Joyce Byers may have been responsible for one of the Stranger Things season 5 finale's most dramatic moments when she finally took down Vecna for good, but Winona Ryder thought it best not to rehearse the scene. In fact, she thought it was important that they nailed it in just a few takes so that all of the emotion felt as real as possible.
"I love Jamie [Campbell Bower] so much," Ryder noted to Netflix's Tudum. “I remember when he was in that position and we were talking about bands, and he's the most lovely person. I came in that day just for that. You can't rehearse a scene like that. You just have to sort of save it for the take. I think I only did it twice."
After The Party and pals took down the Abyss-dwelling Mind Flayer in 'The Rightside Up', our Hawkins heroes gathered inside its body to help Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) take on Vecna. The telekinetic youngster used her powers to impale the vine-covered baddie before Joyce used her ax to deliver the final blow, as the group had flashbacks to all those they'd lost in the years-spanning battle.
"She is sort of the mother of this group, the protector," co-creator Ross Duffer previously explained of the brutal beheading to Variety. "Also, we never got to see her hit anything with that ax, so that felt like such a satisfying way to deliver the final blow to Vecna. But it was in editorial really, where, as we were working on it, that we had the initial flashbacks to her remembering back to Bob, and building up that anger. It felt right that it's just not just a 'fuck yeah' moment.
"It was also, in a way, a cathartic moment for our characters, who are purging all this trauma that's been caused here. It's not just a stand-up and cheer moment. It's remembering that this evil has caused them so much pain."
Stranger Things is streaming now, and you can read more about the last episode in our Stranger Things season 5 finale review or our Stranger Things season 5 finale ending explained. For more, check out our picks of the best shows on Netflix for some watchlist inspiration.
