The creators behind “Stranger Things” explain that the series finale isn’t going to be a bloodbath like something out of “Game of Thrones”….
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ‘STRANGER THINGS’ SEASON 5, VOLUME 2
Perhaps the most common question surrounding the final season of “Stranger Things” is who is going to survive the series finale and who isn’t making it out alive?
Thus far in the first two volumes, comprised of seven episodes, no major characters have perished, although more than a few of them have been put into harrowing situations. Even Max eventually woke up from her months long coma when she found her escape from Vecna’s mind and made her way back to the real world, which allowed her to re-enter her body.
That said, Matt and Ross Duffer understand that there’s a lot of concern about which characters might die in the series finale but they’re setting expectations ahead of time that the last episode titled “The Rightside Up” isn’t going to be some kind of frenzied bloodbath.
“It’s not ‘Game of Thrones,'” Matt Duffer told The Hollywood Reporter. “We’re not in Westeros. I love ‘Game of Thrones,’ but it’s just a very different type of show than that. There’s not going to be a Red Wedding situation.
“I think some things happen in the finale that are very surprising, but we’re not trying to shock or upset anyone. I hope by the time people get to the end of the finale that it just feels like there’s something inevitable about what happens, and that it doesn’t feel painful but feels satisfying. We’ll see. But as for Steve’s fate. I don’t know. I can’t say. It would be the next logical step. He keeps getting beaten up more and more. The only way we could take it further is death.”
The Duffer brothers joked that no matter what situation they put Steve Harrington in, the vast majority of the audience believes he’s being put into mortal danger because Joe Keery’s character has become so beloved over the course of five seasons.
That said, the final season of “Stranger Things” has different stakes than other shows, which is why the Duffer Brothers aren’t trying to tease numerous deaths in the series finale but they promise that there was a lot of thought and detail put into this last episode.
“We feel really happy with how the show ended up,” Ross Duffer said. “I think in the finale, in particular, the last scene, which again, we’ve had an idea of what that scene was going to be like for years, and when we sat down to break season five, it’s the first thing we broke. Everything is really building to that moment and making sure that works.
“Because we knew that no matter what we did, we could do eight hours of entertainment that people love, and then if you slip in the last five minutes, it’s all anyone’s going to talk about! So you just want to make sure you get those five minutes right, and then hopefully everything falls into place. We’re so proud of that scene and the performances from our cast in that scene, so we’re feeling good about it. But it’s always nerve-racking to put it out there for the audience.”
Of course, the creators behind the hugely popular series acknowledge that opinions are going to vary on a series finale because the audience is so huge for “Stranger Things” that the story is servicing all sorts of different fans.
That’s why the Duffer Brothers had to eventually just craft the series finale the way that the story was always supposed to end with hopes that it’s a satisfying conclusion for the fans who have stuck around for five seasons to see how it all plays out.
“It’s challenging, especially because of the demographics, in terms of who’s watching this show,” Matt Duffer said. “It’s really broad. When you read about people reacting to the show, sometimes I feel like they’re watching very different shows. And in a way, they are, right? They’re fixated on different aspects of the show that are more important to some people than others. It just gets confusing. So you can’t really work towards satisfying [everyone], because who are you choosing to satisfy?
“At the end of the day, you do kind of have to shut out all the noise and just listen to your gut and the other writers with whom we’ve been working with for so long, and hope that what we feel is right resonates with everybody else. The only thing that gives me some more confidence is the fact that the actors are as happy as they are, because they are so connected to those characters. That was honestly the most nerve-racking thing. I think what made me more nervous than the upcoming New Year’s Eve screening [of the series finale]was reading it with the actors for the first time.”
The series finale of “Stranger Things” debuts on Netflix on New Year’s Eve — Wednesday, December 31 — with the episode dropping at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT with a special two-night engagement in theaters as well on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
