Stranger Things‘ new behind-the-scenes documentary reveals some key secrets from the final season. Few TV shows have had the kind of impact of Stranger Things; there’s a sense in which the Netflix Original came to define the entire streaming boom, setting so many of the patterns that other TV series and companies would follow. That meant Season 5 was under intense pressure to pay off almost a decade’s worth of storytelling.
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Now, Netflix has released a new behind-the-scenes documentary for Season 5. One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things Season 5 was filmed during production, featuring actual behind-the-scenes footage. Naturally, that means it also drops a lot of surprising news, revealing the scale of the issues the Duffer brothers faced with Season 5 – and explaining some of the most surprising twists. Here are all the biggest reveals in One Last Adventure.
7. Production Started Stranger Things’ Series Finale Before It Was Fully Written
Easily one of the most controversial reveals from the documentary is the fact that production started on the series finale before it was fully written. Production assistant Montana Maniscalco makes that explicitly clear at one point; “We are shooting episode 8, which isn’t completely written yet — spoiler alert! So we don’t even fully know what’s going on.” Matt Duffer admitted it was written under “the most difficult writing circumstances we’ve ever found ourselves in, not just because there was the pressure of we had to make sure the script was good, but there’s never been so much noise at the same time.”
According to Matt, the problem was largely behind-the-scenes. They “were getting hammered by production and by Netflix for episode 8.” The Duffers wound up spending more time with the writers on episode 8 than they had with any other episode, with heated debate about many different elements. This is perhaps the real reason Stranger Things Season 5’s ending became so divisive.5.
Matt & Ross Duffer Had A Debate Over Eleven’s Fate
The Duffer brothers had openly admitted there was a debate about Eleven’s fate in Stranger Things, but we hadn’t realized they disagreed between themselves. There’s footage of the writers’ room, with a back-and-forth inspired by episode 7 in which the Duffers disagree over whether or not Eleven had decided to die. Matt felt there was no way for the story to finish with Eleven alive, while Ross disagreed. The end result was an oddly ambiguous, choose-your-preference finale.
4. One Stranger Things Season 5 Writer Wanted Other Monsters In The Abyss
It seems there was also disagreement over whether there should be other monsters – and certainly Demogorgons – in the Abyss. In fact, writer Paul Dichter argued it would be “crazy” if there were no monsters; but writer and co-executive producer Kate Trefry feared there was a degree of “Demo fatigue.” The Duffers wanted a stronger focus on the Mind Flayer’s monstrous new body, believing the Demogorgons had been used effectively in the early MAC-Z scene. “The thing that’s cool is the giant monster – that’s what’s new,” Matt explained.
3. Vecna’s Abyss Base Was Known as the Pain Tree
We get the official name of Vecna’s main base in the Upside Down, inside the ribcage of the Mind Flayer creature. It’s known as the Pain Tree, which makes sense; Vecna originally used it to generate pain, but has now used it to transport the childrens’ consciousnesses into Camazotz.
2. Mike Wanting a Gun Reflected Finn Wolfhard’s Own Wishes
Matt Duffer admitted that the finale was shaped by the kids’ own request, to be part of the final fight. “Finn [Wolfhard]’s like, ‘Don’t give me a candlestick, please.’ Which is fair. He really wants a gun, and I’m just like ‘I don’t think so.’” This actually became a plot in the Stranger Things Season 5 finale, with Mike handed a flare gun – much to the amusement of the rest of the cast, who Wolfhard had clearly talked to.
1. Why Karen Wheeler Became an Action Hero
It’s a classic trope of ’80s movies; the mom is a fierce, protective warrior. Stranger Things had traditionally used that trope with Winona Ryder, but Cara Buono’s Karen Wheeler transformed into a protective warrior in her own right in Season 5. The Duffers had planned an attack on the Wheeler house for years, but had held back on it. Now, they wanted to show how similar Karen is to her daughter, Nancy, by revealing just how fierce and protective she could be as well.
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