Inside the Insane 'Stranger Things' Endgame

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The fifth and final season of Stranger Things is a major milestone. The '80s-inspired sci-fi series was the biggest TV show on the planet when it debuted on Netflix nearly a decade ago, combining suburban terror and childhood adventure into one of the streaming era's first great success stories. Now that the series is coming to an end, the show's child stars have become young adults looking out at an open road of opportunity for the first time in ten years.

Ahead of last week's season 5 premiere, Esquire talked to Joe Keery, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, and series creators Matt and Ross Duffer about how they're feeling about the end of Stranger Things. In each interview, you get the sense that this moment is just as frightening for them as it is thrilling. When you finally book a ticket out of Hawkins, what will you do next?

- Josh Rosenberg, editor, news & entertainment

The Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 1 Finale Is Pure Insanity

"I was looking for answers in somebody else, but I had all the answers. I just needed to stop being so goddamn scared."

That's Maya Hawke's Robin talking, but the phrase is repeating in the head of Will Byers in the climax of episode four of Stranger Things. Curiously, it runs counter to what so much of this show has been about for five seasons. The recurring themes throughout are friendship, teamwork and family, both those that are found and those you are born with. And yet, what good are you as a part of any of those groups if you don't stand on your own two feet?

We see Noah Schnapp do a lot more than that in the final moments of this first batch of episodes, saving his beloved friends from certain death at the very last possible second. For a moment, it looked like Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) was a goner in particular. But a few broken monster bones later, and he lives to fight another day.

Noah Schnapp Breaks Down Will Byers's Cliff-Hanger

Will Byers has been through a lot. His disappearance was the inciting incident that kicked off Stranger Things in its very first episode a decade ago. He has also been possessed by a supernatural mind-demon, and evolved into a human Geiger counter who can detect entities crossing over into our dimension from the Upside Down.

Meanwhile, Will has faced other more normal teen crises, like growing apart from friends he loves, and dealing with the pressures of being gay in a less-than-tolerant era.

Over the years, actor Noah Schnapp has grown up alongside his fictional alter-ego. Now 21 years old, Schnapp even credits Will for inspiring on his own journey to come out to friends and family. Now that season 5 has dropped its first four episodes, Stranger Things fans are seeing an entirely new dimension to Will Byers: he has powers. Like, Eleven-level telekinetic ass-kicking powers.

Those abilities haven't been fully explained yet, but Schnapp spoke with us about their implications—as well as Will's many other changes as the show nears its conclusion.

Joe Keery Was Never Supposed to Be Here

Do you remember the deadbeat Byers father from the first season of Stranger Things? Of course you don't. Played by the veteran actor Ross Partridge, his name was Lonnie—which, again, no reason why you'd remember that either. The character was a clichéd bad dad—sleazy white tank top, messy hair, soulless loser—and the ex-husband to Winona Ryder's Joyce Byers. She kicks him out of the house after just four episodes.

Get this: At the end of season 1, Lonnie was supposed to miraculously return, fight the villainous demogorgon, protect all the kiddos, and save the day. But he didn't. While filming season 1, series creators Matt and Ross Duffer slowly fell in love with a different character: the too-cool-for-school bully Steve Harrington, who was supposed to die early in the season. He was played by a little-known performer from Chicago: Joe Keery, who had just quit his gig as a waiter to pursue acting full-time. The Duffers liked Keery's performance so much that they rewrote the ending so Steve survives. In the finale, he grabs a baseball bat and smashes the monster like his last name was DiMaggio. He even gets the girl. The rest is history.

If you ask Keery, who was then just 24 years old, about the career-changing rewrite, he still seems in awe that Steve isn't some long-forgotten bloody mess in the Upside Down. "I just met the character that they were looking for at the right time in my life," Keery tells me. "The brothers are really good at having an open mind about these characters. Even though people love them for who they are, they're not afraid to change."

What Does Gaten Matarazzo's Life Look Like After Stranger Things?

For Gaten Matarazzo, the stakes of the final Stranger Things season are much less about whatever fate befalls his character, the good-hearted, fast-talking Dustin. Even he knows that Stranger Things needed to end. I suggest that not even the most devoted Stranger Things head wants to see a thirty-year-old Dustin. "I don't think anybody wants to see a twenty-year-old Dustin," he says. (For what it's worth: Fans place Dustin and his crew around their sweet sixteen.)

During the long and complicated run of Stranger Things—which spanned three different presidents, a pandemic, and lengthy Hollywood strikes—Matarazzo starred in films (including 2022's underrated Honors Society), performed on Broadway (a stellar run in the 2023 Sweeney Todd revival), and completed voice work for several animated projects (including Andy Serkis's recent Animal Farm adaptation). But none, understandably, reached the stratospheric level of Stranger Things. Which means that next year—for the first time since Matarazzo sealed his fate in Atlanta—he has a blank canvas. "I view it as like the second chapter of my life," he says.

As Matarazzo stares down that second chapter, those who have worked with him, from Broadway to the Upside Down, have an idea of what it might look like. "He's the most untapped young character actor in the business," says Matarazzo's costar and former roommate Finn Wolfhard. "He severely needs a filmmaker to come along and agree."

So how does Gaten Matarazzo begin the rest of his life?

Need some questions answered about what happened in Stranger Things season 5 so far? Want to know when the next batch of episodes will drop? Check out the rest of Esquire's Stranger Things season 5 coverage here.

Mailbag!

As we gear up for the end of the year (already?!), Esquire's entertainment section is preparing to narrow down our favorite TV shows of 2025 to a final Top 10. Is there a TV series that you want to see make the list? Let me know why you loved it so much by writing me a note at josh.rosenberg@hearst.com.

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The Cliff-Hanger's Winners and Losers of the Week (Stranger Things Edition!)

Winner: Anyone Who Saw Stranger Things: First Shadow on Broadway

Surprisingly, Henry Creel's backstory from the Stranger Things stage play is borderline required viewing if you really want to understand season 5 so far. Something tells me the Netflix series will incorporate more elements from his past in the rest of the season, but you can learn everything you need to know about First Shadow by reading up on it here.

Loser: Hawkins, Indiana's Education System

What are the children learning at these schools? Nine-year-olds in Hawkins are so gullible that they all completely trust a creepy adult who calls himself Mr. Whatsit. Spoiler alert: He's bad news!

Winner: Caves

Henry Creel, a.k.a. Vecna, has a major weakness: Caves! The villain shudders like a deer in highlights when Max runs into a specific Nevada crevasse from his memory palace. If she can turn her prison into a weapon, it's game over.

Loser: Cassette Tapes

If it wasn't for Lucas needing to rewind his cassette tape of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill," Max would have had plenty of time to escape Vecna's memories. Curse you, '80s technology!

Winner: Derek Turnbow

Dips**t Derek? More like Delightful Derek. The latest snot-nosed dweeb to join the cast of Stranger Things is behind all the funniest moments of season 5 so far. Sign me up for one of his guided meditation classes!