Creators of Stranger Things confirm Eleven's fate after explosive series finale

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for the final episode of Stranger Things.

The creators of Stranger Things have confirmed Eleven’s fate, after the explosive series finale.

As Stranger Things wrapped up its five-season run, viewers were initially led to believe that Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) sacrificed herself while destroying the Upside Down.

But the group’s longtime dungeon master, played by Finn Wolfhard, ultimately revealed what he believes is a far happier ending for the girl he loves.

Now, the series’ creators are shedding light on what Eleven’s final moments were meant to convey.

So, did the teen truly survive – with help from her sister Kali, also known as 008 (Linnea Berthelsen) – and disappear to a quiet village marked by three cascading waterfalls?

“What we wanted to do was confront the reality of what her situation was after all of this and how could she live a normal life,” co-creator Matt Duffer told Netflix. “Mike is the optimist of the group and has chosen to believe in that story.”

In the final moments of the series finale, Mike tells Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo), Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink) and Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin) that the Eleven they saw at the Mac-Z portal wasn’t real at all – it was an illusion created by Kali, giving her sister the chance to escape the Army once and for all.

As a montage shows Eleven fleeing and eventually arriving at an unnamed village, the friends, through tears, declare together, “I believe.”

For co-creator Ross Duffer, however, Eleven’s ultimate fate is intentionally left unresolved. As he put it, “She lives on in their hearts, whether that’s real or not.”

The ambiguity makes sense given the circumstances, as the government was still actively searching for Eleven, hoping to resurrect the secret program that gave her abilities, leaving her no safe path back to Hawkins or her friends.

“For us and our writers, we didn’t want to take her powers away,” Ross added. “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.”

Ultimately, the Duffers felt that belief itself was the most meaningful resolution.

“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,” he continued.

“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.”

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