Everyone is talking about the Stranger Things finale, and rightfully so. Instead of focusing on the big parts of the series ending, like Eleven's fate, there are some hidden details that fans probably didn't catch.
By my unofficial tally, there were at least seven callbacks in the final minutes of the Stranger Things 5 finale, "Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up." I've seen some fans talking about these moments online, including the spinoff teased by the Duffer brothers, but for the most part, they've been largely absent from the discourse about the season.
Did you catch all the callbacks, references, and easter eggs hidden in the last few minutes of the Stranger Things finale? Let's find out!
Karen calls Joyce and asks if she's seen Mike on the morning of graduation
In the first episode of Stranger Things, "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers," Joyce can't find Will in the morning after he was chased through the woods and his house after leaving the Wheeler's house. Joyce calls Karen to let her know that she can't find Will and wonders if he stayed at their house.
Well, on the morning of graduation, we get the reverse. Karen calls Joyce to let her know that they can't find Mike and haven't seen him since last night.
Hopper knows where he is, at the memorial where they last saw Eleven before she sacrificed herself to save her friends, and we all know what happens next.
I love this callback to the first episode, though. I'm a sucker for a full circle moment, and we get plenty of them in the finale.
Dustin channels Eddie Munson during speech at graduation
Dustin is the Hawkins High Valedictorian for the Class of '89, and he gets to give a speech at graduation. He knocks it out of the park, and then he goes full Eddie Munson, flips off Principal Higgins, grabs his diploma, and turns the ceremony into a party.
It's exactly what Eddie described in season 4 when he talks about what he'd do at graduation, when he finally got there. Here's what Eddie said that he'd do during that scene:
"I'm gonna walk that stage, look Principal Higgins dead in the eye, I'm gonna flip him the bird, I'm gonna snatch that diploma, and I'm gonna run like hell outta here."
I think Dustin nailed it. Eddie would be proud.
Dustin's t-shirt at graduation also contains "El Lives"
This one is a little bit of a stretch, but eagle-eyed Stranger Things fans noticed one interesting detail in Dustin's "Hellfire Lives!" shirt. After his speech, Dustin rips his gown, shirt, and tie off to reveal he's wearing a shirt that reads "Hellfire Lives!"
The biggest question about Stranger Things 5 is whether Eleven is still alive at the end. Well, if you want to read a little bit deeper into Dustin's fashion choice, you'll see that the shirt also contains "El Lives."
I don't know if that's reading too much into things, but the Duffers are very intentional about these little clues and details. Why would Dustin wear his normal Hellfire Club shirt? Why this specific shirt with "lives" on it right after we had the biggest character death in the entire series literally minutes earlier?
Stacey is the girl who rejects Dustin at the Snow Ball in season 2
Immediately after Dustin's graduation speech, he meets up with Mike, Will, and Lucas. He's approached by a girl, Stacey, who tells him she liked the speech and asks the gang if they want to go to her graduation party that night.
As it turns out, we've all met Stacey before in Stranger Things. Stacey Albright, played by Sydney Bullock, was the girl who Dustin asked to dance at the Snow Ball in Stranger Things season 2. She rejected hims, and then Nancy stepped in to make Dustin not feel so bad about everything that happened.
Well, well, well, how the turn tables, Stacey.
Montauk was the original title of Stranger Things
In the last scene with Hopper and Joyce, we see them having a romantic dinner at Enzo's. It's been a long time coming, but it finally happens. Something is up, clearly, and Hopper reveals he could potentially become the Chief of Police in Montauk.
Montauk was actually the original title of Stranger Things! It was supposed to be set in Long Island, but changes were made to bring the series to a fictional town in the American heartland.
I love the callback to Montauk in the finale! As I mentioned, I love a good full circle moment, and the Hopper-Byers family ending up in Montauk, close to the city, is the perfect ending for that crew.
Hopper is still wearing Sara's hair tie and El's bracelet at graduation and at Enzo's
Earlier in the series, Hopper gave Sara's hair tie to Eleven. It's the one her kept all these years after her death, and he wanted her to have it. She kept it all this time, until right before she goes into the Abyss to save the world. It's her goodbye, of sorts, to Hopper.
After Eleven's sacrifice, we see Hopper wearing the hair tie on his wrist in two pivotal scenes, at graduation and at Enzo's during his proposal to Joyce.
It's heartbreaking in so many ways, but I love that Hopper is moving forward while also hanging on to the pieces of the past that make him feel whole.
Stranger Things started and ended with a game of Dungeons & Dragons in the Wheeler's basement
Finally, the last callback of the series, and the only one that really matters to me, personally. Stranger Things ends how it begins with a game of Dungeons & Dragons in the Wheeler's basement. We see the party celebrate after winning the campaign Mike, the storyteller, planned. At the end, he gives the audience, and his friends, a glimpse of their future: Lucas and Max stay in love and move forward, Dustin goes off to college and excels, and Will finds a community in the city.
And, what of Mike? He becomes a writer, to continue telling stories, but there's one story he can never tell. He reveals what he believes happened to Eleven. The rest of the friends choose to believe that she's alive, too, and just unable to contact them to let them know she's okay. It would risk everything, including their lives, and Eleven wouldn't do that.
Then, as the story began, the friends put away their D&D binders for the last time in the series with tears in their eyes. It's a beautiful moment.
So, those are the callbacks I caught in the final moments of Stranger Things. I hope you all enjoyed them as much as I did!