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It’s a strange time in Strange things community. the next Lead for months-Up to The finale was so big it was shown in theatersfans of the show have been spending their time dissecting season five In order to prove that the hidden ninth episode is coming Which represents the true end of Strange things. That hasn’t happened yet, but that doesn’t mean Netflix is done with the series. The streaming device has just been released Final Adventure: Making Stranger Things 5a two-hour documentary about the making of season five. Although it is a far cry from the secret episode and offers little new material to the plot, it is He does Provide some insight into how the creative team wrapped up Netflix’s biggest show.
The biggest thing I get from watching One last adventure It is the sheer size of the final season. Obviously Netflix was going to have a big hit here, but it’s still impressive to see; The Duffer Brothers used 12 sets for filming, including a back lot where the team built downtown Hawkins, in addition to scenes shot on location. It’s especially cool to see some of the craftsmen working on larger pieces, like building and painting the massive pulsating tendrils that form Vecna’s lair, or figuring out how to design an office building that also dissolves as characters move through it. There are a number of sequences in the doc where the crew stresses how to implement the ideas the Duffers have.
My second biggest takeaway: This season came quickly. Despite being in the works for a long time – there’s footage of table reads dating back to 2023 – the final episode was actually filmed while the script was still being written. The reason appears to be the pressure resulting from the packaging Strange things. “There’s always a sense of panic that it won’t happen,” Ross Duffer explains early in the doc. There are a few moments where you can see the writers struggling with what to do. For example, one of the reasons the Abyss was ultimately largely devoid of creatures was because the team was concerned about “Demogorgon fatigue.” They also discussed extensively how to deal with Eleven’s faith in the latest episode. “You have to keep manipulating the audience,” Ross says, referring to whether or not L lives.
Aside from that, there’s not much in the way of revelation, however One last adventure It has some fun details. The Duffers hired their high school drama teacher to play the role of Hawkins High’s principal, and much thought was given to how much blood Karen Wheeler needed to lose in her fateful battle with the Demogorgon. Better yet, there’s a shot of Vecna wearing over-ear headphones that has the potential to be the template for a new meme, though not to the same extent as him drinking iced coffee.
Well, this documentary is not the return to Hawkins that many were hoping for, but rather a very casual look behind the scenes of a major production. But it’s also a welcome change of pace: In the age of streaming, behind-the-scenes features have diminished along with the physical media that used to house them. In this way, it’s very similar Strange things itself, One last adventure This is a bit of a throwback – and I hope Netflix leans into more of it Pushing towards a post-Hawkins future.