[ad_1]
last episode of Stranger Things was released on December 31, and if reactions on social media were anything to go by, people were left in tears, angry, emotional and disappointed. The creators of the Netflix show, the Duffer Brothers, discussed Eleven’s fate in an interview with the OTT platform, and revealed whether she survived the Upside Down in the Season 5 finale. *Spoilers ahead*
What happened to Eleven in the Stranger Things 5 finale?
After this it was assumed that eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) died protecting Hawkins and the rest of the world while the Upside Down was blown up, Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) tells one last story during a game of Dungeons & Dragons with his friends.
He believes that Kali (Linnea Berthelsen) did Eleven a last favor before she died and helped him escape the Upside Down. He also imagines a happy ending for Eleven, where she goes to a village and visits the waterfalls he dreamed about for her. However, this theory was never confirmed in the show, leaving it unclear whether Eleven lived to tell the tale.
What do the Duffer Brothers say about this?
Matt Duffer told Netflix that his adoptive father, Jim Hopper (David Harbour), never wanted to think or talk about what Eleven could live a ‘normal life’ after everything happened. “Mike has obviously talked about it a lot, but it’s kind of a fictional version that would never work,” he explained, adding, “There are two paths that Eleven can go. It’s a darker, more pessimistic one or an optimistic, hopeful one. Mike is the optimist of the group and he’s chosen to believe that story.”
Ross Duffer also revealed that there was ‘never a version’ where Eleven would end up hanging out with the gang, rendering it based on her own powers and magic. “In order for our characters to move forward and for Hawkins and the story of the Upside Down to end, Eleven had to go away. We thought it would be beautiful if our characters continued to believe in that happy ending, even if we didn’t give them a clear answer as to whether or not it was true.”
The brothers claimed it was a ‘better way’ to close the children’s story and their journey from children to adults. Matt even points out that if Eleven was really there, none of them would have been able to contact her. “So if that’s the story, it’s really the best way to keep him alive. And it’s about Mike and everyone else finding a way to move on from what happened,” he said.
Following its debut in 2016, Stranger Things concludes nine years later in 2025. Set in 1980s Indiana, the story follows a group of children who witness supernatural powers and covert government activities after one of their friends goes missing.
[ad_2]
