Stranger Things has ended after five seasons across nine years, and the closing moments took some inspiration from a familiar source: Steven Spielberg. The ending of Stranger Things has proved divisive, even sparking theories that it was fake and that there will be another episode, with several points of contention among viewers. Whether it’s Eleven’s ambiguous fate, the lack of major deaths, how quickly Vecna and the Mind Flayer were defeated, or apparent plot holes, there’s plenty that’s been hotly debated.
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For all the Upside Down, Abyss, and wider mythology of it all, the final moments of the show come down to its remaining core characters, returning to Mike Wheeler’s basement and one last game of Dungeons & Dragons. It’s in this that we learn of Mike’s theory about Eleven’s survival, as well as discovering what happens next to him, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max. The Duffer Brothers had long planned this to be the ending scene for the show, but it was also originally how Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was going to close as well.
Stranger Things Ending With D&D Was The Perfect Choice
Stranger Things took a lot of inspiration from the movies of Spielberg, and E.T. specifically, especially in Season 1. The kids on bikes scenes, following a group of outsiders, and the discovery of (and bonding with) a character who is alien to the core group, and having to hide them from the government, was all clearly indebted to the 1980s classic. That’s then called back to in the closing moments: actor Robert MacNaughton told Yahoo back in 2017 that E.T‘s ending was also going to end with the kids playing another game of D&D:
“In fact, the last scene in the movie wasn’t supposed to be the scene that ends up in the movie. The last scene was going to be all of us playing Dungeons & Dragons again, except this time, Elliott’s the dungeon master. Because he was the one that found E.T., he sort of got in with the group. And so that was supposed to be the final scene, it was in the script and everything, and then they would pan up to the roof and you’d see the communicator and it’s still working — in other words, Elliott is still in touch with E.T. But after they did the score, the music, and they saw what they had with the spaceship taking off and everything [laughs] — how can you follow that? I mean, it was a wise choice.”
It makes perfect sense that E.T. changed its ending and, as MacNaughton notes, it very clearly worked out for the best, as it’s hard to imagine the original having as much of an impact. It’s also something the Duffers are well aware of, as, in an interview with Variety, Matt Duffer acknowledged the homage, saying: “I also love the idea that the original ending of ET was them going to be them playing D&D again. So I like the idea of doing that.”
The E.T. element adds another layer, but even without it, the choice to end with the no-longer-kids playing D&D – and the new generation coming in – was the right one. That’s how the show started, after all, and so it’s the perfect way to bring things full circle, to highlight how much has changed (and how much will continue to change), while also staying true to the characters and the show’s roots. The nostalgia audiences already have for Season 1, and how long we’ve spent with these characters, plays a huge factor in making those closing moments so emotional, and for all the questionable decisions, the Duffers nail those last character beats.
All five seasons of Stranger Things are now streaming on Netflix.
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