'I Always Defend the Return of the King Epilogue' — Stranger Things Season 5 Finale's Lengthy Ending Inspired by The Lord of the Rings, Creators Say

The Stranger Things Season 5 finale epilogue and its extremity credits were inspired by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, creators the Duffer brothers person revealed.

Warning! Spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5 Episode 8, The Rightside Up, follow:

Stranger Things ends with Season 5 Episode 8, dubbed The Rightside Up, and an epilogue acceptable 18 months aft the events that showed the demolition of the Upside Down, the decease of Vecna, the evident decease of Eleven, and the rescue of the kidnapped children.

We spot comparatively blessed endings for beauteous overmuch each the main characters arsenic they determination connected with their lives, kicking disconnected with the halfway characters’ graduation from Hawkins High School. The amusement comes to a adjacent with the extremity of the Dungeon and Dragons run that kicked disconnected the Netflix bid 9 years ago, and the passing of the torch to a caller procreation of D&D fans made up of Holly Wheeler, Derek Turnbow, and more.

A decent chunk of the last episode’s 2-hour 8-minute runtime is devoted to this epilogue, which adjacent finds country for a palmy matrimony connection from David Harbour’s Jim Hopper to Winona Ryder’s Joyce Byers. Fans are past treated to extremity credits that amusement celebrated scenes arsenic D&D illustrations, characters successful the benignant of D&D quality profiles, maps of locations from the show, and a last representation showing Stranger Things arsenic a D&D players manual.

the ending credits was truthful chill though #StrangerThings5 pic.twitter.com/63rHUdpFMD

The epilogue and the extremity credits were inspired by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Matt and Ross Duffer told Deadline.

“We thought astir [The Lord of the Rings] Return of the King a lot, conscionable successful presumption of the magnitude of the epilogue,” Matt Duffer said. “I ever support the Return of the King epilogue, but I’m 1 of those hardcore Lord of the Rings fans, to the constituent wherever I’ve watched each extended editions successful a enactment connected a azygous day. If you bash that, the epilogue feels perfectly cleanable and not agelong astatine all. In fact, if it felt shorter, it would consciousness perfectly distressing.

“I think, Stranger Things, if you ticker Season 5 each the mode through, it’s going to consciousness great. You conscionable privation to walk other clip with these characters. Anyway, that was benignant of the notation for the epilogue. Then we emotion the credits astatine the extremity of Return of the King. So that was the archetypal idea, and they were these precise elemental illustrations.”

And connected the extremity credits, Ross Duffer confirmed: “we wanted to beryllium capable to wage tribute to our formed and however overmuch they’ve grown done the years. Obviously, it’s not to accidental the full amusement was a D&D campaign. It was conscionable a mode to wage tribute to everyone and besides fto the audience, hopefully, instrumentality successful this travel that they’ve been connected for 9 years.”

If you’ve watched The Return of the King you’ll cognize what the Duffers are talking astir here. Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy ends with an epilogue acceptable 4 years aft the hobbits instrumentality to the Shire. Frodo leaves Middle-earth for the Undying Lands with Bilbo, Gandalf, and the remaining Elves. He gives Sam the Red Book of Westmarch, detailing their adventures, bids farewell to Sam, Merry, and Pippin, and departs. A saddened Sam returns location and is comforted by his family.

As for the extremity credits, The Return of the King shows the main characters successful illustrative form, besides arsenic a goodbye pursuing their extended adventures.

We've got plentifulness much connected Stranger Things, including the Duffer brothers explaining what they were going for with the Season 5 finale and Eleven's ending, and archetypal details connected the live-action spinoff.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].