Burning Questions We Still Have After 'Stranger Things' Season 5

Picture Credit: Netflix

Stranger Things returned for one last time, and for the most part, it covered over some of the gaping holes left by volume 2 and provided a wholesome ending. For the most part, most major plotlines have been resolved, but we’ve still got quite a few burning (and unanswered) questions.

Naturally, it should go without saying that this piece will be absolutely full of spoilers. If you haven’t watched season 5’s finale yet – turn away!

Many of these unanswered questions could be indicative of what’s to come in a potential spin-off, which has been widely talked about, albeit in the vaguest terms possible, in the run-up to season 5. We understand it is just in active development, not in pre-production or even greenlit yet.

Where is El? Is she still alive?

The biggest burning question is the one the series ends with: what happened to El? The ending is rather ambiguous, as you know, with Mike telling her a story of a potential getaway rather than treating it as fact. Mike rewinded back to Kali’s demise and added some additional dialogue that suggested Eleven could still have a life and rather than getting swept away with the collapse of the wormhole, El is assisted and makes her escape and finds herself in Iceland (at least, that’s where it was fiilmed and a part that was this year, long after the wrap of the series – suggesting a last minute additon perhaps?) or some other Nordic region? Perhaps Norway or the like?

Stranger Things Season 5 Complete Soundtrack: Every Song Featured

Naturally, all of this is Mike’s retelling of what may have happened, and, from what we can tell, his only evidence was Eleven’s twitching fingers while in the portal, a sign that it was Kali’s doing.

In an exclusive interview between the Duffer Brothers and Netflix, they go some way to explaining this ending.

The Duffer Brothers intended to confront the harsh reality of Eleven’s situation, moving beyond a “fantasy version” of a happy ending to acknowledge that a normal life in Hawkins was likely impossible for her. Matt Duffer explains that while characters like Mike cling to an optimistic narrative, the logistical truth is that Eleven could not simply “hang out” with the gang without their world falling apart. Consequently, the creators decided that for the story of the Upside Down to truly close and for Eleven to remain safe, she had to be separated from the group. There was never a version of the script where she stayed; her departure was a narrative necessity to protect both her and the people she loves.

Ross Duffer notes that Eleven symbolizes the “magic of childhood,” and her leaving marks the closure of that innocent phase of the characters’ lives. Rather than stripping away her powers or providing a concrete resolution, the Duffers sought a poignant ambiguity. They felt it was beautiful for the characters to move on by choosing to believe in a hopeful future for Eleven, even without proof. This shared belief allows the group to find emotional closure, preserving the “magic” of their journey while accepting that they must move forward.

Matt concluded in his answers, “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.”

Maybe Finn’s theory, which he said three years ago now, was correct – we’ll see them all back in 20 years!? We should also note that, for years, there’s been a rumor circulating that there would be an Eleven spin-off. While that’s been dismissed, could we be looking at a Dexter-type spin-off? It wouldn’t be impossible for another portal and a new wormhole to be created. The Russians came close, but they didn’t have the technology in season 3, so they went to Hawkins instead.

Why is Hop going to Montauk?

Stranger Things borrows from many sources, including real-world conspiracy theories, which may be why our ears pricked up when Hop mentioned his potential new job with Joyce just before he proposed.

As many have already pointed out, the Montauk Project is a widely known conspiracy theory that partly inspired Stranger Things and, at one point, served as the show’s working title. For those unfamiliar, the theory alleges the US government developed psychological warfare techniques and exotic research, including time travel.

Is the reference simply a throwback to that name or something else?

Other Smaller Burning Questions After Stranger Things Season 5

Dr. Kay’s Backstory – We know Dr. Kay’s motivations for wanting to create more super children, and that she’s the reason El had to vanish, but there are still so many questions we have about her past. Throughout the run-up to season 5, we got several spoilers that she was actually related to Dr. Brenner (the brother, we were told), but her backstory mainly felt unfinished.
The military just upped and left? Continuing from the last one, we know that everyone got their happy endings, but the bridge between the events of that finale and the epilogue has a few lingering questions. Most of the party and the adults killed quite a lot of soldiers. Was it all just forgiven?
Who unlocked the door in season 1 episode 1? One answer we were promised by the Duffer Brothers in interviews throughout season 5 is who unlocked the door in that first episode and let the Demogorgon inside. The pair has already ruled out being Vecna/Henry in person, so it’s now believed he did it telekinetically, but it hasn’t been explicitly confirmed.
Why did Vecna pick Will? The end of volume 2 suggests that Vecna only picked Will because he was different from the others and therefore weaker.
What was in Max’s letters? Cast your mind back to season 4, and we know Max wrote each of the parties a personalized letter, knowing that she could soon meet her demise. Did she get to say everything she wanted to?
Relationships – specifically Dustin and Robin – Given that the actress for Suzie was at the Los Angeles premiere, we’d have thought she’d make an appearance, but her relationship with Dustin is ignored entirely. Whether Robin and Vicki are together by the end is also up in the air. Robin kind of hints that they’re not.

Why did the dial change color in WSQK? – One viral video pointed out that the handle and dial at the Squawk radio station had changed color (from grey to red), similar to how the roundabout in Holly’s vision had changed from yellow to grey. Was this just a props mistake?
What was Will talking about with the woods and milkshakes? – Similarly, when Will was coming out, he mentioned two things that didn’t add up. He said that he loved the milkshakes from Melvalds, a general store that doesn’t seem to sell milkshakes, and said he enjoyed going for walks in the woods, which is strange given that’s exactly what he was doing when he was kidnapped in S1.
What was that thing in the suitcase? We now know that Henry was infected with some kind of rock that connected it to the Mindflayer, and the government employee was clearly on the run to either destroy or hide it from getting into the wrong place. Where did it come from? Was it always connected to the Mindflayer?
Why do Hopper and Joyce never acknowledge that they went to school with Henry? This is an odd one. In the play, they interact with Henry on several occasions, so it is a little strange that they never really acknowledge that they went to the same school.
Birthdays – Henry and Will share the same Birthdays, which was hinted at as being important, but never went anywhere.
Why didn’t Will suffer or feel the Mindflayer’s demise? Throughout the past few seasons, Will has been incredibly connected to the hive mind, feeling what they feel, but in the finale, when the Mindflayer was being pwned, he didn’t seem bothered. Our explanation for this is that he’d mastered the ability to tap in and out of the hivemind, so he would be able to choose to feel it. That’d also be why he didn’t die when it and Vecna did. That said, it would’ve been nice to see some visuals of the mindflayer now leaving Will alone.
Why did Vecna need 12? Did they also have the ability to control Vecna? It’s still unclear why Vecna needed specifically 12 kids. We know he needed them to move the worlds together, but why 12 specifically? Also, would those kids have had the connection to Vecna had they left? I was expecting some lame sequence at the end akin to Thor: Love and Thunder, but thankfully, that didn’t come to pass.