In a huge twist, Stranger Things season 5 ended with the fate of its lead character Eleven up in the air. However, despite what theory fans may have, series creators the Duffer brothers say they and star Millie Bobby Brown are the only ones who know what really happened to the super-abled hero.
Warning, the following article contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 5 episode 8, so make sure you are all caught up before reading on, and check out our Stranger Things season 5 finale review first.
After defeating Vecna and helping her friends get back to safety, Eleven decides that the only way to avoid the military or anyone else opening a gate to the Upside Down is to sacrifice herself. So, when the Hopper's explosive device blows up the Upside Down, Eleven steps inside the gate and is destroyed while her friends watch on (you can read more on that in our Stranger Things season 5 finale ending explained). However, later in the episode, Mike Wheeler tells the others that he believes that Eleven didn't really die, but she escaped while Kali projected an image of Eleven inside the gate.
While speaking to Josh Horowitz on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, the Duffer brothers made it clear that the point of leaving Eleven's fate open is so that viewers can choose for themselves what happened to her. However, when pressed for their own interpretation, Matt Duffer said, "This is ambiguous. I mean, you're writing from a point of view of understanding what the truth is and the reality is," adding, "Ross and I know and we were just talking to Millie about it, but I think it takes away the power of the ending if you tell people what you were thinking as you were writing it."
Brown is in the know, too, as Matt Duffer added, "she’s not going to tell you either… Millie swore herself to secrecy." In fact, Ross Duffer said that he warned Brown not to tell her close friend and Will Byers star Noah Schnapp either, which is no doubt because Schnapp has spilled secrets surrounding he show many times before. "I said, 'Don’t tell Noah,' and she said, 'Of course not.' She knows better," said Matt Duffer, "We all know and love Noah, but we do not trust him with secrets related to the show."
So, what is the truth? There is no doubt that we saw Eleven die in the series finale, but if Mike is right, and what we saw was actually Kali's projection, Eleven could be alive and well. However, there are some inconsistencies with this theory, as one fan points out on Twitter, "Eleven is dead. Kali was gone on that floor. How could she have made an illusion?" Others have highlighted that even if Kali was still alive at that point, she would've been killed by the bomb before it reached Eleven. It seems as though we may never get a straight answer.
The complete Stranger Things series is available to watch on Netflix now. For more, check out our guide to the best Netflix shows, and keep up with new TV shows.
