Stranger Things 5: Duffers on Series' Home Stretch & Finale Set-Up

Posted in: Current News, Netflix, TV | Tagged: stranger things, stranger things 5

Stranger Things 5: Duffers on Series' Home Stretch & Finale Set-Up

Matt & Ross Duffer break down the final run of episodes that set up the finale of Stranger Things 5 and the heroes' journey to the [SPOILER].

Published Fri, 26 Dec 2025 16:37:03 -0600
by Tom Chang
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As Matt and Ross Duffer prepare to close the final book on Hawkins for good for the finale of Stranger Things 5 on New Year's Eve titled "The Rightside Up," they set fans up with the latest three-episode batch with episodes five, six, and seven with "Shock Jock, Escape from Camazotz," and "The Bridge" on Christmas. Upon the Netflix release, the brothers and the cast spoke to Entertainment Weekly about how they set up that final journey as our Hawkins heroes attempt to rescue children and stop Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) once and for all. The following contains major spoilers.

The Duffers on Setting up the Stranger Things 5 Finale

To set the stage for the final battle, most of our heroes are trapped in the Upside-Down trying to strike at Vecna while trying to protect his targets, which are the elementary-aged children that will factor into his final plans as he's successfully kidnapped by the end of part one, released in November. The heroes eventually reunite, along with Max (Sadie Sink), who spent two years in a coma but was trapped in Vecna's mind. They also find Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher), one of the children factored into Vecna's plans. Max manages to escape with Holly's help thanks to her intuition. The group determines that Vecna will enact his plan from the Abyss, which is beyond the Upside-Down, and the way to get there is let Vecna initially engage his plan and bring the Abyss closer through the bridge between the Abyss and the Upside-Down to Hawkins. When it gets close enough, they "climb" to get to the Abyss for their final confrontation.

"What we really wanted to make sure we did this year with the penultimate episode was get the plan in motion so that episode 8 can start at a sprint as opposed to generally with our finales where they're building the plans and it's climaxing," Ross told EW. "This way, by just starting at a sprint, one, it's fun, but also it gave us more time on the backend to spend with these characters and wrap this up properly because we didn't wanna feel rushed at the end. We wanted to be able to take the time that we felt that these characters deserved."

One key player in the final season is Noah Schnapp, who becomes a potential ace in the hole for the Hawkins gang before Vecna knocks him back down humbly with Eleven/Jane (Milly Bobby Brown) helping him come out of it. "Just at that point in the year being like, 'Oh my God, there's three months left!' 'There's two months left!' 'There's six weeks left!'…And that pressure. It felt like such a long year, it's hard work, and then you're like, 'I don't wanna let this go," he said. "So just making sure to be ultra present and being with the cast as much as possible, cherishing these friendships, giving the best work that you can do 'cause that's what you owe the Duffers and Netflix who gave you this opportunity, and the fans who give you the support."

For more, including comments from Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas) and Bower, you can check out the interview. The Stranger Things finale comes to theaters and Netflix on New Year's Eve.

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