Warning: This story contains spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 2.
What you need to know
Eleven continues to keep secrets heading into the Stranger Things finale, and tensions between her and Hopper look like they’re about to explode.
Season 5, Volume 2 sees things continue to be tense between the father-daughter duo, with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) furious and feeling betrayed by Hopper (David Harbour).
In the first volume, it is revealed that he has a suicide plan that he has kept secret for months. Eleven discovers the truth when she infiltrates a government facility in The Upside Down at the end of Volume 1. He claimed it was just a “failsafe,” but Eleven was unconvinced, and her disbelief lingered into the next episode.
Their tension left room for Eight (Linnea Bertelsen) to convince Eleven to join her in her plan for self-destruction in the finale.
According to the Duffer Brothers, the “troublesome and complex” dynamic between Hopper and Eleven will be a key piece of the puzzle as the series nears its finale.
“This is the dynamic that we really wanted to explore. It’s this dynamic of a parent and their child who aren’t actually kids anymore, but are actually young adults, who are becoming adults. And how do you deal with that?” Matt Duffer tells People. “How do you deal with letting them go and being independent, especially when Hopper feels so protective of her?”
Hopper lost her daughter Sarah to cancer many years ago, and says her background makes her more protective than most parents.
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This difficult dynamic between parents and children “I think is a huge part of everyone’s journey as they transition from childhood and adolescence to adulthood,” says Matt.
In Hopper’s case, grief is what drives him, and “he had to face it again in season one trying to save Will, and then he had to face it again over different seasons as he sort of adopted Eleven as his own daughter,” says Ross Duffer.
Hopper’s “biggest fear” is that “Eleven won’t live happily ever after and dies at the end of all this,” but Ross said that now “seems like a possibility” given the suicide promise he made with Eight.
As Episode 7 ends, the gang heads to the Upside Down to begin “Operation Beanstalk,” a plan to take down Vecna before he brings the Abyss to Earth. Eight tells Eleven that she cannot “leave with the others” and must instead stay behind so that “when the Upside Down disappears, so do we.”
At first, Eleven was hesitant, but gave her sister a subtle nod indicating she was on board with the secret plan just before the episode ended.
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As for what that means for Hopper, Ross teases that his fear is “something we’re really exploring heading into the finale.”
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In episode 7, Hopper shared his concerns for Eleven’s safety with Joyce (Winona Ryder) before the final mission began.
“Once I can get on the other side of this situation, I can work on repairing the relationship between us, but right now I need to make sure she gets out of this situation alive,” he said.
“That Carly did something wrong. I swear to God I’ll kill her. I’ll kill her. I won’t hesitate. No matter what happens to Elle in that tank, I’ll drag her out. I can’t lose her, Joyce,” Hopper choked out, voicing his greatest fear. “I can’t.”
Stranger Things Season 5 Volumes 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Netflix. The final episode will take place on December 31st at 8pm ET.
