EDITORS NOTE: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2. Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2 has officially arrived on Netflix after a month-long hiatus after Volume 1 dropped at the end of May. The penultimate season of the epic sci-fi series was filled with moments of triumph and defeat that spanned the entire planet and finally saw the reunion of all of our heroes back in Hawkins. The major conflict of Season 4 centers around Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and her narrative foil and special child predecessor Vecna/Henry/One (Jamie Campbell Bower).
It’s a classic case of an unstoppable force going up against an immovable object, with Vecna willing to do anything to destroy the world and Eleven willing to do whatever it takes to protect her friends. Volume 2 saw the revelation of Vecna’s ultimate plan — killing four victims, opening his four gates of the apocalypse, and unleashing the full horror of the Upside Down into Hawkins. Following Hopper and The Byers family returning to their hometown and reuniting with Eleven, our protagonists are drawn to a storm raining the rotted spores of the Upside Down upon the land.
In a recent interview with Collider’s own Steve Weintraub, Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer unpacked that final scene. Matt Duffer explained that that shot “came pretty early.” He continued saying, “We knew we wanted to end with spores falling in Hawkins. I don’t remember how early in the process, but pretty early in the process. And we wanted that.”
Heavily inspired by sci-fi and fantasy mainstays of their own childhoods and of the 1980s, Matt Duffer revealed which properties, in particular, the duo drew upon for the final shot in particular. He said:
“We were very much inspired by Empire Strikes Back, that ending where they’re looking out the window. We knew we wanted to end on the backs of our characters as they’re looking out towards this dark supernatural plume that was spitting out these spores all over their town as they’re facing this evil, that has not retreated but very much coming in an aggressive way into their town. We wanted to hand at the notion of war, and a supernatural war coming to Hawkins.”
Duffer also shared high praise for the show’s concept artist, whom they’ve been working with since Season 2. “Michael Mar…he drew it up. We just were really excited to shoot it and finally see it. We actually just saw it finally come together, the final VFX, a week and a half ago or something like that.” The previous three seasons of Stranger Things have ended with the heroes of Hawkins relatively safe and happy having defeated the final boss of the year before returning to their lives. But Season 4 differs from its predecessors in a number of ways. Ross Duffer explained that “the goal of this one” is very different from seasons past. For Season 4, the intention was “that sense of anticipation where you’ve set up what the stakes are, which is something we haven’t done for other seasons.”
Building off of his brother’s mention of drawing inspiration from the end of Star Wars Episode V: Empire Strikes Back. Ross Duffer elaborated saying:
“So we’ve set the stakes and it’s just, the feeling you always want to try to get is that Empire Strikes Back feeling of, “oh my God, I’m so excited to see what happens next.” Or Fellowship of the Ring as they’re just headed off towards Mordor. That’s the dream, that’s the hope. That’s the feeling you want.”
Ross Duffer continued explaining that we’re leaving our characters on a cliffhanger that they’re well aware of, “which [they] just haven’t been able to do before.” He continued by saying, “generally we really wrap up the storylines and then we go, oh, but there’s some horror lurking beneath the surface that the audience sees that our characters don’t necessarily see.” For the penultimate season, Eleven and the rest of her adventuring party are well aware of the dangers they’re facing. Duffer went on, “In this case, our characters truly see the horror.” Posing some big questions ahead of Season 5 he finished, saying “It’s like, what are they going to do? How are they going to deal with this? What is their journey going to look like?”
The writer’s room for Stranger Things Season 5 is set to get to work in early August, and Seasons 1-4 of the series are currently available on Netflix.
Read more about Stranger Things Season 4:
‘Stranger Things’ Creators Explain the Duality of Will’s Speech to Mike in Episode 8
‘Stranger Things’ Creators Explain Why [SPOILER] Had to Die
‘Stranger Things’: The Duffer Brothers Already Know How The Series Finale Ends
