Netflix’s Stranger Things came to an explosive close on New Year’s Eve, ending nearly a decade of monsters, mysteries, and emotional trauma in Hawkins. While the finale delivered big moments, shocking sacrifices, and long-awaited resolutions, it also left fans obsessing over a growing list of unanswered questions.

In the weeks after the final episode aired, creators Matt and Ross Duffer attempted to address many of these so-called “plot holes” in interviews with outlets like The Wrap, Collider, Variety, and Netflix itself. Instead of calming the debate, many of their explanations only intensified fan frustration.

Here’s a full breakdown of the biggest lingering questions from Stranger Things 5, along with the exact explanations given by the Duffers, and why viewers aren’t fully convinced.

Where Were the Demogorgons, Demodogs During Vecna’s Final Battle?

One of the most common fan complaints centers on the absence of all the “Demo” monsters in the Abyss during the final fight with the Mind Flayer. Logically, viewers expected the heroes to have to contend with an army of Demogorgons, Demodogs, and Demobats.

Not the Demogorgons abandoning Vecna mid–fight 😭 pic.twitter.com/uPgMXoEyj8

— Stranger Things Memes (@SThingsMeme) January 1, 2026

After all, in season 3, the Mind Flayer formed a massive physical body by absorbing dead rats and humans, making it plausible that it could have absorbed other creatures as well. This would have been a perfectly reasonable in-universe explanation.

Instead, the Duffer Brothers offered this reasoning during an interview with The Wrap:

“Mainly it’s just that Vecna was not expecting this sneak attack on his home turf. Never in a million years could he even imagine that. They’re there somewhere. We obviously discussed having a demo battle on top of the Mind Flayer battle, but it felt more right to us that why does he need the demos when the Mind Flayer is this giant thing and can attack them? He doesn’t need his little ant army to attack, he’s going to take care of this himself. It’s a giant, desolate planet.

If you recall, you see Henry wandering the planet back in Season 4 and at some point in his journey, he does see a demo far in the distance, but it’s not like they’re hanging out in little huts. There’s not like a giant civilization of demos up there.”

While that explanation provides some context, it doesn’t fully work. First, it ignores the perfectly reasonable lore-based solution of the Mind Flayer having absorbed creatures to form its massive body. Second, it contradicts the narrative setup: Vecna had mind-hunted the team and discovered their plan beforehand, meaning the Mind Flayer should have been prepared for the attack.

The reasoning leaves fans questioning why the creatures weren’t shown or used at all.

What Happened to Suzie?

Dustin and Suzie’s long-distance relationship is left unresolved in the finale. Dustin is shown excited about another girl inviting him to a party, suggesting that his relationship with Suzie may have quietly ended off-screen.

Suzie’s actor, Gabriella Pizzolo, shared her own interpretation on Instagram:

“In my mind, she will always be there for him!”

Adding further context, Gaten Matarazzo commented in an interview that the couple might indeed have broken up off-screen:

“I didn’t have a conversation with them about it. I think, unfortunately, what can be assumed is that in Dustin’s yearlong unhealthy grieving process — I mean, if he’s cutting out the friends that are day-to-day spending time with him, you can imagine he probably cut out a long-distance relationship. I would like to think he did so nicely. I don’t think he did so nicely, because he wasn’t very nice at that point in his life.”

While Matarazzo’s statement is realistic, it doesn’t actually clarify what happens in the story, leaving fans to speculate about the true fate of the couple.

What Happened to the Military After the Finale?

Another major question involves the military presence in Hawkins. Over the course of the season, soldiers are killed, a helicopter is taken down, and an entire covert operation collapses, yet none of the main characters face consequences.

When asked about the 18-month gap after Eleven disappears, the Duffers said in an interview with Collier;

“In that 18-month gap? I suppose there’s not much else to do. You can’t explore this other dimension. There’s no Eleven to chase anymore because she’s gone. So, my guess is they just sort of slowly dismantled operations and left town.”

For many fans, “I suppose” isn’t exactly a satisfying answer, especially given the scale of what occurred.

Why Weren’t Any of the Main Characters Arrested?

This question ties directly into the military storyline. With soldiers dead and government equipment destroyed, viewers expected some fallout, arrests, interrogations, or at least a cover-up.

Instead, Hopper returns to law enforcement, Joyce moves on, and life in Hawkins appears to normalize remarkably fast. The show offers no on-screen explanation, and the Duffers haven’t elaborated further.

What Happened to Murray, Dr. Kay, Mr. Clarke, and Erica?

The finale also leaves the fates of several supporting characters frustratingly vague. It’s never made clear what happens to Brett Gelman’s Murray Bauman or Linda Hamilton’s antagonist once the Upside Down is finally destroyed.

