The fifth and final season of Stranger Things has so much going on that multiple story lines needed to be clarified off screen.
Created by Matt and Ross Duffer, Stranger Things focuses on a fictional town where a series of supernatural events take place, causing mystery, death and mayhem. The hit Netflix series catapulted its cast members — Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton and Joe Keery — to stardom after it premiered in 2016.
Before the series finale premiered, director Shawn Levy discussed the process of being clued into the show’s conclusion.
“No one is winging it. Honestly, I think that the Duffer Brothers have [an idea of how the show ends] and they have teased it for me over the past six and a half years. But they keep things very private amongst themselves until it is fully formed,” Levy exclusively told Us Weekly in 2022. “Then they bring it to me and then we take the next steps. It is very, very clear now and it became clear for a while now that we have one season more that feels worth it and reliably amazing.”
Levy went on to praise the hard work that went into making Stranger Things such a massive, worldwide success.
“We don’t want to be one of those shows that outstays its welcome and is flailing while it searches for a way to stick the landing,” he added. “We really want to stick the landing. I feel like we have been able to do that every season and we also want to do it for the series.”
Season 5, which was divided into three parts, received a lackluster reaction as fans questioned several scenes, including potential character breakups, rumors of deleted scenes and more. Keep scrolling for every detail that had to be clarified off screen before the series finale:
The Backstory Involving Henry Creel’s Cave
Part 1 brought back Max (Sadie Sink) while showing her stuck in a locked part of the Upside Down. She tried to escape but Vecna a.k.a Henry (Jamie Campbell Bower) chased her down — until she reached a cave. Ross and Matt confirmed that the scene was a reference to the Stranger Things‘ prequel play, The First Shadow.
“When we were working on the play with Kate Trefry, we had Henry’s backstory worked out. There was always a balance that we had to find in terms of how much we were going to put in the play,” Matt told Cosmopolitan in November. “[The director] Stephen [Daldry] and [the producer] Sonia [Friedman] were always pushing for more and we were pushing back and saying, ‘Well, we have to wait to reveal that in the show.’ You’ll see, especially as you reach the final episode, there’s more overlap with the play.”
Matt confirmed that fans “absolutely do not have to have seen the play to understand.”
Jonathan and Nancy’s Relationship Status
During the second installment of the final season, Nancy (Dyer) and Jonathan (Heaton) had an emotionally-charged moment that some fans considered an engagement. Other viewers, however, considered the moment to be a breakup.
“I figure that I have screwed up enough with you that it’d be nice to get something right for once, in the end,” Jonathan told Nancy amid a life or death situation. “Nancy Wheeler, will you not marry me?”
Nancy accepted Jonathan’s “un-proposal” and said they loved each other. After the episode aired, Matt had to clarify the intention behind the scene.
“That’s a breakup,” Matt told People at the time. “They are broken up.”
Matt said he and Ross have known for “a while” that a breakup was in the cards for Nancy and Jonathan, adding, “It’s hard to recall when exactly that idea came, but I think us — and the writers — all felt that Nancy needed to end up on her own and be independent and have an opportunity to find herself.”
He continued: “I mean, how many people wind up with their girlfriend or boyfriend that they met in high school? [They] have a little bit more of a complicated relationship than normal high schoolers.”
Ross, meanwhile, referred to their connection as a “trauma bond.”
What Mike Knows About Will’s Feelings for Him
Another scene from part 2 showed Will (Schnapp) coming out to his loved ones.
“I haven’t told any of you this because I don’t want you to see me differently, but the truth is I am different. I just pretended like I wasn’t because I didn’t wanna be,” Will told the group. “I wanted to be like everyone else. I wanted to be like my friends, and I am like you. I’m like you in almost every way.”
He continued: “We like Milk Duds in our popcorn with extra butter, and we like drinking Coke with Pop Rocks, and we like bike races and trading comics and NASA and Steve Martin and Lucky Charms and literally all the same things. I just — I don’t like girls.”
Will hinted that he “had this crush on someone” even though he knew “they’re not like” him, which viewers knew referenced his feelings for Mike (Wolfhard). The camera panned to Mike’s face, but it remained unclear whether he understood what Will was hinting at with his speech.
“That was the intent. Once Will is talking about Tammy and all that and his experience,” Ross told People about Mike realizing Will’s feelings for him. “It’s Mike — and his friends — all realizing and understanding now for the first time, even if Mike has been somewhat oblivious over these years, what his friend is saying.”
Ross offered a glimpse at Mike’s state of mind. “He’s clocking what Will felt over the years. It’s about Will understanding who he is and being less fearful and expressing himself to all his friends and family,” he continued.
The Alleged Unaired Scenes From Season 5
Randy Havens, who plays beloved Mr. Clarke, took to Instagram in December to address the viral posts from viewers claiming that show insiders anonymously shared that crucial moments didn’t air.
“There’s no secret Snyder cut of the show,” he wrote, referring to director Zack Snyder’s original version of 2017’s Justice League, with the longer version of the film being released on HBO Max in 2021 after overwhelming backlash from fans. “People don’t believe everything some random ass tells you on the internet.”
