Steve in a suit smiling at Nancy in Stranger Things season 5 episode 8
Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for the Stranger Things series finale!The Duffer Brothers have revealed why Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan's fates in the Stranger Things finale were"organic." The final episode of Stranger Things gave the trio definitive endings: Steve became a little league coach and sex ed teacher, Jonathan became a film student, and Nancy works as a journalist, all in different parts of the country.
Speaking with Netflix about the final episode, the Duffer Brothers explained how Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan's endings in Stranger Things made sense for their characters. The pair always knew Steve would be staying in Hawkins, while Nancy's journalistic work in Boston emphasizes her independence. As for Jonathan, his NYU film was somewhat inspired by their own film school experiences: Matt Duffer: It just felt very organic to us. It always made sense to us that Steve would choose to stay in Hawkins. He just feels like that kid that you grew up with that ends up staying in their hometown and that he would be working with kids. That’s something we’ve discovered he’s very good at. We like the idea that he would be teaching and coaching. He doesn’t have kids of his own, but as we have implied, that’s imminent, I think. Ross Duffer: And then for Nancy, we never want her to take the obvious path. Even in Season 1 when she’s going down the trajectory that all these suburban girls go down, Nancy obviously has proven to be much more independent than that, which is one reason she and Jonathan aren’t together at the end. She’s still trying to find herself and what she wants from the world, so that’s why we wanted to give her that ending. For Robin, Smith College was Maya’s suggestion. And then Jonathan at NYU, we set up that he’s been wanting to go to NYU for a very long time. That’s all the way back to Season 1. So it made us happy to see him finally realize his dream. Matt Duffer: The teens had called us the day before we were gonna shoot that scene. I think Charlie, in particular, wanted some more specifics about what he was doing at NYU, so we all worked together to cook up this movie idea. Even on that day, we kept elaborating on what this movie is. The movie we made at film school in college was not an anti-capitalist movie, but it was a cannibal movie about a shape-shifting cannibal, so that was the idea behind that. While the trio, who've been around since season 1, are off on their own adventures, they've still kept in touch with each other. This includes Robin, who had a guest stint at WSQK,"The Squawk," earlier in the epilogue. The trio end up making a plan to meet at Robin's uncle's house in Kentucky once a month to catch up with one another. As for each of the characters' fates in Stranger Things, the Duffers emphasize how everyone's wrapped-up storyline makes sense. For Steve, it seemed clear he would always stay in Hawkins, considering how much he can connect with kids. This is especially apparent in his friendship with Dustin, who was the catalyst for his fate. Nancy, however, is more surprising. Ever since season 4, she's wanted to go to Emerson College and hone her skills as a journalist. However, now that she has a job at an organization, she appears to be more content than when she was in school. This highlights her independence following her breakup with Jonathan, taking the future into her own hands. As for Jonathan, his anti-capitalist filmmaking seems to align with some of what the Duffer Brothers experienced while in film school themselves. The episode even has a tongue-in-cheek reference to their cannibal film, where someone asks Jonathan if that's what he's making his movie about. His fate seems to be the one closest to the creators' real-world time in school. Subscribe to our newsletter for Stranger Things insights Hungry for more on Stranger Things endings, character arcs, and creators' decisions? Subscribe to the newsletter for in-depth scene analysis, creator commentary, and character fate breakdowns — plus coverage of related pop-culture conversations. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. With the fates the trio have, Stranger Things properly built them to where they are throughout their series-long stories. While they each end up independent, they still have a core, unbreakable connection to one another that will stay despite so many departures from Hawkins. It gives them all happy endings as their lives continue in various ways. 590 9.1/10 8/10 Stranger Things 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Drama Mystery Horror Science Fiction Release Date 2016 - 2025-00-00 Network Netflix Showrunner Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer Directors Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Andrew Stanton, Frank Darabont, Nimród Antal, Uta Briesewitz Writers Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock 7 Images Close Cast See All
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Stranger Things Series Finale Spoiler Review: The Duffer Brothers Miss The Mark By Playing It Too SafeEleven sacrifice during the Stranger Things series finale
Read more »
Stranger Things Finale Divides Fans, Draws Game of Thrones ComparisonsThe Party in the Upside Down in Stranger Things series finale
Read more »
'Over And Out': Millie Bobby Brown & Stranger Things Cast Bid Farewell To Netflix's Hit Show After Series Finale ReleaseEleven alive in Stranger Things series finale
Read more »
Stranger Things' Final D&D Game: Duffer Brothers Explain Deep MeaningMike, Lucas, Max, Will and Dustin in the Stranger Things epilogue
Read more »
![The Duffer Brothers Reveal If This Is the Last Time We'll See the 'Stranger Things' Cast in Live-Action [Exclusive]](https://i.headtopics.com/images/2026/1/2/collider/the-duffer-brothers-reveal-if-this-is-the-last-tim-the-duffer-brothers-reveal-if-this-is-the-last-tim-458B00440844D0E512DEB4FF9EECC9A2.webp?w=640)
The Duffer Brothers Reveal If This Is the Last Time We'll See the 'Stranger Things' Cast in Live-Action [Exclusive]Maya Hawke as Robin, Joe Keery as Steve, Natalia Dyer as Nancy, and Charlie Heaton as Jonathan on 'Stranger Things.'
Read more »
10 Things That Still Don't Make Sense After That ‘Stranger Things’ FinaleFinn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler in the series finale of 'Stranger Things'
Read more »