Millie Bobby Brown Reveals First Reaction to Stranger Things Finale

by

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Stranger Things season five, volume three.

Millie Bobby Brown was incredibly emotional about the end of Stranger Things – her reaction was off the charts!

A week after the show’s last episode was released on Netflix, the actress revealed her first thoughts about what happened to her character, Eleven, sharing a glimpse behind the scenes.

Millie, who starred as Eleven throughout the show’s five seasons, tearfully expressed her gratitude after viewing a video clip from the studio. She shared the moment on her Instagram on January 9th, simply saying, “I appreciate it.”

Sniffling as she removed her headphones, the 21-year-old continued, “F–k. This damn show!”

Millie captioned the video, “Watching THAT scene for the first time.”

I’ll never forget that scene! It was the one where Mike – Finn Wolfhard, of course – was telling Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max all about how Eleven survived after she closed the gate to the Upside Down. It was such a pivotal moment, and seeing him recount it to his friends was really powerful.

As Eleven journeyed through the countryside towards a village she’d always dreamed of – a place with three waterfalls – her friends, with tears in their eyes, declared their faith in her.

Not everyone who worked with Millie on the show thinks Eleven truly found happiness. Sadie Sink, for example, has suggested that the character might actually be dead.

During her January 5th interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the 23-year-old explained that she believes Mike’s story represents the final stage of childhood, after which people move on.

She added of her interpreted ending, “I think it’s stronger.”

Meanwhile, Stranger Things co-creator Ross Duffer said Eleven’s fate was intended to be open-ended.

He told Netflix’s Tudum in December that she remains in their memories, regardless of whether that memory is based in reality.

Matt Duffer, his twin brother and co-showrunner, concurred, stating they crafted the finale to realistically address Eleven’s circumstances and the possibility of her ever having a normal life.

“Mike is the optimist of the group,” he said, “and has chosen to believe in that story.”

For more Stranger Things facts that will turn your world upside down, read on…

I’ve been a huge fan of the Duffer brothers ever since I learned about how Stranger Things came to be! Before that show blew up, they actually worked on M. Night Shyamalan’s Wayward Pines. It’s amazing to me that the idea for Stranger Things started as something completely different – they originally called it Montauk! It’s wild to think how much things can change during the creative process.

Matt explained to The Daily Beast in 2016 that it’s incredibly difficult to convince people to change a project’s title once you’ve become attached to it. He said that when they first suggested Stranger Things, it was a challenge to get others on board.

The creators of the show originally planned to film on Long Island, but it turned out to be too difficult to do so.

As a lifestyle expert, I totally get the appeal of Montauk! The team and I were initially drawn to its beautiful coastal vibe – it even served as the inspiration for Amity in Jaws, which happens to be a favorite film of ours. We envisioned shooting there, but quickly realized a winter shoot on Long Island just wasn’t practical. Honestly, it would have been a miserable and incredibly expensive undertaking, so we had to rethink things.

Atlanta ultimately became the home base for production.

Before Netflix decided to air the show, around 20 other networks turned it down, as reported by Vulture. Executives at those networks worried viewers wouldn’t connect with a series led by four child actors.

4. To play Eleven, then 12-year-old Millie Bobby Brown had to say goodbye to her hair.

In 2018, at PaleyFest, the actress described shaving her head as the most liberating experience of her life. She explained that letting go of her hair felt like revealing her true self, as she no longer had anything to hide behind. Looking in the mirror, she felt a responsibility to inspire others, realizing that beauty isn’t dependent on having hair.

She found inspiration for her role by studying Charlize Theron’s performance in Mad Max: Fury Road, and also looked at old yearbook pictures of her fellow actress, Winona Ryder.

She remembered Winona Ryder rocking a pixie cut years ago and admitted she was considering getting the same style herself.

The British actress shared that she used a surprising source to nail her American accent: Miley Cyrus’s Hannah Montana. She told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show that the show was “so good,” and that she found the American accent within it, praising everything about the production as “amazing.”

The Duffer brothers used scenes from the movie Stand By Me when auditioning young actors to find the four main child stars for their show.

The brothers had a specific vision for the character of Mike. However, that changed after Finn Wolfhard’s audition.

