There’s one last adventure for Stranger Things fans and it’s not a secret episode. Netflix has dropped the documentary on the making of Season 5, one of Netflix’s most successful originals of all time. There’s a lot to unpack but luckily, we’ve put together a list of the most important takeaways from the two-hour special.
1. “demo fatigue”
One criticism of Season 5 is the lack of Demogorgons/Demobats/Demodogs in The Abyss. The Duffers address this, explaining they don’t want to create “demo fatigue.” My problem is that point is long gone; in fact, it was about 2 seasons ago. They were featured heavily throughout the first two parts of Season 5 so not having them in the finale at all made the final battle a bit underwhelming.
Someone else in the writers’ room agrees: “It’s crazy if there’s nothing there I think,” he says.
2. Where are David harbour and Winona Ryder?
The cast and crew of Stranger Things filmed interviews that were included in the documentary. There were two notable cast members missing, however. David Harbour (Hopper) and Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers). According to the Stranger Things team, their schedules didn’t line up for the interviews so they weren’t able to take part.
“We just didn’t get the time. They were busy with other projects, and so we didn’t have the time to sit down,” said Stranger Things documentary director Martina Radwan in an interview with Variety.
While it’s certainly a disappointment not having them there as they’ve been part of all five seasons, Millie Bobby Brown was interviewed, and she came suited up as Eleven.
“That was Millie’s idea! She was like, ‘This is my last day, I’m in character.’ Unfortunately, with David and Winona, we couldn’t find the time. We tried,” she added.
3. Debate over Eleven’s Fate in the finale
Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) is an integral part of Stranger Things, and her fate in the finale has been met with a lot of pushback from fans who are upset about it being so ambiguous. While Ross Duffer wanted to lean into it and toy with fans, Matt Duffer expressed reluctance to the idea.
“We think she’s made the choice to live — just kidding, she hasn’t, just kidding, she has,” he says. Matt also notes that Eleven getting into the van with Hopper is “clearly” her making the choice to live. But Ross didn’t see things the same.
Paul Dichter, a writer on the show, compares Eleven dying to the door to Narnia. “Some other kids are going to find another door to Narnia later, but you’re never going back.”
4. The Finale Script Wasn’t Written When Season 5 Went Into Production
Perhaps one of the biggest reveals was that the finale script hadn’t even been written when production on Season 5 began. “We went into production without having a finished script for the finale,” Matt Duffer reveals. “That was scary because we wanted to get it right. It was the most important script of the season.”
This presented problems for the crew, however, who wanted to start building sets out. They only had descriptions from the Duffers to go off.
They did know the direction they were heading they just didn’t have time to write the script. “We were getting hammered constantly by production and by Netflix for Episode 8,” says Ross Duffer.
5. Maya Hawke Points out plot hole mid-take
While filming the laundry room scene where Robin, Max, Lucas and Vickie are hiding, Maya Hawke makes a suggestion to executive producer/director Shawn Levy. Her relationship with Vickie up until this point isn’t clear.
“I have a question. It hasn’t been talked about very much in any of the scenes that we’ve all been in together — no one knows that we’re dating, including Caleb,” she says. “I would like to play this scene in a whisper. I would like to do this,” she says, moving her face closer to Amybeth McNulty’s. Levy didn’t agree or disagree, he simply stated Hawke’s suggestion was “good.”
This is an important distinction. Vickie is a major part of Robin’s story and is a key piece in Will (Noah Schnapp) coming out to his closest loved ones. Without Robin confessing her relationship to Will and him seeing that he doesn’t have to be scared of being perceived “different,” they might not have defeated Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower).
All five seasons of Stranger Things, as well as the documentary, Stranger Things: One Last Adventure, are streaming on Netflix.
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