Stranger Things Season 5: What’s next for Hopper? David Harbour spills hints

Stranger Things is one of the most talked-about shows in recent times. In the last ten years, few shows have captured audiences like this one has. The show's plot is set in the sleepy town of Hawkins, Indiana, and it throws us right into the 1980s with a bunch of smart, nerdy, brave, and sometimes reckless kids.

Apart from the terrifying Vecna and the peppy synth music, the characters are what make this Netflix show absolutely brilliant and a must-watch. There are Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Steve, Will (Noah Schnapp), and so many more characters you will totally love. It is a coming-of-age story about friendships, first loves, family, and, of course, saving the world repeatedly.

Now, amidst all the bike rides and nosebleeds and walkie-talkie codewords, one character’s always stood out, and that is Jim Hopper. He is the sheriff who becomes a father figure to Eleven. He means only business and has a heart of gold.

Let us know from the actor himself, David Harbour, about Stranger Things Season 5.

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Stranger Things Season 5: David Harbour teases Hopper's ending

At FanX Tampa Bay Comic Convention in Florida, David Harbour sat down with Collider and gave fans a sneak peek at what is coming in the final chapter of Stranger Things on Netflix.

Talking about the release schedule, Harbour joked about Netflix’s timing:

"Stranger Things Season 5, the final season of this beloved show that we all love so much. It will be ending. If you don't know, this is just like technical data - 4 episodes Thanksgiving, 3 episodes Christmas, and then they'll make you wait till they're gonna ruin your New Year's Eve for the finale. Hopefully they'll release it at like 6 p.m. or something and then you can go out afterwards."

Beyond the laughs, he got real about just how massive this season is going to be:

"It took a year to make for 8 episodes, which is a very long time to shoot a television show. It's extremely cinematic. It's extremely big. I think if you watch the show and if you're a fan of the show, you've seen each season get progressively bigger, Season 4 being the biggest. Season 5 is like 5 times the size of Season 4. The scope and the scale of the production was immense. It almost killed all of us, shooting it. But, we're still around."

Considering Stranger Things Season 4 was already an emotional rollercoaster, we are honestly terrified and thrilled.

Jim Hopper is gruff and guarded when we first meet him; haunted by his daughter's death. That incident tore him apart, and he has been stumbling through life ever since. Sarcasm and cigarettes seem to numb the pain, if they do at all. He is a deeply wounded man trying to rebuild his life after unimaginable loss.

In the interview, Harbour made sure to emphasize that beyond all that action, there’s real emotional depth too:

"Fundamentally, I also think what the Duffers were trying to do was to wrap up a lot of what we call the OG storylines. The cast got kind of sprawling, and then people that really watched the show from the beginning - there were a lot of character arcs that we wanted to complete and make sure there was a very satisfying payoff for."

Hopper is such a compelling character because of his slow and steady evolution. He goes from a man who’s emotionally shut down and cynical to someone who has willing to risk everything to protect the people he loves, especially Eleven.

Hopper’s journey proves that you can be broken but still choose to show up and help those in need in whatever capacity you can. And that's exactly what makes him a hero.

Hopper and Joyce's relationship has been simmering since Season 1. And honestly, it’s one of the most compelling relationships in Stranger Things. These two go way back. They were high school sweethearts who took separate, messy paths through life, only to crash back into each other when everything around them started falling apart.

They have both known pain, grief, and loss, and somehow, that makes them click in a way that words can't capture. They fight like exes, team up like partners, and care like soulmates. It's messy, imperfect, and real. That’s why we root for them. Stranger Things Season 5 will, hopefully, show us what happens between them at the end.

In the interview with Collider, Harbour also discusses how this season is going to be the final one, so a lot of storylines need to be concluded. This is an emotional moment. Not just for the cast and crew, or anyone involved with Stranger Things, but also for the viewers. He stated that:

"Definitely, this season will take you on a ride of all kinds of dimensions and will put people in the places where they need to be and it felt satisfying because there were things throughout the show, even in Season 1 that I sort of knew couldn't exist and can't exist and like it feels right this season, but it also is very moving."

He continued:

"So, I don't wanna say either way whether it's Hopper wins or loses or this person, you know, this or that. I'll just say that you'll go on a ride, and I do think you'll feel satisfied with the endings of all these different characters."

Harbour concluded:

"I do think that these guys, you know, there are other shows out there where you don't feel that satisfaction, or you feel let down. I don't think you will feel that with this. I feel like you will you will have satisfaction that these characters are who they said they were in the beginning, and they deliver."

David Harbour’s words suggest that, however Stranger Things ends, it is going to feel right.

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