stranger things

The Very, Very Final Stranger Things Trailer Ever

We didn’t know if Netflix would be releasing one more trailer for Stranger Things, as there’s just one episode to go and they might not have wanted much of it spoiled. But it looks like we get one — and I get one more opportunity to write about one of my all-time favorite shows. I’m planning a retrospective essay for 2026, but this may be the last ST related news item we report on  unless Brett Gelman goes nuts and shoots up a mini-market.

As El’s adopted father and mentor rightfully puts it, being El sucks. He narrates over a montage of iconic scenes from the last ten years. “Life has been so unfair to you. Your childhood was taken from you. You’ve been attacked and manipulated by terrible people, and you never let it break you. Fight for the days on the other side of this. Fight for a world beyond Hawkins. Let’s end this, kid.” Yes, Hopper finally says “Let’s end this, kid,” something he was revealed to be saying in the very first trailer for Season 5.

In the previous episode Kali insisted there were no “days on the other side of this” and that El should just kill herself after the fight is over. But might there be an alternate solution, related to something she’s yet to realize about herself? Also, will it be El that delivers the final blow or will it be someone else? Someone whom we know has powers now and a personal connection to the monsters? Someone they seem to be avoiding active clips of for….mysterious reasons? Yeah, we know more than they think we do. If you don’t mind potentially massive spoilers, scroll below the video to read my prediction of what the final scene of the series will be.

It’s been a pleasure reporting on this show for you, and I wish I could do it for a while longer. I still love this show and I always will. Ignore the haters, trolls and mouthbreathers online who nitpick and whine and can’t enjoy anything. They’re not worth your attention. They’re upside down.

All episodes of Stranger Things from 2016 to 2025, including the two-hour finale, will be streamable on Netflix forever.

It was revealed in an interview that the true creator of the Upside Down was….El. Not Vecna, but her. She just spontaneously mentally barfed up a mirror version of her own hometown as a bridge to a demon realm.

The show itself hasn’t mentioned this yet. which means it’s one of those final-episode revelations, and it provides the loophole in Kali’s argument. Maybe El’s chances in this world are slim to none. But what if she could build her own? She doesn’t figure this out until the entire UD is collapsing and she’s alone in there and everyone assumes she’s dead.

There’s a time skip and it’s now 1989 and the main street is rebuilt, but everybody’s still sad that El and Will are dead (because Will is definitely going to die). Then in the last few minutes of the show, Mike notices some flickering lights and gets excited and starts running in their direction. He finds a new portal, not a fleshy gross one but a glowing pretty one. Stepping inside, he finds the world he described to her in the season opener, three waterfalls and all.

The others follow and they all decide to live there. And they call the place…The Rightside Up, revealing the true meaning of the episode’s title.

I really hope this is the ending because anything else would be too depressing.

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Avatar of Prompto
Prompto

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28 messages 0 likes

Wow, this article really has me thinking! If El really is the creator of the Upside Down, that changes everything. It makes sense now why she’s always been so connected to it, but I can’t believe it took this long for them to drop that bombshell. If she does build a new world, that would be such an interesting way to wrap up her story. I’m hoping for a happy ending here, because the thought of everyone thinking El and Will are dead and just staying miserable forever isn’t how I want this show to end. But that last scene with the flickering lights? I think it’s perfect. It gives hope, and that’s something Stranger Things hasn’t had in a while. I really hope they pull it off. Fingers crossed!

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11

New Member

34 messages 0 likes

I’m not so sure about this theory. El creating the Upside Down seems a bit far-fetched to me, honestly. I get that the show has done a lot of unexpected things, but this feels like a stretch. I mean, why would she create such a dark and evil place? Wouldn’t she have wanted to build something better? I get that they want to give her a chance to make things right, but I still think the ending will be way darker than people expect. If Will dies and Mike finds a new portal, I’d be kind of annoyed. Stranger Things has always been about things being messed up, so I’m not convinced they’ll just give us a nice clean ending.

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danielwills

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14 messages 0 likes

The more I read about this, the more I feel like the show is trying too hard to wrap things up nicely. Sure, it would be great if Mike finds the new portal and they all live happily ever after, but I don’t know. Stranger Things has always had this weird mix of dark and light moments. It’s been about them struggling and surviving, not really winning in the traditional sense. If El does create the Upside Down, I’d expect the whole thing to be a lot messier and tragic. It just feels like an easy out to give everyone a “perfect” ending. But I’m still excited for the finale. Let’s see how they do it.

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Avatar of Scoops_Ahoy
Scoops_Ahoy

Scoopin Ice Cream since Demogorgons invade Hawkins

179 messages 18 likes

I don’t get why people are so obsessed with happy endings. I mean, yeah, Stranger Things has had its emotional moments, but the world they’ve built is messed up. It would feel cheap if everything magically turned out okay. I think the show has always been about chaos and confusion, and trying to make everything perfect in the last episode would just mess with that vibe. The idea of El creating the Upside Down is a cool twist, but it’s hard for me to imagine her turning everything around by creating a new world. I’d honestly prefer a more tragic ending—something that feels earned, not just fan service.

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Drake

Well-Known Member

962 messages 35 likes

I don’t think this theory about El creating the Upside Down really fits the narrative of Stranger Things. If you think about it, she’s always been a victim of it, not its creator. It just feels like a weird twist, one that doesn’t really add up with what we know about her powers. If it’s true, though, I guess I could live with it. But I don’t want the show to end with them finding a new portal and living happily ever after. Stranger Things is supposed to be about the ugly side of life, so why wrap it up with a pretty bow? I just don’t think it’s going to happen that way.

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Vaccine Vaccine Vaccine

New Member

44 messages 1 like

I just watched the trailer, and it looks insane. The fact that this is the last episode of Stranger Things is so hard to process. The stakes are high, and I have so many questions. What’s the deal with the ticking clock? Is time travel actually going to be involved? And of course, Dustin’s scream? Ugh, I’m already not okay with that. Why does it feel like the show is gonna make us cry even more than usual? I’m holding out hope that they wrap things up in a satisfying way, but after all the craziness, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a rollercoaster of emotions. The trailer gave us just enough to keep us on edge. Can’t wait for the finale, even though I’m dreading it.

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Architect413

exuberant

42 messages 0 likes

I honestly feel like this trailer raised more questions than it answered. What was that clock ticking about? Is it going to be time travel or something even weirder? Vecna’s whole vibe is unsettling, and we already know this finale is going to wreck us emotionally. If Steve doesn’t make it through this, I’m going to lose it. I’m kind of nervous about what’s going to happen, but I trust the showrunners to at least give us some closure. The way they’re showing these flashbacks makes me think we’re going to get a full-circle moment, but who knows what’s coming. I really hope they don’t kill off any more main characters, though. The stakes are too high now. Fingers crossed!

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Gaddo

New Member

42 messages 1 like

Who else is freaked out by this trailer? I mean, seriously, we’ve seen some wild stuff in Stranger Things, but this final trailer takes the cake. I’m absolutely terrified for what’s to come. I’m especially worried about Steve. After all he’s been through, I don’t think I can handle another loss. I’m glad we’re getting one last look at all the characters, but man, I don’t know if I’m ready for the end. The way they showed flashbacks from earlier seasons was a nice touch, but it just makes me realize how far we’ve come and how much we’ve lost. I hope they end it in a way that feels earned, but with the way this trailer sets up the tension, I can’t shake the feeling that it’s going to break my heart.

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