8 Stranger Things plot holes – and what the Duffer Brothers have said about them

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things 5.

The Netflix hit Stranger Things ended with an explosive finale on New Year’s Eve/Day, and it’s clear fans of the beloved sci-fi horror series are still digging into the details contained within season five, not least when it comes to the major question of whether Eleven is alive after all…

Yet at the same time, viewers have also been uncovering plenty of plot holes and unanswered questions from the show – and there are many, with some getting an explanation from the Duffer Brothers themselves.

Let’s dive into it…

1. Where were the demogorgons, demodogs and demobats during Vecna’s final battle?

While Vecna and Eleven were fighting it out in the heart of the Mind Flayer, as the rest of the team were attacking it on the outside, viewers were wondering where on earth – or rather, The Abyss – were all the demogorgons and the other Upside Down creatures.

Speaking to The Wrap, Matt Duffer explained: “Mainly it’s just that Vecna was not expecting this sneak attack on his home turf. Never in a million years could he even imagine that. They’re there somewhere.

“We obviously discussed having a demo battle on top of the Mind Flayer battle, but it felt more right to us that why does he need the demos when the Mind Flayer is this giant thing and can attack them? He doesn’t need his little ant army to attack, he’s going to take care of this himself.

“It’s a giant, desolate planet. If you recall, you see Henry wandering the planet back in Season 4 and at some point in his journey, he does see a demo far in the distance, but it’s not like they’re hanging out in little huts. They’re not like a giant civilisation of demos up there.”

2. What happened to Suzie?

So much for the “Never Ending Story” singalong between Dustin and Suzie, as Stranger Things 5 ended with Dustin getting excited over Stacey inviting him to a party, despite it previously being established that Dustin and Suzie had a long-distance relationship.

Over on Instagram, Suzie’s actor Gabriella Pizzolo responded to one commenter and said: “In my mind, she will always be there for him!”

3. What about Murray, Dr Kay, Mr Clarke and Erica?

It’s not clear what happened to Brett Gelman’s character, or Linda Hamilton’s antagonist after the Upside Down was destroyed, but in an interview for Netflix, Matt Duffer said: “I do like that Murray and Mr. Clarke have bonded. But I think Murray’s doing his own weird stuff, and Mr. Clarke is likely still teaching.”

As for Erica, who was caught by the military in the church tower alongside Mr Clarke, Ross Duffer said: “Obviously, no one’s concerned about Erica. She can take care of herself. She’s gotta go through high school now, but she’s just so tough."

And Matt Duffer added: “She’s absolutely going to be valedictorian. That is for sure. What happens beyond that, I don’t know. She can go where she wants to go.”

Fans have also been left wondering why no one from the main team were arrested, given military soldiers were killed and they took down a helicopter.

4. Why was Eleven’s tank filled with water in the Upside Down when it’s established the dimension does not have water?

All the way back in the first season, when Nancy’s friend Barbara was taken into the Upside Down and killed by the demogorgon, she was pulled into a swimming pool which had no water, establishing the Upside Down as a place without H2O.

Which has fans wondering how water was available in the tank Eleven goes into to attack Vecna in the finale of Stranger Things 5…

5. Why did Will say Melvald’s sold milkshakes when it was a diner in Henry’s childhood, not his?

The West End and Broadway play The First Shadow shows Melvald’s as being a diner when Joyce and Hopper were growing up, while it’s a general store when Will is around, prompting viewers to question whether Will was possessed by Vecna during his coming out scene when he reminisces on getting milkshakes from Melvald’s.

6. What happened to Derek’s family?

When the team realise that Derek is being targeted by the demogorgon, Erica is tasked with drugging the Turnbow family with a pie, and when that’s successful, all of them are tied up in a barn, and we never see what happens to Derek’s mum, dad and sister.

7. What happened to the pregnant women in the Upside Down?

While in the laboratory in the Upside Down, Kali (also known as Eight) discovers that the military are pumping pregnant women with her blood in the hopes of producing another Henry or being with powers.

Given the team detonated a bomb in the Upside Down to destroy it, and sever the bridge between Hawkins and the Abyss, were all the pregnant women killed?

8. Why did Joyce and Hopper not recognise that Vecna was Henry Creel, who they went to high school with?

The First Shadow – along with one brief scene in the Netflix show in which Max is handed a flyer for a production of Oklahoma directed by Joyce while in Henry’s memories - reveals that a young Joyce Maldonado and Jim Hopper went to school with Henry Creel aka One aka Vecna.

So where was the realisation in the TV show, from the two characters, that they’re essentially taking on a former classmate?

In an interview with Variety, Ross Duffer said: “I’m sure there was [a realisation]. We had to walk a fine line with the play – we don’t want to frustrate, because so much of our audience is unable to see it.

“To have them start talking about it would have been confusing in the context of someone who hasn’t seen the play. But I’m sure they did have that conversation.”

Perhaps some answers will be given in the two spin-offs which are currently in the works, with Netflix already confirming the animated series Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 (set between Seasons 2 and 3) and the Duffer Brothers floating a live-action spin-off.

Why not read…?

• The biggest reactions to the Stranger Things finale episode
• What have the Stranger Things cast said about the final episode?

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