Is [SPOILER] Dead in Stranger Things? The Duffer Brothers Explain What Happened

The Duffer brothers came through on their promise not to make the ending of Stranger Things a Game of Thrones-style bloodbath, with almost all the characters making it out of the Upside Down alive. Almost.

In a pretty emotional moment, El sacrificed herself by stepping into the Upside Down right before a bomb detonated, leaving her friends behind in order to break the “cycle” of evil doctors using her to create more powerful children. However! Mike dropped a bombshell during a D&D game 18 months later, telling his friends that he believes Kali was casting an illusion spell inside the Upside Down, meaning everyone thought they saw El at the gate, but she was actually escaping through tunnels. Mike also speculated that El had found peace in a small town (with waterfalls).

Courtesy of Netflix

So, is El dead? The Duffer brothers spoke about the ambiguous ending to Netflix with Matt saying, “There are two roads that Eleven could take. There’s this darker, more pessimistic one or the optimistic, hopeful one. Mike is the optimist of the group and has chosen to believe in that story.”

Ross added, “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. 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.”

Matt also noted that “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.”

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