Stranger Things documentary reveals why that epic final battle didn’t include the Demogorgons

A new Netflix documentary, ‘One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5,’ explains why the Demogorgons didn’t appear in the show’s final episode.

The season 5 finale, which aired on New Year’s Day, featured a showdown between the heroes and Vecna, but the Mind Flayer and other frightening creatures weren’t shown much, if at all.

In a new behind-the-scenes documentary, Matt explained that the biggest new addition to the Abyss storyline is a massive monster. He highlighted this as the most exciting development.

Ross says “that’s fair,” before adding “like how exhausting, right? It’s a lot”.

Director Martina Radwan recently shared with Variety that she particularly enjoyed the writers’ room scene in ‘One Last Adventure.’ She found the conversation compelling because it demonstrated the creative process in action, showing the writers actively brainstorming and developing ideas. Radwan described the writers’ room as a fascinating place to witness the characters’ thought process.

She went on to say she enjoyed how confident everyone was about the Demogorgons in the final Abyss scene, except Ross, who suggested they might be dealing with ‘Demogorgon fatigue.’ Kate agreed with him. This showed that the disagreement wasn’t settled and would likely be revisited later. The documentary editors intentionally left the conversation unresolved because, by the time the documentary was released, it was already known that there weren’t any Demogorgons in the Pain Tree.

In addition to behind-the-scenes glimpses of the writing process, “One Last Adventure” includes interviews with the creators, the cast, and the crew, plus discussions from the set and heartfelt farewells as filming concluded.

Radwan explained to the publication that the experience was difficult, saying, “There were just so many people affected, and it was incredibly emotional. For many, it felt like half or even a quarter of their life was coming to an end.”

The Duffer brothers won’t replicate the success of ‘Stranger Things’ again, and it was crucial to me that the ending felt complete and cohesive. Matt and Ross needed to deliver the final message. I envisioned one, unified farewell rather than a series of separate goodbyes, as it was a collective experience for both the characters and everyone on the production team.

Stranger Things seasons 1-5 are available to stream on Netflix.

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Molly MossTrends Writer

Molly Moss writes about the newest happenings in television, movies, and other entertainment for TopMob. She has a master’s degree in journalism and has also contributed to major publications like The Guardian, The Times, and The Sun Online.

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2026-01-12 13:36