat is both alive and dead until you open the box. Similarly, Eleven is both alive and dead until we get a clear answer from the creators or in a Stranger Things spin-off.
- Release Date
- 2016 - 2025-00-00
- Network
- Netflix
- Showrunner
- Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
Cast
-
Millie Bobby BrownJane 'Eleven' Hopper -
Finn WolfhardMike Wheeler
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Andrew Stanton, Frank Darabont, Nimród Antal, Uta Briesewitz
- Writers
- Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock
- Main Genre
- Drama
- Seasons
- 5
- Franchise
- Stranger Things
- Producers
- Rand Geiger, Justin Doble, Lampton Enochs
- Story By
- The Duffer Brothers
- Streaming Service(s)
- Netflix
- Creator(s)
- Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
- Executive Producer(s)
- Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, Curtis Gwinn, Cindy Holland, Karl Gajdusek, Iain Paterson, Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
