Duffer Brothers announce a major difference in Stranger Things finale and rest of Season 5 Episodes

A decade-long journey is finally inching towards its end with the Stranger Things finale due to arrive just as this year draws to a close. The Duffer brothers have made it clear that the series finale of the Netflix blockbuster is set to find its emotional end in the over-two-hour-long episode. In a recent conversation with Entertainment Weekly, they've also revealed that the series finale of the show will be very different from the rest of the episodes in Season 5 in a major way that'll add to the ending.

Keep reading to find out how the Stranger Things series finale, one of the most anticipated releases of the year, is set to be different from the final series, per the series creators.

Stranger Things creators reveal that the season finale will be more character-centric than any other episode

When talking about the series finale before Volume 1 of Stranger Things Season 5 was released, the Duffer brothers had explained that the eight episodes were akin to eight blockbuster movies, and each episode hits the ground running in terms of the action and the dangers that Hawkins faced. While that has certainly been the case this season in the episodes that have been released so far, the seventh episode, titled The Bridge, was somewhat different.

'Chapter Seven: The Bridge' found the entire Hawkins gang coming together once again to understand the science behind what has actually been happening in the Upside Down, where Holly and the kids are, and to formulate a plan to defeat Vecna and the Upside Down once and for all. However, compared to the episodes prior, this episode was more character-focused than most, as it featured Will's coming-out speech to his friends and family, as well as Max finally waking up.

The seventh episode also found the plan formulated, which was going to be put into action in the series finale. The Duffer brothers explained that earlier Stranger Things had a somewhat formulaic approach they'd been following, where the season finale involved plan formulation, which was then put into action.

However, they wanted to set the series finale of Stranger Things as a running continuation of the seventh episode:

"What we really wanted to make sure we did this year with the penultimate episode was get the plan in motion so that episode 8 can start at a sprint as opposed to generally with our finales where they're building the plans and it's climaxing."

He added:

"This way, by just starting at a sprint, one, it's fun, but also it gave us more time on the backend to spend with these characters and wrap this up properly because we didn't wanna feel rushed at the end. We wanted to be able to take the time that we felt that these characters deserved."

This approach is allowing the Duffer brothers more time to wrap up the action and the emotional goodbyes, which will ensue at the end of Stranger Things:

"It's Stranger Things. We gotta go out in a big way. It's very large in scale, but I think it's more character-focused than any of the other episodes in the season. With the 2-hour runtime, you're able to do both."

If fans weren't excited enough for the series finale, this ought to do it!

Stranger Things Season 5 Episode 8 premieres on Netflix (and in select theaters) on December 31, 2025.

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