After ten years, the sprawling story of Hawkins, Indiana, has reached its conclusion. The final episode of Stranger Things Season 5 saw Eleven and her friends defeat Vecna and destroy the Upside Down. An emotional 18-month time jump showed our characters moving forward with their lives. While the finale provided closure for many storylines, it also left several major questions unanswered, sparking intense discussion among viewers. From missing monsters to ambiguous character fates, here are the biggest puzzles the show left behind.
The Vanishing Monsters of the Upside Down
For five seasons, creatures like the Demogorgon, Demodogs, and Demobats were a constant, terrifying threat emerging from the Upside Down. They were responsible for some of the series’ most heartbreaking moments. Yet, in the final battle, these monsters were completely absent.
The heroes traveled through portals and across the scarred landscape without encountering a single creature. This was a noticeable shift, especially during climactic moments like the climb to the radio tower, which seemed like a perfect opportunity for an attack. The show offered no explanation for where the creatures went or why they disappeared during the ultimate confrontation with Vecna. Their sudden absence left a hole in the finale’s logic for many fans.
The Mysterious Disappearance of Dr. Kay and the Military
Season 5 introduced a new antagonist played by Linda Hamilton: the cold and calculating Dr. Kay. As a military leader determined to continue Dr. Brenner’s work, she kidnapped Eleven’s “sister,” Kali, to advance her projects. Despite her prominent introduction, her role in the season was limited, and her storyline ended abruptly.
In the finale, Dr. Kay simply watches in horror as Eleven makes her apparent sacrifice and the Upside Down collapses. After that moment, neither she nor her soldiers are seen or mentioned again. The 18-month time jump shows the military finally leaving Hawkins, but provides no update on Dr. Kay’s fate or the status of her experiments. For a character played by a major star and presented as a significant threat, this sudden and silent exit was puzzling.
What Happened to Vickie and Murray?
The extended epilogue checked in with most of the main characters, but two notable figures were missing: Murray Bauman and Vickie. Murray, played by Brett Gelman, was a key part of the team in the final season. He helped save Eleven, Kali, and Hopper by attacking a military helicopter and provided crucial communications during the mission. Despite his importance, he received no farewell scene or mention in the future.
Similarly, Vickie, Robin’s girlfriend, vanished. Season 5 showed their relationship strengthening after Vickie learned the truth about the Upside Down. In the final scenes, Robin is seen with the core group, but Vickie is not with her and their relationship’s status is unclear. When asked about Murray’s absence, co-creator Matt Duffer gave a vague answer, saying, “I think Murray’s doing his own weird stuff”. This left fans without a satisfying conclusion for these characters.
Will Byers’ Connection to the Hivemind
A major revelation in Season 5 was that Will Byers possesses psychic and telekinetic powers, which are tied to his connection with Vecna and the Mind Flayer’s hivemind. This connection caused Will great pain whenever Vecna was hurt. It set up a major dilemma for the finale: how could the group destroy Vecna without severely harming or killing Will in the process?
The finale did not address this dilemma. During the final battle, the group brutally attacks Vecna and the Mind Flayer. Eleven impales Vecna, and Joyce Byers attacks him with an axe. Throughout this violent assault, Will, who is supposed to be psychically linked to Vecna, appears to be perfectly fine and in good spirits. The show never explains why his connection suddenly stopped being a problem or how he was shielded from the pain. This oversight left a significant plot point from earlier in the season unresolved.
The Ambiguous Fate of Eleven
The most hotly debated question concerns the fate of Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven. The finale shows her making a heroic sacrifice, staying in the Upside Down as it collapses to ensure the military cannot capture her or create more children with powers. However, the ending introduces deliberate ambiguity.
In the time jump, Mike shares a theory with his friends. He suggests that Eleven might not be dead. He reasons that at the moment of her sacrifice, the military was using frequency weapons that block psychic powers, meaning Eleven could not have projected herself into the void to say goodbye as she appeared to. Mike believes it was actually Kali using her own powers to create an illusion of Eleven, allowing the real Eleven to escape unnoticed.
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The show’s creators, the Duffer Brothers, have stated they wanted to leave this open to interpretation. Matt Duffer explained, “We present all those possibilities, and it’s kind of up to the audience to decide ultimately what her fate is”. This choice has divided fans, with some appreciating the hopeful mystery and others wanting a definitive conclusion for the show’s central hero.
Final Scene and Credits
The series does not have a traditional post-credits scene. Instead, the story concludes with Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, and Max finishing their last Dungeons & Dragons campaign in the Wheeler basement. As they leave, Mike’s younger sister Holly and her friends come down to start their own game, symbolically passing the torch to a new generation.
The credits that follow feature a unique sequence set to David Bowie’s “Heroes”. It shows hand-drawn cartoon images of iconic moments from the entire series, styled like illustrations from a Dungeons & Dragons manual. This served as the show’s final nostalgic look back, offering a sense of closure without teasing any future stories. The Duffer Brothers have been clear that this finale is the end for these characters, with any future projects set to explore new stories within the Stranger Things universe.
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