Matt explained to The Daily Beast in 2016 that Mike initially reminded him of the character Mikey from The Goonies. However, Finn Wolfhard, who played Mike, brought a nervous and energetic quality to the role. The writers then tailored the character to fit Finn’s personality and energy.

Gaten Matarazzo, who played Dustin, also had a big impact on the development of his character. According to Matt, they initially envisioned Dustin as a typical nerd, but after meeting Gaten, they rewrote the part to better suit his personality and talents.

As a huge fan of Stranger Things, I wasn’t surprised to hear about the impact Eleven’s love for Eggo waffles had! Apparently, Kellogg’s really saw a boost in sales because of the show. They reported a 14% jump in waffle consumption towards the end of 2017, right after season two came out. It was a total social media frenzy, with October being the biggest month ever for people talking about Eggo waffles online. It’s amazing how a fictional character can affect real-world sales!

In early 2018, David Harbour became an internet sensation when he agreed to take a fan’s senior portraits with her. It all started when the fan tweeted, asking how many retweets it would take to convince him to do her photoshoot. Harbour responded that he’d do it for 25,000 retweets, with the condition that he got to wear the school sweatshirt and hold a trombone. True to his promise, he followed through and did the photoshoot as agreed.

He jokingly predicted on Instagram that he’d be the one to photobomb someone else’s high school senior pictures decades later.

Later that year, Harbour playfully offered to officiate a fan’s wedding if she could get 125,000 retweets and a piece of the wedding cake. He became legally ordained and ended up performing the ceremony while dressed as his character, Chief Hopper.

Fans often speculated that Eleven might be Hopper’s biological daughter, but he ultimately became her adoptive father. A touching detail confirming their bond was seen in the season two finale: Eleven wore a blue braided bracelet – made from a ribbon belonging to Hopper’s deceased daughter – to her school dance.

Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven, said her first-ever kiss was with Finn Wolfhard (Mike) during season one of the show. She described the experience as ‘strange,’ explaining that having a large crew watching made it feel overwhelming – ‘like, ‘Whoa!”

She shared what her co-star whispered to her during a kiss in a later episode, after they had to film another romantic scene.

She recounted that he warned her he was about to kiss her, describing how he said, ‘I’m coming in,’ but did so in a strangely stiff and unnatural way, almost like a ventriloquist. She called it a very bizarre experience.

Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton, who star as Nancy and Jonathan in the show, started dating in 2016 and have generally chosen to keep their relationship out of the public eye.

Natalia explained to Refinery 29 that she values keeping her personal life—especially relationships with family and friends—private. However, she also noted that collaborating with someone you live with can be enjoyable, saying, “It’s always really fun.”

I was shocked to learn this, but apparently Joe Keery’s Steve Harrington – you know, the one with the perfect hair – was originally written to die at the end of the first season! I can’t imagine the show without him now.

According to Ross, they quickly grew fond of Joe Keery, who played Steve Harrington, while filming the first season. This affection led them to create a storyline where Steve teams up with Jonathan and Nancy to help resolve the central conflict. Originally, Steve was intended to be a stereotypical, unpleasant athlete, but Keery brought much more depth to the character.

18. Also slated to perish was Eleven. Yes, really. 

I remember reading in the Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down book that the original plan was for Eleven to make the ultimate sacrifice! Ross Duffer explained they always envisioned that as the ending. But when they realized the show might continue beyond just one season, they had to change things. They quickly realized the show wouldn’t work without Eleven, and Millie Bobby Brown was just too incredible to lose. So, they knew if Stranger Things was going to have a future, Eleven absolutely had to return!

The seventh episode of the second season, “The Lost Sister,” nearly didn’t make it onto screens. The Duffer brothers told Vulture they worried the episode – which focuses on Eleven searching for another child with similar experiences – would disrupt the story’s flow.

Okay, so they were actually thinking about cutting the episode! Can you believe it? Matt said they really debated whether it was even necessary. They messed around with the idea of just scrapping it entirely, but then the whole thing with Eleven at the end… it just wouldn’t work without it. It totally fell flat. So, ultimately, they realized they absolutely needed that episode to make everything connect. It’s a good thing they didn’t cut it, honestly! It’s crucial!

