The Stranger Things saga wrapped up on New Year’s Eve with an emotional ending, albeit one that left the fandom seeking answers to several loose threads. The Duffer Brothers’ series concluded with an epic showdown between the nerds and Vecna. With the antagonist scheming to unleash a greater evil beyond Hawkins, the protagonist group devised a grand plan to eliminate Vecna and destroy the Upside Down.
The villain perished in the finale, after which the Upside Down was blown to bits. However, the victory came at a costly price for the main protagonist and her friends. Hawkins was saved, but at the expense of the happy ending fans envisioned for the group after defeating Vecna. In all, it was a compelling but ambiguous ending that left several lingering threads for the viewers to resolve. Here are some of them.
Is El Dead Or Not?
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The series ended without specifying El’s (Millie Bobby Brown) fate. While leading the campaign to defeat Vecna, the protagonist realizes that the government will never give up the experiment if she’s alive. So she decides to sacrifice herself and perish with the Upside Down for the safety of Hawkins, her friends, and the kids that might be subjected to the abuse she suffered.
With the military and her friends watching her vaporize with the Upside Down, she effectively ends the government’s cycle of abusive experiments. But towards the finale’s ending, Mike (Finn Wolfhard) postulated after a D&D game that El didn’t die as everyone thought. According to his conjecture, which he describes as “a story he can never tell… the real story,” Kali (Linnea Berthelsen) and El devised a plan to protect the latter from the military, who are hell-bent on stealing her powers.
They tricked the military by making everyone believe El died. Kali used her powers to make El invisible, allowing her to escape through the tunnels after the military captured the group. Thereafter, Kali used her powers again to create an illusion of El dying in the Upside Down. Mike’s speculation concluded that El found peace in a faraway town, where she’s safe and free from the government. The group decided to hold on to this theory as the truth, leaving the audience to draw their own conclusions about the character’s fate.
What Happened To The Military And Their Operation?
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With the introduction of Linda Hamilton’s Dr. Kay in Season 5, the series solidified the military’s place as a vicious secondary villain. While exploring avenues to stop Vecna, the protagonist group also strove to evade the military’s resolve to capture El for their experiment. But after both parties witnessed El’s death, the series failed to explain what became of the military and their operation. Did they just pack up and leave Hawkins after Eleven died without any form of consequences for her friends?
How Did Robin And Vickie’s Story End?
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Through her relationship with Robin (Maya Hawke), Vickie (Amybeth McNulty) joined the campaign against the evil plaguing Hawkins. 18 months after the town was restored to normalcy, viewers get an update on the characters. However, the series failed to capture what happened to Robin and Vickie’s relationship, at least not in an explicit manner.
Viewers were left wondering what became of the couple, but Robin hinted they parted ways because Vickie was overbearing. When Robin reunited with Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), and Steve (Joe Keery), they agreed to always meet up, with Steve toasting to “nothing ever keeping us apart.” Robin chips in, “including overbearing significant others,” hinting at a possible breakup with Vickie.
What Happened To Dr. Owens?
Paul Reiser’s Dr. Owens survived an attack that claimed Dr Brenner’s life in Season 4. A member of the US Department of Energy, Owens replaced Brenner as the Director of Operations at the Hawkins Lab to rein in the evil force haunting the town. He had a profound understanding of this evil and was willing to help El and her friends’ campaign against the Upside Down.
He was last seen in Season 4’s “Papa” (Episode 8), when Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan (Sherman Augustus) attacked The Nina Project facility in Nevada. He seemingly survived the attack, but his fate remains unknown, and nothing was said of him in Season 5. Check out Gen V Season 2’s massive twist ending and what it means for The Boys Season 5.
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