Stranger Things Co-Creator Regrets Controversial Series Finale Answers

After upsetting large swathes of the "Stranger Things" fandom with the finale episode, the Duffer Brothers tried to field fan questions. Unfortunately, their answers didn't do much to appease fans' concerns, and now Matt Duffer has said he wished he'd kept his mouth shut altogether due to the fact he was "fried" post-finale.

The Duffer Brothers really set themselves up for a rough time with "Stranger Things." Over five seasons, the creators continued to pack the series with characters and lore so dense you needed to have seen the dang "Stranger Things" stage play in order to fully understand the final season of the series. So, when they had to sit down and wrap up every character's story in a neat and satisfying way while adhering to the complex lore of the series, it was always going to be a challenge.

In what was surely a predictable turn of events, then, not everyone was satisfied when the finale actually materialized. Fans were furious about the fate of Milly Bobby Brown's Eleven, confused by the lack of resolution for important characters, and dismayed at the way in which the show copped out with the most obvious character deaths possible. That's to say nothing of the logical inconsistencies in the finale, which featured a suddenly monster-less Upside Down and all hinged on a plot that involved several kids traveling to a distant planet that conveniently supported human life via a radio tower that they assumed would slide neatly through small rifts in the terrain of said planet. What did the Duffers do in response to the backlash? They provided answers that were just as frustrating as the finale itself, and now they wish they said absolutely nothing.

Josh Horowitz spoke to the Duffer Brothers for an episode of his Happy Sad Confused podcast, where he hit the creators with pretty much every lingering question fans had following the "Stranger Things" finale. While the pair did their best to respond, Matt Duffer admitted that his initial answers in the days following the finale release left a lot to be desired. But according to him, we should all give the poor guy a break. "I really shouldn't have done any of these postmortem interviews," he said. "I am not in a good place. Like, why the hell did we do any of them yesterday is beyond me. I'm, like, fried."

According to Matt Duffer, he was "getting over the flu" when he was fielding questions from fans, and therefore wasn't at his best. "Anyone mad at any answers we gave you yesterday, just cut me some slack," he added. Ross Duffer, meanwhile, remained quiet on the subject, but there's no doubt the explanations we've got from the duo thus far haven't really cut it.

The showrunners finally addressed why the Demogorgons vanished in the "Stranger Things" finale, and it essentially came down to Vecna being caught by surprise. Then, in response to questions about Vickie (Amybeth McNulty) and whether she and Robin (Maya Hawke) ended up together, Ross Duffer told Entertainment Weekly that he and his brother "want to leave it a little bit up to fans in terms of where these characters end up ultimately," adding, "Do Robin and Vickie stay together? Maybe, maybe not." Neither answer really went over well with fans, and it seems the brothers know it.

"Stranger Things" is now streaming in full on Netflix.