In an interview with Netflix, Matt Duffer offered a brief glimpse into where Murray and Mr. Clarke might have ended up:

“I do like that Murray and Mr. Clarke have bonded. But I think Murray’s doing his own weird stuff, and Mr. Clarke is likely still teaching.”

Erica’s future is addressed in a similarly casual way. After being captured by the military in the church tower alongside Mr. Clarke, the show never revisits her storyline. Ross Duffer explained:

“Obviously, no one’s concerned about Erica. She can take care of herself. She’s gotta go through high school now, but she’s just so tough. She’s absolutely going to be valedictorian. That is for sure. What happens beyond that, I don’t know. She can go where she wants to go.”

While these comments offer some reassurance about where the characters might land, many fans feel they stop short of meaningful resolution — especially for figures who played key roles in the final battle.

What Happened to the Pregnant Women in the Upside Down?

One of the darkest plot points in season five reveals the military experimenting on pregnant women using Kali’s blood, hoping to create another child with powers similar to Henry Creel. When the team detonates a bomb to destroy the Upside Down and sever the connection between Hawkins and the Abyss, the fate of these women was left ambiguous on screen.

The Duffer Brothers have since confirmed that all of the pregnant women died off-screen in the finale, a grim consequence of the Upside Down’s destruction that was never directly shown to viewers.

Why Didn’t Joyce and Hopper Recognize Vecna as Henry Creel?

The First Shadow stage play, along with a blink-and-you-miss-it moment in the Netflix series where Max notices a flyer for a production of Oklahoma directed by Joyce while inside Henry’s memories, confirms a major piece of lore: Joyce Maldonado and Jim Hopper actually went to high school with Henry Creel, the boy who would later become One… and eventually Vecna.

That revelation immediately raises an obvious question. If Joyce and Hopper once knew Henry personally, why is there no clear moment in the TV series where they realise they’re essentially fighting a former classmate?

Addressing the issue in an interview with Variety, Ross Duffer explained that the recognition did happen — just not on screen:

“I’m sure there was [a realisation]. We had to walk a fine line with the play – we don’t want to frustrate, because so much of our audience is unable to see it.

To have them start talking about it would have been confusing in the context of someone who hasn’t seen the play. But I’m sure they did have that conversation.”

While the explanation makes sense from an accessibility standpoint, many fans still feel that skipping such a powerful emotional beat robbed the story of added depth — especially given Joyce and Hopper’s deep personal connection to Hawkins’ past.

Why Will Byers Did Not Feel Pain When Mind Flayer and Vecna Were Attacked

Another point that left fans puzzled was Will’s apparent lack of reaction when Vecna is impaled and decapitated during the Mind Flayer battle. Given that Will had been connected to the hive mind, many expected him to feel the attack in real time.

Matt Duffer addressed the question during a conversation with Collider.

“Well, we aren’t showing him when the Mind Flayer is being attackd. When he’s getting decapitated, at that point, the Mind Flayer is dead, and so it, at that point, has severed the connection between him and Vecna.”

When asked if that moment was simply off-camera, he added:

“When the Mind Flayer is getting attacked? We see how much in pain he is, obviously, even with Henry’s memories, but we just wanted to focus on the final battle with our heroes.”

Essentially, the decision was a narrative one: the focus remained on the climactic showdown, and Will’s connection, while canonically real, wasn’t visually depicted.

What Happened to Vickie?

Vickie’s absence in the series finale didn’t go unnoticed, particularly since her relationship with Robin had only just begun to develop. With the show jumping forward into the future, fans were left wondering whether the young couple stayed together or drifted apart off-screen.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the Duffer Brothers addressed the question in intentionally open-ended terms. Ross Duffer explained:

“We do that flash-forward in Mike’s story and we bring them up to a certain point, and then we want to leave it a little bit up to fans in terms of where these characters end up ultimately. Do Robin and Vickie stay together? Maybe, maybe not.”

“From my point of view and from everyone I knew in high school, what percentage of couples remain together after they leave for college? Extremely low. Max and Lucas survive because their love is that deep, but very few others do.”

While this explanation reflects realism, fans were frustrated by the ambiguity. Many feel that Vickie’s fate should have been depicted on screen, rather than left entirely to interpretation, especially in a finale that otherwise tied up numerous character arcs.

Across interviews, a pattern emerges: many answers rely on assumptions rather than firm story logic. While some fans are comfortable filling in the blanks themselves, others feel that the creators should have clearer internal explanations, even if they aren’t all shown on screen.

As a result, Stranger Things ends in a strange place: emotionally powerful, culturally iconic, yet narratively uneven.

With Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 and a possible live-action spin-off on the way, there’s still hope that some of these loose ends could be addressed. Until then, fans will keep doing what they’ve always done best, theorizing, debating, and refusing to let Hawkins go quietly.