Stranger Things Star Sadie Sink Gives Her Interpretation of Eleven's Ending

Stranger Things prima Sadie Sink has offered her mentation of Eleven’s ending successful the aftermath of the finale of Season 5.

The biggest talking constituent coming retired of the Stranger Things finale relates to the destiny of its cardinal character, Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown. Stranger Things ends with a definitive question goodbye to each the cardinal characters but Eleven, who appears to sacrifice herself to guarantee she cannot beryllium utilized to make ace weapons, different Vecna / Henry, oregon different span betwixt our satellite and The Abyss.

18 months aft that traumatic event, we spot the cardinal characters conscionable up for graduation and accidental their goodbyes. It’s astatine this constituent that Mike Wheeler, played by Finn Wolfhard, has a thought: what if Kali Prasad, besides known arsenic Eight (Linnea Berthelsen), utilized her dying enactment to make the illusion of Eleven’s death, leaving her escaped to flight unseen?

Mike teases this revelation to the Dungeons & Dragons radical arsenic their last run comes to an end, suggesting Eleven cooked up a program with Kali to fake her ain death, past traveled to a acold distant tiny colony — bordered by 3 waterfalls — to unrecorded retired her days successful peace. But this ending is unconfirmed. Mike and the others choose to judge it, and it’s near up to the assemblage to determine what they take to judge arsenic Stranger Things yet comes to an end.

In an interrogation with Josh Horowitz, the Duffer Brothers confirmed they wrote the communicative knowing the information of Eleven's fate, which they’ve told to lone 1 formed member: Millie Bobby Brown herself. So that means Sadie Sink, who played Maxine "Max" Mayfield, does not cognize the Duffer Brothers’ truth, leaving her to construe the events of the ending conscionable arsenic fans are.

Appearing connected The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Sink was asked for her take. Replying, she said she does so deliberation Eleven is dead, and Mike’s communicative and the Dungeons & Dragons unit choosing to judge successful it is portion of coping with her death.

“I deliberation she's dead,” she said. “Is that similar a blistery instrumentality oregon something? I deliberation Mike's communicative is similar conscionable 1 past story, and that's similar — past they accidental goodbye to childhood. But that's conscionable 1 last tale, and that's it.

“I deliberation it's conscionable similar a coping thing. I deliberation it's stronger, right? That's my interpretation.”

So determination you person it: Sadie Sink thinks Eleven is dead, adjacent if her quality believes she’s alive.

Sadie Sink connected Jimmy Fallon connected Monday, January 5, 2026. Photo by Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images.

In the Josh Horowitz interview, the Duffers revealed that they did research the anticipation of Eleven having a “full blessed ending” wherever she ends up joined to Mike, surviving a blessed beingness with the authorities disconnected their backs and the laboratory experiments ended for good, “and we conscionable couldn't fig retired a mode for that to work.”

In a Netflix Q&A published arsenic the finale aired, Ross Duffer went into much item connected the reasoning down the Stranger Things ending: “there was ne'er a mentation of the communicative wherever Eleven was hanging retired with the pack astatine the end. For america and our writers, we didn’t privation to instrumentality her powers away. She represents magic successful a batch of ways and the magic of childhood. For our characters to determination connected and for the communicative of Hawkins and the Upside Down to travel to a close, Eleven had to spell away. We thought it would beryllium beauteous if our characters continued to judge successful that happier ending adjacent if we didn’t springiness them a wide reply to whether that’s existent oregon not. The information that they’re believing successful it, we conscionable thought it was specified a amended mode to extremity the communicative and a amended mode to correspond the closure of this travel and their travel from children to adults.”

“And the world is, if Eleven is retired there, the astir that they could anticipation for is simply a content that it’s existent due to the fact that they can’t beryllium successful interaction with her,” Matt concluded. “Everything falls isolated if that were the case. So if that’s the narrative, this is truly the champion mode to support her alive. And it’s astir Mike and everyone uncovering a mode to determination past what’s happened.”

We've got plentifulness much connected Stranger Things, including the Duffer Brothers explaining wherefore the demogorgons didn’t assistance Vecna retired successful the last battle, and archetypal details connected the live-action spinoff. We've besides got an explainer connected the Stranger Things 'Conformity Gate' theory, which is presently doing the rounds connected societal media.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].