Stranger Things Season 5 Alternate Finale Plans Reveal A Far Less Polarizing Ending

The minds behind Netflix's sci-fi coming-of-age drama "Stranger Things" had a daunting task to pull off with its final episode — giving big bad Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) a fitting send-off while bringing several other character arcs and plot threads to satisfying conclusions. The "Stranger Things" finale was never going to please every fan and the response to the conclusion has been divisive — even if it's certainly no "Game of Thrones"-level disaster.

At the end of the "Stranger Things" finale, "The Rightside Up," Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) appears to die as she's inside the Upside Down when it's destroyed. However, Mike (Finn Wolfhard) theorizes that Eleven faked her death and lives on in hiding — her true fate is left ambiguous. This wasn't necessarily always the plan, though, as is subtly revealed by the documentary "One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5."

Eagle-eyed fans have noticed the documentary suggests that, at one point, there was some discussion of making Eleven's survival explicit. One such fan posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, shared a screenshot of a whiteboard from the documentary showing what looks like an early plot outline for the finale.

One point on the whiteboard states "Hopper tends to Kali, heart to heart — a new plan." The X user who shared the screenshot took this as confirmation that Kali would help fake Eleven's death and Hopper would be in on the plan from the start. The X post indicates this "explains [Hopper's] acting on the bench" towards the end of the finale.

Another note on the whiteboard reads "El + Hopper Lost in Translation moment," an apparent reference to the 2003 film starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. The exact meaning of this is unclear, but the film features two characters parting ways after a meaningful connection with a silent embrace and unheard whisper.

This early outline as seen in the doc also notes Eleven would say "goodbye to everyone in [a] happy memory," suggesting, in a different version of the finale, the moment of telepathic connection Eleven shares with Mike could have included the rest of the main cast.

Netflix has been contacted for comment on the earlier version of the "Stranger Things" ending.