New Stranger Things documentary reveals alternate ending for season 5, leaving fans wishing the Duffers had followed their original vision.

A new Netflix documentary, *One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5*, is revealing intriguing insights about the sci-fi series’ final season. One observant fan has uncovered evidence that the show could have concluded in a completely different way.

“Guys, they completely changed the ending to make it more ambiguous,” the fan tweeted, sharing a screenshot of a writers’ room board detailing the finale.

The original plan outlines the *Stranger Things* season 5 finale as we see it, with Eleven and Kali diving into Henry’s mindscape to rescue the kids before confronting Vecna. However, a significant twist occurs after Vecna’s defeat. In this alternate scenario, Hopper is aware of Eleven’s plan to fake her death. As everyone exits the Abyss, he drives away, leaving El behind without anyone else knowing.

In their final moments, El and Hopper share a poignant goodbye reminiscent of a scene from *Lost in Translation*, where two characters part ways without words, knowing they will never meet again. The plan indicates that “El says goodbye to everyone in happy memory,” but when the Upside Down is destroyed, Eleven is nowhere to be found.

With Hopper in the loop about the “fakeout,” this ending clarifies El’s fate. In the version we saw, her faking her death and sneaking off to explore the world was merely a figment of Mike’s imagination. If Kali and El informed Hopper, it suggests that her survival is indeed real. While the creators didn’t elaborate on why they altered the ending, fans speculate that it confirms El is still alive.

“So the story is she’s still alive because Hopper wouldn’t be happy-go-lucky in the end if El was dead,” one fan noted, while another remarked, “Hopper being in on it makes so much sense. Of course, her living would be 100% more important to him than keeping her in danger by being in contact with her.”

However, some users pointed out that this version isn’t part of the official canon. “Everyone celebrating that this means she’s alive but not understanding that this means they changed the ending… It says she says goodbye to EVERYONE with a happy memory. That doesn’t happen, so neither did any of this,” one fan commented.

*One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5* is currently streaming on Netflix.