After four-and-a-half seasons of questions prompted by “Stranger Things,” in Volume 2 of the show’s fifth and final season, creators Matt and Ross Duffer offered answers aplenty, while also setting up the potentially tragic stakes of the series finale.

"I hope by the time people get to the end that it feels like there’s something inevitable about what happens," Matt Duffer tells The Hollywood Reporter in a conversation with brother Ross Duffer about the second part of the final season and how it sets up their endgame.

The Stranger Things series finale premieres on Netflix on New Year’s Eve at 8 p.m. ET. This story was originally published by Parade on Dec 30, 2025, where it first appeared in the TV section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

This interview contains spoilers for Stranger Things 5, Volume 2. As Stranger Things enters its final stretch, director and executive producer Shawn Levy remains one of the creative minds most closely associated with the show’s cinematic identity.

The Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) viewers meet in Stranger Things Season 5 doesn't feel like the same Dustin we've known since Season 1.

The newest episodes of 'Stranger Things' season 5 addressed Will's sexuality — but does his best friend Mike now know about Will's crush on him?

Stranger Things' Season 5 has been review bombed on Rotten Tomatoes, as Will's coming out became the lowest-rated episode on IMDb.

As Netflix's meghit series comes to an end, Sink is filled with all the emotions as she closes this chapter with her character Max. She's also ecstatic about what's next.