The ‘Stranger Things’ Brothers on Resolving Character Arcs

The penultimate batch of Stranger Things episodes dropped over Christmas, and a lot went down in that trio. Along with big revelations about the Upside Down, audiences also got to see the characters reach some closure before the series finale.

Specifically, Jonathan and Nancy broke up and Will came out as gay to the core cast. In a big spoiler-heavy interview with Variety, creators Matt and Ross Duffer said they wanted to ensure everyone “really resolved those tensions or conflicts” ahead of the big fight with Vecna. “If the party’s actually going to be able to defeat this great evil, they have to be all working at the best of their ability,” said Ross Duffer. “Whether those conflicts are external with others, or internal with themselves, they all have to be on the same page.”

For Will’s scene, Matt Duffer called it the longest scene the pair worked on of the entire season. After cutting the scene in season four because there wasn’t space for it, they were “so concerned” about nailing it and ensuring it was “resonating and truthful” for Will’s actor Noah Schnapp. Duffer said he was brought to tears after reading it, and it came time to shoot, he “seemed to access something incredibly truthful. It didn’t feel like Noah was acting. I think he completely lost himself in that scene, and that take is what wound up in the show.”

As for Nancy and Jon, one of the longer relationship threads across Stranger Things, Matt said that was also something they’d wanted to wrap up for a while. To the Duffers, the two “needed” to break up and be their own people. “They do love each other very much,” he noted, “but at the same time, there’s a very real conflict in the sense that they have gone through something very unique and challenging. Can they ever form a connection with someone that is as meaningful as this? But also, how do you grow as a person on your own? You need that independence.”

The only character thread left hanging is Eleven’s and whether she can live without putting the world in danger. And the answer to that question will come in the final episode of Stranger Things, hitting Netflix on New Years Eve.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.