Stranger Things Doc Shows Alternate Finale Ending Ideas, And I'm Gutted By A Seemingly Perfect Idea That Went Unused

One of the most discussed and largely polarizing TV episodes of the millennium so far, Stranger Things’ series finale has wowed some fans, perplexed others, and for a select group, Eleven’s debatable and vaguely explained fate was the last straw. As opposed to the rumored “secret episode” that fueled a wave of #ConspiracyGate posts on social media, Netflix unveiled the sprawling behind-the-scenes doc One Last Adventure. It didn’t change how I think things played out, but the doc showcased a batch of unused finale ideas, including one involving Dr. Kay.

For One Last Adventure, director Martina Radwan had untethered access to the bulk of the production, and spent time both in the writers room as well as on the sets. At one point during the second half, the camera pans across a whiteboard with a series of finale events on it laid out in sequential order, as seen below. (Just to stress it here: none of the early ideas noted on the board are meant to represent what plays out in the finalized finale.)

Lower down on the left side, partially obscured by a chair, fans can see what appears to be an early idea for how to eliminate the season’s biggest (and also conversely the most useless) military threats in Linda Hamilton’s Dr. Kay and Alex Breaux’s Lt. Robert Akers. Here’s what it appears to say:

Now, because the words aren't entirely clear, I can't say with certainty what it says. But if I were a betting man, I might put money on the idea that in this version of events, after Kali gets fatally shot, she uses her powers to make Kay and Akers kill each other. Or perhaps it's closer to what happened in the episode, and El is the one who steps in and makes Kay and Akers shoot each other.

Whatever the specific details might be, I'm all-in on believing this indicates the goal at some point was to actually kill Linda Hamilton's character off, in part because her name doesn't pop up on the board again after that. Plus, this version of events would actually close out her story, which bafflingly did not happen in the episode that was released. In fact, we have zero ideas about where things left off for her, beyond the general idea that she bought into Eleven's "sacrifice."

In the version of the finale that was released, Akers specifically acted without Dr. Kay's permission or involvement, so she wasn't present and active during the scene where Akers shot Kali. While it was obviously great that he eventually gets killed, I don't know that any poetic justice was achieved in having Eleven do it. I would have loved to see Kay and Akers take each other out, regardless of whether Kali manipulated them into it or not. It doesn't make any sense for her to still be alive without repercussions.

Had there bene plot reasons involved, such as an eventual goal to have Dr. Kay show up in a future Stranger Things spinoff, then I could more easily understand leaving her story so open-ended. But the Duffer brothers have stated that none of the familiar characters from this show will be returning in future projects. That could change, of course, but I'm still not sure it'd be worth the wait.

All five seasons of Stranger Things can be streamed via Netflix subscription, which will also be required to travel back to the mid-'80s for the impending spinoff Tales From '85, which is set to hit the 2026 TV schedule later in the year.