Stranger Things Finale Script Wasn’t Finished When Episode 8 Filming Began
The script for the finale of Stranger Things wasn’t finished when filming began. Unsurprisingly wanting to extend the discussion around one of its most popular shows of all time, a behind-the-scenes documentary of Stranger Things season 5 has made its debut on Netflix and is pulling back the curtain on what’s been a divisive final bow.
Those criticisms are likely to be recharged by a reveal in the two-hour documentary that season 5, episode 8, the show’s last, was filmed without a completed script. This is first by Montana Maniscalco, a key production assistant, who confirms that cameras began rolling without a finished script. Check it out in the clip below:
Matt Duffer, who co-created the supernatural drama with sibling Ross Duffer, reflects on the script chaos in the documentary. At one point, he defends the situation to the crew and says, “It’s not like we don’t know what the ending is. It’s all plotted out.” At another point in the doc, Matt gave his thoughts on the script not being finished: “I’ve never read 8 through, and we’re just shooting it. I’ve never done anything like this before. This is so weird jumping to eight… Don’t love it. Don’t love it.”
During a more formal interview, Matt Duffer explains that the last episode was created under unusually intense pressure, noting that the team was pushed relentlessly by the team and the realities of production and Netflix. In the quote below, via Entertainment Weekly, the executive producer sheds light on why it was an exceptionally difficult writing experience:
We were getting hammered constantly by production and by Netflix for episode 8. It was the most difficult writing circumstances we’ve ever found ourselves in, not just because there was the pressure of we had to make sure the script was good, but there’s never been so much noise at the same time.
The response to the Stranger Things ending wasn’t wholly negative. There were some positive reviews and enjoyment of the character moments that some of the characters were allowed. But this candid revelation will likely only serve to embolden those who argue that, even though its runtime was longer than many movies, the goodbye felt rushed and underdeveloped at key points.
Regardless of how any viewer feels about the show’s goodbye, or even about Eleven’s fate, there’s likely going to be agreement that the showrunners of Stranger Things did not have to be waiting until filming to get the script in order. That’s especially true, considering the long wait for the last batch of eight episodes.
