To say that the Stranger Things finale divided fans feels like an understatement. At this point, the quality of the finale has been litigated several times over, and even inspired an entire conspiracy-brained online movement, in which fans became obsessed that the finale was bad on purpose and that there would be a secret ‘real finale.’
For as beloved as the Netflix series had been for years, the final season proved to feel inconclusive and ultimately unsatisfying to many. This has led to a great deal of online arguing about the quality of the show and specific decisions made in the finale: Should Henry Creel have been redeemed? Should there have been other monsters in the Abyss? Should the Mind Flayer have looked like a giant desert crab? But chief among these hotly debated topics is a central one: should Eleven have died? The show ultimately delivers an ending which the Duffers have regularly referred to as ‘ambiguous,’ leaving Eleven’s fate in limbo. But thanks to the new behind-the-scenes documentary on Netflix, One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, fans now know that the writers of the show and even the Duffer Brothers themselves argued about the ending of the series.
In an especially open and transparent scene in the documentary, a conversation regarding Eleven’s role in the finale, between Ross Duffer, Matt Duffer, and co-writer Paul Dichter, goes like this:
Ross: "The whole episode has to be building towards ‘Eleven is going to kill herself.’"
Matt: "Like if we’re trying to sell it as she’s going to kill herself and then she kills herself…"
Paul: "I think it’s like, is she still deciding? Has she already decided?"
Ross: "You have to keep toying with the audience, because I think what works in [episode] seven is this like, ‘oh my god, is she really going to go through with this?’ And it’s what everyone’s going to keep expecting."
Matt: "We think she’s made the choice to live… just kidding she hasn’t… just kidding she has."
Ross: "I don’t know if we have to play it like that."
This entire exchange is especially funny, given that these are pretty much the exact arguments fans have been engaging in online since the release of the finale. While the idea of Eleven’s ambiguous ending worked for some viewers, it most certainly did not for others. In this behind-the-scenes clip, the argument is boiled down to its most essential components, with Ross advocating for Eleven’s death, while Matt and Paul question the validity of such a move and if it will make for a satisfying conclusion.
The relative quality of the finale of Stranger Things will undoubtedly continue to be a hot-button issue for weeks to come, especially now that One Last Adventure has thrown fuel on the fire once more. If nothing else though, it is absolutely fascinating to watch the documentary touch directly upon so many of the core issues that would go on to become such hotly debated topics, like watching a car crash unfold in slow-motion.