The Stranger Things finale has landed on Netflix, closing a ten-year arc that blended otherworldly danger with teenage camaraderie and a fan culture that debated every frame. In a conversation with Polygon, Gaten Matarazzo, who embodies Dustin Henderson, reflects on filming the last episode and watching the finale with the world. He repeatedly describes the experience as a "special" moment in the series’ history, a sentiment he shares in a discussion that deliberately contains spoilers for the ending.
Perhaps the most scrutinized moment in the finale is the Mind Flayer sequence, filmed in an Atlanta-area quarry over the course of a week. Matarazzo recalls the practical challenges of the shoot: the cast was drenched, heavy in wet costumes, and navigating a ghillie suit that was meant to keep spludge from dripping away. "We were very wet and heavy. And I was in my ghillie suit, so nothing would drip off," he says, describing the scale of the scene and the effort needed to stage it. There are outtakes of the moment where the monster is stabbed and goo lands on his face, a reminder that a sequence this size demands far more time and coordination than its final edit reveals.
In the high school graduation scene, Dustin’s valedictorian moment culminates with a deliberate gesture toward Principal Higgins. The script directions even note, "Flip the bird." Matarazzo frames the moment as a portal to Dustin’s healing: "I think it's a really cool way to show that Dustin's in a good place with his grief. There's going to be ups and downs, but there are healthy ways to grieve and there are unhealthy ways to do it."
The finale closes with the iconic D&D session, where Mike (Finn Wolfhard) imagines possible futures for the core group. Matarazzo interprets that moment as less a vague flourish and more a clear sketch of what lies ahead for the characters: a contingent future shaped by love, friendship, and the choices they’ve made together. "Whatever works for you. If you want to look at what she sacrificed and live with that, you're fully entitled to. And if you want to hope that she's still there, you're fully entitled to," he says, referencing Eleven and the ambiguity that remains about her fate.
Dustin’s role as the group’s resident explainer also comes into focus. The season’s science-heavy concepts—Exotic Matter, the Upside Down as a kind of wormhole—are not always easy to parse. Matarazzo admits that he often had to chase down explanations, joking that he would search for Neil deGrasse Tyson videos to help him grasp the ideas well enough to deliver Dustin’s exposition on screen. The show’s visual aids, including a small wormhole drawn on a classroom window, helped him translate complex concepts into approachable dialogue.
Ahead of the finale, some fans anticipated Steve Harrington might not survive. Matarazzo reflects on the show’s core premise: the Hawkins group is a family that endures through impossible odds, anchored by heart and optimism. He notes that the writers weighed character deaths carefully but ultimately kept the focus on the ensemble’s resilience. "The Hawkins group is always supposed to make it out of the story because the show is about heart and its optimism and the people that make up this community and this ragtag team."
The interview also touches on fan theories, which often outpace what the creators intend. Matarazzo says he enjoys some ideas and even thinks some are legitimately cool, but many theories strike him as goofy in hindsight. "I do like to. I am very impressed by a lot of ideas that people come up with. Sometimes I’ll read something and be like, ‘This is actually legit, really cool if they end up going with it.’ But most of the time, I hope this doesn’t come across as rude, I find a lot of them very goofy, and that is also very delightful." Even after the finale aired, questions persisted—like Eddie’s potential return—that delighted him precisely because of the show’s boundary-pusting nature.
The finale’s emotional engine extends to Will, Mike, and their friendships. While some fans pushed for Will and Mike to be portrayed as a couple, Matarazzo emphasizes the importance of their friendship and the series’ broader themes. The show’s ending nods to Eleven and her relationship with Mike, underscoring how essential that dynamic was for Eleven’s growth as a character.
Outside the interview, Matarazzo shared a personal note about experiencing the finale with family and keeping the moment intimate. He attended a New Year’s Eve premiere in disguise to keep the moment low-key before a wider release. His mother lives in the Jacksonville area, and he spent the holiday with family, noting that the theater outing required a bit of cloak-and-dagger to avoid the usual fanfare around a Stranger Things premiere. He explains that the experience of watching the last episode in theaters was special, even if the visit was quietly executed.
Stranger Things is streaming on Netflix, and the final chapters of the series have left a lasting imprint on its cast and its fans alike. As Matarazzo and the rest of the ensemble close this chapter, the conversation around what—if anything—the future holds for Hawkins' heroes continues to resonate across the fan community and the broader cultural conversation around the show.
