‘Stranger Things’ Finale Includes a Big Engagement

Major spoilers ahead for Season 5 of Stranger Things, including the series finale!

Stranger Things’ series finale had some questions, including a big one that came straight from a major character.

During the episode’s epilogue, Hopper (David Harbour) popped the question to Joyce (Winona Ryder).

In Season 5 Volume 3’s “The Rightside Up,” which dropped at 8 p.m. ET on New Year’s Eve, the Hawkins gang finally defeated Vecna/Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower) once and for all. It didn’t come without some sacrifices, though, as Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) was seemingly killed after going back to the Upside Down just as it was being destroyed to get away from Dr. Kay and all the testing and Dr. Brenner’s program. With still around 40 minutes left, the episode went into an epilogue that jumped ahead 18 months.

Hopper and Joyce were still very much together, and while out to dinner, Hopper proposed, and of course, Joyce said yes. It’s the beginning of a new chapter for the two, as Hopper continues to deal with Eleven being gone and now moving to Montauk for a new job. Creators The Duffer Brothers told Netflix’s Tudum the reason behind ending their story that way.

“We knew they had to have their final date at Enzo’s,” Matt explained. “That final scene with them had been planned for quite some time. It’s very difficult what Hopper went through, especially with Eleven, and we liked the idea of him and Joyce having an opportunity to start a new chapter in their lives. David [Harbour] liked the idea of sort of a Dickensian ending for those characters. More than I would say is typical, we really talked a lot with all the actors to make sure they were content with where their characters ended up. That was important to us.”

“And, of course, we did the Montauk shout-out [where Hopper has a job offer] because the show was originally going to be set in Montauk,” added Ross. “It felt like a nice little wink to the superfans of the show who were aware of that nugget.”

The engagement was a nice surprise, especially since earlier in the season, Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer) had an “un-proposal,” essentially breaking up while they were trapped in Hawkins Lab in the Upside Down. Plus, this engagement is a good way for Hopper to look forward to this next chapter after everything that happened, and for Joyce as well, since they both have been through a lot.

All five seasons of Stranger Things are now streaming on Netflix.