The Stranger Things series finale left fans with unanswered questions about Erica, Murray, and Mr. Clarke. Now, the Duffers reveal their futures.
Warning: This post contains spoilers from the Stranger Things series finale.
What Happened to Erica, Murray, and Mr. Clarke?
The fate of some Stranger Things characters was left unclear in the series finale. The final episode, which ran for over two hours and premiered Dec. 31 on Netflix, didn’t exactly address what was to come for three fan favorites: Erica (Priah Ferguson), Murray (Brett Gelman) and Mr. Clarke (Randy Havens).
Now, Matt and Ross Duffer, who created the show and directed the episode, are weighing in. “Obviously, no one’s concerned about Erica. She can take care of herself,” Ross, 41, told Netflix’s Tudum of the spunky younger sister to Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin). “She’s gotta go through high school now, but she’s just so tough.”
Matt, 41, added that Erica will likely follow in Dustin’s (Gaten Matarazzo) footsteps. “She’s absolutely going to be valedictorian. That is for sure.”
“What happens beyond that, I don’t know,” Matt said. “She can go where she wants to go.”
As for Murray and Mr. Clarke, Matt said, “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.”
Of Mr. Clarke, who has been an influence on Dustin and his friends since season 1, Matt said, “I think at his heart, he loves educating kids.”
Havens played the science teacher at Hawkins High School in seasons 1, 2, 3 and 5, and was recruited by Erica to help find Dustin, Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Steve (Joe Keery) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) in the Upside Down after they took the telemetry tracker with them.
“It was the time of my life getting to act with these talented people!” the actor wrote in an Instagram post on the day the finale aired.
“Thank you to the fans for making our show the cultural phenomenon it is. I’m sad, but I smile thinking about all the people that Stranger Things brought happiness to over the years. I love you all.”
In the finale, Erica and Mr. Clarke team up to help the gang from Hawkins, while everyone else heads back into the Upside Down one final time to fight Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower).
After rescuing the kids that Mr. Whatsit kidnapped and destroying the Mind Flayer in the Abyss, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) makes the ultimate sacrifice and traps herself inside the imploding Upside Down, which, to all her friends, appears to be her death. However, Mike (Finn Wolfhard) tells his friends at the end of the episode that he believes Eleven actually escaped with Eight’s help, and is living her life, finally free, somewhere far away.
The Duffers told Tudum that they purposefully “left it up to viewers to decide what they think happens to Eleven” and did not confirm or deny if she died. “She lives on in their hearts, whether that’s real or not,” Ross said.
Stranger Things season 5 is now streaming in full on Netflix.
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