20. Eleven’s sibling was written to be a boy, with the episode originally titled “The Lost Brother.” 

Once the audition was open to all young actresses, Linnea Berthelsen won the role. The resulting episode showed Eleven meeting her “sister,” Kali. According to Matt, Linnea and Millie (who plays Eleven) connected really well, and Millie specifically asked to work with Linnea.

Nicola Coughlan, the actress known for her role in Bridgerton, originally tried out for the part of Robin. However, she later landed the role of Penelope Featherington. Maya Hawke ended up getting the role of Robin, and Nicola said Hawke was simply a better fit for it than she would have been.

She explained that auditioning teaches actors a valuable lesson: don’t take rejection personally. You’re simply better suited for some roles than others, and that’s perfectly normal.

Before starring as Sarah in the Netflix series Outer Banks, Madelyn Cline played the role of Tina, a popular but unkind student at Hawkins High, in season two of the show.

To land the role of Billy, the rebellious older stepbrother of Max (Sadie Sink), Australian actor Dacre Montgomery created a memorable audition tape. He told GQ he aimed to impress the Duffer brothers with a bold and playful performance.

Dacre took a big chance to get noticed. He filmed himself dancing to 80s hits like “Come on Eileen” and “Hungry Like the Wolf” while wearing very little clothing – just a G-string. He worried about the video, thinking it could end his career, but he hoped someone would recognize his talent and give him an opportunity. Luckily, his gamble worked out.

As the show began its third season, Deadline reported significant pay raises for the cast. The younger actors saw their per-episode salary jump from around $30,000 to over $200,000, and potentially as high as $250,000. Winona Ryder and David Harbour were each earning approximately $300,000 to $350,000 per episode, while Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton were making between $100,000 and $150,000.

Priah Ferguson was originally scheduled for just one episode in season two as Erica, Lucas’s feisty younger sister. However, the Duffer brothers were so impressed with her performance that they continued to include her, eventually making her a main cast member in the next season.

Because the young actors were still growing during filming, the costume designers had a hard time making sure their clothes fit consistently throughout the series.

Costume designer Kim Wilcox described the challenge of fitting fast-growing young actors. She told TopMob News they were constantly replacing shoes – one child seemed to outgrow his every three weeks! To solve this, Wilcox sourced shoes from brands that offered the same style in a wide range of sizes. They would buy multiple pairs of each shoe, ensuring they always had a size available when a child had a growth spurt.

The Duffer brothers were inspired by classic films like The Goonies, E.T., and Stand By Me, but they made sure their references weren’t too obvious.

When we initially presented the project to Netflix, we created a lengthy, two-and-a-half-minute trailer. It combined clips and ideas from around 20 to 30 movies to give a sense of the Stranger Things story, but these were mostly concepts we had in mind, explained Matt in an interview with The Daily Beast. These films heavily influenced us growing up and are deeply ingrained in our creative process. However, once we started writing individual episodes, we rarely discussed other movies. Our focus shifted to simply telling the story and letting the characters drive the plot. Otherwise, it would have become confusing and disjointed.

The team initially aimed for a vintage look by minimizing special effects, but they soon realized it was much harder than they thought.

Initially, we wanted to rely entirely on practical effects, but we quickly learned how challenging that is – we gained a huge respect for the teams behind films like The Thing and Alien. Practical effects take a lot of time and planning. We were developing scripts rapidly, but didn’t have the months needed to properly prepare everything. On set, we realized many of the ‘old school’ effects we’d envisioned just weren’t feasible given our time constraints.

The creators, the Duffer brothers, originally planned for ‘Stranger Things’ to last five seasons. According to Netflix executive Matthew Thunell, much of what they imagined back in 2015 is now happening as the series nears its conclusion. Season four was particularly expensive, with each episode costing around $30 million, as reported by Variety.

Although the creators of Stranger Things, the Duffer brothers, know how the show will eventually end, they aren’t finished with the story or the Upside Down world just yet.

In an interview with Variety, the creators revealed they have a spin-off idea they’re really enthusiastic about, but it’s still in the very early stages – they haven’t even shared the concept yet. They admitted that Finn Wolfhard had already correctly guessed the show’s premise, which they described as ‘very, very different.’ They emphasized that Finn is the only person outside of the core team who knows about it.

Read More

2026-01-10 05:48