Stranger Things Series Finale Ending Explained: Who Dies In The Last Episode?
This post contains major spoilers for the series finale of "Stranger Things."
"Stranger Things" has finally ended, bringing with it the end of an era. The stakes were set up to be higher than ever in season 5, episode 8, titled "The Right Side Up," in which Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and her friends headed inside the Upside Down one last time. While their plan is risk-laden and convoluted, the aim is twofold: to kill Vecna and destroy the Upside Down, closing the bridge between Hawkins and the Abyss. As the Abyss is high up in the sky, part of the group climbs up a tower, while Eleven and Kali (Linnea Berthelsen) enter the Upside Down's version of the Hawkins' lab to help corner Vecna. Amid this chaos, the military closes in on their hideout in Hawkins, where Max (Sadie Sink) is remotely guiding El and Kali through Vecna's memories.
As for Holly (Nell Fisher) and the abducted kids, Vecna/Henry (Jamie Campbell Bower) has put them in a trance, as he is using them to amplify his abilities and merge the Abyss with the real world. Before El, Max, and Kali get to him, they navigate a high school memory involving a young Joyce, whose play leads straight to the fake reality where Vecna is keeping the children. This brief sequence references the prequel play, "Stranger Things: The First Shadow," but doesn't introduce integral characters like Patty Newby, whose fate is entwined with Henry's in this offshoot story.
Meanwhile, Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and co. brush with death after the tower almost collapses, but the group makes it inside the Abyss and heads towards the location where the kids are trapped. This is when the husk of the Mind Flayer comes alive, revealing the true nature of its relationship with Vecna.
How was Vecna defeated, and what was his connection to the Mind Flayer?
The mine shaft that Max and Holly discover in Vol 2 revealed a traumatic memory involving a young Henry (Raphael Luce) killing a man with a briefcase in self-defense. In the present, Henry/Vecna is forced to confront this memory, in which he sees that his younger self opened the briefcase and got contaminated by particles belonging to the Mind Flayer. "The First Shadow" reveals that the man inside the cave was a Russian spy, who had taken "something ... from beyond our world" while trying to escape. This key context could potentially explain the gaps in the story that aren't spelled out here. When Will (Noah Schnapp) witnesses this memory through Henry's eyes, he empathizes with him, saying that he was just a child manipulated by the Mind Flayer, a "vessel" just like him. Will pleads with Henry to fight back and not give in.
However, "Stranger Things" doesn't take the cop-out route by giving Henry/Vecna a redemption arc. While we are supposed to sympathize with child Henry, he made the active choice to work with the Mind Flayer after becoming Vecna. Henry rejects Will's olive branch, stating that the world is a cruel and twisted place, and that he was never controlled by the creature (nor did he control it). Instead, it was a symbiotic relationship, as he could've resisted it if he wished to (like Will), but chose not to.
Cut to the Mind Flayer wreaking havoc in the Abyss, prompting Nancy to act as bait to draw it towards the others, who are waiting to hit its critical points from a height. El arrives to save the day, fighting Henry inside the beast's belly to destroy their hive-mind connection for good.
Who dies during the final confrontation against Vecna and the military?
Two major character death fakeouts are used to heighten tension during the final battle. The first is when Steve (Joe Keery) almost falls from the high tower. After he lets go, we think he's a goner, but Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) saves him in the nick of time. The other one is when Nancy draws the Mind Flayer towards the canyon, getting backed up against a dead end as it gnashes on rocks and is about to kill her.
This is when her friends hit it with bombs, makeshift weapons, and flares, using this attack to weaken Henry. Inside the beast's belly, El and Vecna fight viciously, but the former impales him on a teeth-like spike (with the aid of a last-minute power boost from Will). Joyce (Winona Ryder) is the one to hack his head off and deal the final blow.
As for actual deaths, Hopper (David Harbour) learns about El and Kali's suicide pact, but convinces El that her life is worth living, and that a fulfilling future is possible for someone whose childhood (and autonomy) was taken from her. This obviously applies to Kali as well, but she dies later due to a bullet wound, saying that her story was always meant to end here. This leaves a terrible aftertaste, as Kali was never done justice as a character because her interiority always revolved around El, and not her own motivations. Even her death is used as a pivotal moment to actualize El's eventual fate, which is revealed in the lengthy epilogue.
After everyone returns to Hawkins, the military surrounds them near the rift. El escapes, bidding a tearful goodbye to Mike (Finn Wolfhard) before sacrificing herself. She stands inside the Upside Down, which blows up permanently.
What happens at the end of the Stranger Things series finale?
All is now well in Hawkins, but grief still lingers as Eleven's sacrifice still looms large. The class of '89 graduates, and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) gives a graduation speech that would make Eddie Munson proud. Nancy, Steve, Jonathan, and Robin (Maya Hawke) discuss their successful careers and make plans to stay in touch. Joyce and Hopper are ready to start a new life together, while Max and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) are still going strong as a couple. The kids are heading off to college, but before they leave Hawkins, they indulge in one last "Dungeons & Dragons" campaign, where they're able to succeed with a magical deus ex machina of sorts.
This is when Mike shares a theory about Eleven. He says that she didn't actually sacrifice herself that day, but chose to fake her death instead. Why? To put an end to the military's attempts to steal her powers. He theorizes that the dying Kali helped El pull this off, using "a spell of invisibility" (which works as a suppression stone in "D&D" terms) while she projected an image of herself inside the rift. We see Kali cast an illusion during the battle, so Mike uses this logic to deduce that El is safe. We cut to a shot of Eleven walking up a cliffside alone and looking over three waterfalls, just like she and Mike had dreamed of. Whether this is in Mike's mind or in reality is left ambiguous.
This ending, while tonally hopeful, feels empty and open-ended, considering the wild journey everyone has been a part of for years. For better or worse, this is the end for "Stranger Things," which sports a series finale completely devoid of narrative risks, twists, or meaningful surprises.