Stranger Things Season 5, Vol. 2 arrived on Netflix yesterday evening, and confirmed that the Upside Down is really a wormhole that connects the real world to Veca's Abyss. If exploded, it will collapse, giving the show's heroes one last dangerous mission heading into the feature-length finale on December 31.
Meanwhile, Eleven saves her "sister," Kali, and Max finally wakes up in the real world, leaving young Holly a roadmap to plot her own escape from Vecna's world.
Perhaps the biggest moment in these three latest episodes is when Will comes out as gay to his friends and family. Following his emotional confession, the teenager decides to return to the Upside Down with Eleven, so that they can collapse the wormhole and put an end to Vecna's dastardly plans.
Talking to The Hollywood Reporter (via SFFGazette.com), creators and showrunners Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer discussed Will's big moment in "The Bridge."
"I just know it took forever," Matt said of writing the scene. "Originally, it was just going to be him coming out to his mom, and then we felt it needed to be more than that and that it needed to involve his friends. We worked on that for a while with just Joyce [Winona Ryder], and it just never felt right. So, once we involved the friends, it started to click a little bit more into place."
"I don’t recall exactly how long it took. I just remember it taking quite a long time, and then being nervous when we showed it to Noah. Because so much of it is close to what he’s been through, but, also he knows Will so well," he continued. "So it had to be truthful for him on two fronts. And so the fact that it resonated with him was great, and then we felt so much relief, and the pressure kind of went onto Noah."
As for how they're keeping the finale's biggest secrets under wraps, Matt said, "Well, we didn’t shoot multiple endings. I don’t know how anyone has the time to do something like that just to trick people. But we had a really good security team, and they did their best to keep the paparazzi away. The finale script was printed on red paper, but just the finale, because it’s annoying to get red scripts."
While the stage has been set for some potential casualties in the last stand against Vecna, Matt doesn't want fans to worry too much about characters like Hopper and Steve. However, he's also not discounting some emotional farewells as this story finally reaches its end.
"It’s not Game of Thrones. We’re not in Westeros. I love Game of Thrones, but it’s just a very different type of show than that. There’s not going to be a Red Wedding situation," the writer confirmed. "I think some things happen in the finale that are very surprising, but we’re not trying to shock or upset anyone."
"I hope by the time people get to the end of the finale that it just feels like there’s something inevitable about what happens, and that it doesn’t feel painful but feels satisfying. We’ll see. But as for Steve’s fate. I don’t know. I can’t say. It would be the next logical step. He keeps getting beaten up more and more. The only way we could take it further is death," Matt added with a laugh.
Elsewhere in the interview, the duo discussed their imminent plans to leave Netflix for Paramount, but reaffirmed that they'll remain attached to the Stranger Things franchise. A live-action spin-off is in the early stages of development, set in "a different decade [with] different characters."
Ross explained, "It’s an idea we’ve had for years and something we’re just really excited and passionate about. We won’t be showrunning that show, but we’ll be heavily involved. So, as the new year comes around, we’re going to start spending more time on that. Hopefully it’s something announced soon-ish."
What did you think about the latest batch of Stranger Things episodes? Are you excited to see how things play out in the finale? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.