Stranger Things fans furious at creators after new details about finale emerge

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for the Stranger Things finale

Stranger Things fans have been treated to a brand new documentary all about how the Duffer brothers created the final season - however, not everyone is happy.

For those who need a reminder, the beloved Netflix sci-fi show has been running for almost a decade and has built up a dedicated fanbase along the way, who've watched along for all five seasons.

The first part of the final series dropped onto the streaming platform in November, followed by a second batch of episodes on Boxing Day, and the highly-anticipated two-hour long finale on New Year's Day.

Fans of Stranger Things from around the world set their alarms and rushed to find out exactly what happens to the Hawkins crew in the last ever instalment - and pretty much everyone got somewhat of a happy ending, except of course for poor Eleven, who sacrificed herself to make sure the Upside Down is gone forever.

Now, as we say, a brand new documentary has been released today (12 January) about the making of the final season, including previously unseen footage of the cast's final moments filming, a last ever table read, and the mysterious writers' room where the magic happens.

The doc, called One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, included behind-the-scenes clips of creators, executive producers and writers, Ross and Matt Duffer, joined by the other writers in the team as they debated exactly how their treasured 80s show should come to an end.

It also revealed that the Duffer brothers were still writing the script for the finale when production began, and in their own words, were being 'hammered constantly by Netflix and production for episode eight'.

Duffer Brothers had a Reddit tab open while writing the Stranger Things 5 ending. pic.twitter.com/DBJKprY3Ad

— Stranger Things Memes (@SThingsMeme) January 12, 2026

The brothers explained: "It was the most difficult writing circumstances we’ve ever found ourselves in. We had to make sure the script was good and there’s been so much noise at the same time.”

However, viewers were left unhappy with this detail, with one savagely writing on Twitter: "How do you go into the final season of one of the biggest series on TV without a plan? It clearly effected the finale."

Another agreed: "Probably why few episodes from the last season flawed.."

On top of this, eagle-eyed fans fans who watched the new two-hour documentary have since pointed out what they think is a Reddit tab open on one of the computers in the writers room, recognisable by its orange logo.

Writing on Twitter, someone shared a screenshot and penned: "Duffer Brothers had a Reddit tab open while writing the Stranger Things 5 ending."

so they really used chatgpt for this script? wtf pic.twitter.com/g81s7KMB8Z

— eugène 𖤝 byler bus .ᐟ (@emagoner) January 12, 2026

A second person brutally replied: "Who on Reddit is responsible for the terrible ending??" while a third added: "this has to be a joke".

Others joked: "They took the ending from the wrong post" and "that explains everything".

While elsewhere, someone else pointed out that another screenshot from the doc showed what they thought was a ChatGPT tab, although this is not very clear and is, of course, not confirmed.

The person wrote: "So they really used chatgpt for this script? wtf", while another chimed in with: "THERE'S NO WAY".

However, other fans rushed to defend the Duffer brothers on both fronts, with one penning: "Y'all are wildly jumping to conclusions. Just because there may be a chatgpt logo doesn't mean they used it for a script."

A second quipped: "Realistically? no. that logo looks more like a circle than the flower in the chat gpt logo" and a third agreed: "That’s a google doc I’m pretty sure, it shows a character of the first letter of your name in the tabs bar icon."

And as for the Reddit logo, viewers guessed: "Maybe he was checking out fan theories for inspiration?" and "Reading fan theories doesn’t mean copying them - sometimes it just tells you what not to do."

It's also important to note that the Duffers have maintained that they've always known how the show would end, it's just writing the script that took time.

Tyla has contacted Netflix and reps for the Duffer brothers for comment.