Stranger Things Finale Crafted as an Emotional Farewell, Say Duffer Brothers
Series creators Matt and Ross Duffer open up about designing the final season to provide meaningful closure while staying true to the heart of Netflix’s global phenomenon
Ending the Journey Where It All Began
The Duffer Brothers have noted that the conclusion to the series was deliberately crafted to be personal, emotional, and introspective. According to the Duffer Brothers in the Netflix Tudum interview, the conclusion to the story starts playing back to where the series originally came from, which represents the movement from childhood to maturity through the characters’ journey. Coming back to the same locations obviously supports the element of coming full circle.
Instead of concentrating on mass action and supernatural fights, the duo focused on character-driven storytelling for the final chapter. This was with the aim of making sure that character moments were equal in importance to action sequences. According to the Duffers, the duo responsible for the show’s creation, “It was the best way to celebrate the friendships and bonds that the series has represented from day one.”
In Hawkins’ final showdown against its biggest danger from the Upside Down, Michele Fazekas, one of its finale’s scribes, also reinforced character resolutions, whether explicit or left open to audience speculation, as important themes of its narrative. In other words, some storylines offered definitive conclusions, while others remained ambiguous enough for viewers to ponder what might happen next off-screen.
The Duffers have recognized the bittersweet feeling of bidding farewell to Stranger Things after almost a decade of storytelling. But they are confident about the fact that this farewell in the form of the final season will do justice to the soul of the series, which contains elements of nostalgia, emotions, and hope. They are trying to leave the audience with a feeling of completeness through the final season.
