Contains SPOILERS for the Stranger Things finale
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Over the course of Stranger Things Season 5, audiences are led to believe that Eleven’s death is the most logical endpoint for the story. If she was gone, the United States government would be unable to use her blood to conduct experiments on children, ending the vicious cycle that defined the series for its nine-year run. However, in the finale, “The Rightside Up,” things aren’t so cut and dry. At first, Eleven seemingly sacrifices herself, dying in the explosion that destroys the Upside Down for good. But in the epilogue, Mike presents an alternate theory — one that purports Eleven devised a plan with Kali to fake her death, and she has found a peaceful life far away from Hawkins. Ever since the episode premiered, fans have debated which story is true, and comments from Matt and Ross Duffer could sway opinions.
Speaking with Variety, the Stranger Things co-creators addressed Eleven’s ambiguous ending and cleared up one very important detail. “The only thing I’ll debunk is that Eleven does not communicate with Mike in any way,” Matt said. “But what you just said at the end — yes, at graduation, he’s hearing the speakers distort because the principal is so angry, and it makes him realize that there was the kryptonite. So how could she have possibly made it all the way to the gate? Not only that. How could she have possibly used her powers to bring him into the void? But there are a lot of other questions. Could Kali have actually done that? Could she have possibly been alive? We like that it’s up to the audience. Obviously, we tell you what the characters choose.”
The Stranger Things Ending is Open to the Viewer’s Interpretation
When Matt Duffer says Eleven did not communicate with Mike, he’s referring specifically to the theory suggesting Eleven contacted him at some point to reveal she is still alive. Obviously, this means the story Mike tells the rest of the group at the end isn’t based on facts he heard straight from Eleven — it’s his own conjecture based on things he noticed from the night the Upside Down was destroyed. This arguably makes his story harder to believe as the truth. Because Eleven didn’t tell Mike directly that she managed to escape, that ending sequence comes across more as wish fulfillment on the part of the characters than one final twist.
One theory that’s gained some traction since the finale premiered is that the story is something Mike came up with to help him process his trauma and move on. It perhaps is not a coincidence that he formulated the story after receiving a pep talk from Hopper, where the police chief discussed the different paths Mike can take as he confronts his grief. Formulating a theory on how Eleven could still be alive feels like Mike’s way of going down the second path Hopper mentioned, allowing him to turn the page. Sharing his story with his friends gives the whole group a sense of comfort and closure, as they all believe Eleven is out there somewhere, finding a peaceful new life.
There’s enough evidence in “The Rightside Up” to support both sides of the “did Eleven die?” debate, a delicate balance the Duffers had to strike in order to craft an ambiguous ending. Knowing Eleven didn’t contact Mike in the aftermath initially seems like a blow to the people who feel she’s still alive, but it doesn’t debunk that argument completely. Mike is smart enough to put 2 and 2 together and realize what might have happened on his own. He didn’t need Eleven to tell him. Again, it seems convenient that Mike came up with his story after Hopper shared words of encouragement, though Mike’s theory is still grounded enough. Unsurprisingly, fans have pored over the details in Eleven’s “death” scene, such as the fact she doesn’t have a nosebleed after using her powers to say goodbye to Mike (implying the El we see in the Upside Down is a projection from Kali).
Because the Duffers devised the Stranger Things ending to be open to interpretation, it’s unlikely they’ll ever definitively state whether she’s alive or not. They don’t want to take that element of choice away from the fans, and this’ll be something viewers continue to debate for a long time. But much like the Inception ending, those hung up on figuring out if Eleven really died could be missing the larger point. The threat of Vecna has been eliminated, life in Hawkins is back to normal, and if Eleven died or escaped, she made a choice that she is fully at peace with.
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Image courtesy of Tor Books/Macmillan -
Official art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme
