**Stranger Things 5 Bids Farewell to Eleven and Her Friends**
Stranger Things 5 bid goodbye to Eleven and all her friends this week, leaving many viewers—and prospective viewers—wondering if Millie Bobby Brown’s signature character truly met her end in the popular Netflix series. The answer, however, is complicated.
It certainly seems like Eleven died, going down with the ship by choosing to stay behind in the Upside Down. Her intention was clear: to ensure the military could not use her blood to create more child experiments. But the final picture isn’t quite as black and white as that noble sacrifice might suggest.
For multiple seasons, Vecna and The Mind Flayer have been persistent threats to the Hawkins kids. In Stranger Things 5’s final episode, “The Rightside Up,” the show abandons the talking and dives straight into the fight. The kids manage to catch Vecna off guard long enough for Joyce Byers to deliver a decisive blow to the malignant force that’s plagued them—complete with one memorable f-bomb for good measure!
### Not the End… Really
But that isn’t quite the end of the story. Kali, Eleven’s sister introduced earlier in the series, emphasizes that both superpowered young women should remain behind in the Upside Down as it closes. This is to prevent their fate from befalling any more children. It’s also worth noting that the same twisted experiments that created Eleven inadvertently created Vecna as well—another reason to avoid that dark dimension.
Though Eleven “dies,” Mike doesn’t seem convinced. After successfully defeating the big bad, the Hawkins kids attempt to escape back to their reality, but Eleven decides to stay behind. What follows is a tearful farewell between Mike and Eleven, with Mike’s piercing scream as she disappears making for a heartbreaking moment.
Despite this, during the gang’s final adorable Dungeons & Dragons game—symbolizing the end of their childhood—Mike still believes Eleven is out there. And the creators of Stranger Things want fans to believe it too.
### Creators Reflect on Eleven’s Journey
The end of Stranger Things meant unpacking a significant amount of lore, and creators Matt and Ross Duffer did their best to tie up lingering questions in an interview with Tudum.
Ross Duffer explained, “There was never a version of the story where Eleven was hanging out with the gang at the end. For us and our writers, we didn’t want to take her powers away. She represents magic in a lot of ways and the magic of childhood. For our characters to move on and for the story of Hawkins and the Upside Down to come to a close, Eleven had to go away.”
He continued, “We thought it would be beautiful if our characters continued to believe in that happier ending even if we didn’t give them a clear answer to whether that’s true or not. The fact that they’re believing in it, we just thought it was such a better way to end the story and a better way to represent the closure of this journey and their journey from children to adults.”
### An Open-Ended Goodbye
The conclusion of Stranger Things 5 might feel somewhat cloudy for some viewers, but the Duffers encourage fans to embrace that ambiguity. There wasn’t a way to give the kids a completely happy ending, yet the show skirts that line as closely as possible.
With their connections to childhood severed for good, Eleven lives on as a reminder of the magic from those years—just as all the Hawkins kids will live on in the hearts of viewers watching at home.
Ross Duffer added, “And the reality is, if Eleven is out there, the most that they could hope for is a belief that it’s true because they can’t be in contact with her. Everything falls apart if that were the case. So if that’s the narrative, this is really the best way to keep her alive. And it’s about Mike and everyone finding a way to move past what’s happened.”
—
*Featured Image: Netflix*
https://www.themarysue.com/stranger-things-5-does-eleven-die-finale-explained/
