Stranger Things Finale Brings Emotional Farewell To Hawkins

After nearly a decade of supernatural thrills, emotional rollercoasters, and small-town mysteries, Netflix’s Stranger Things is preparing to close the curtain on its epic saga. The show’s highly anticipated series finale is set to premiere on December 31, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET, both on Netflix and in movie theaters across the United States—including a special screening in Connecticut. For fans who have followed the residents of Hawkins, Indiana, since the show’s debut in 2016, this moment marks the end of an era and the culmination of years of twists, heartbreak, and nostalgia-laden adventure.

The road to this finale has been paved with loss, transformation, and growth—none more so than for Gaten Matarazzo’s character, Dustin Henderson. In the fifth and final season, viewers have witnessed a markedly different Dustin than the cheerful, quick-witted kid introduced in Season 1. According to Mashable, Dustin is now a sulking, angry young man, shaped by the trauma of watching his friend Eddie (Joseph Quinn) die at the end of Season 4. This pivotal event sent ripples through Dustin’s personality and relationships, forever altering the dynamic within the show’s beloved group of friends.

“He’s actively trying to cut himself off from the person he’s scared of losing the most,” Matarazzo explained in a Mashable interview, referring to Dustin’s strained relationship with Steve Harrington (Joe Keery). Gone is Hawkins’ resident ball of sunshine, replaced by a teenager who channels his grief by emulating Eddie’s style—growing out his hair, wearing rings, and sporting his battered Hellfire Club shirt despite relentless bullying.

This grief has pushed Dustin to distance himself from his closest allies, especially Steve. The tension between the two forms a central thread in Season 5, leading to missed missions, heated arguments, and even a physical altercation. In the season’s first episode, Dustin’s anger boils over into a fight with his tormentors, causing him to skip the crucial crawl to the Upside Down and jeopardizing the group’s mission. His absence doesn’t go unnoticed and further strains his friendships, especially with those who have also experienced loss since the show’s beginning.

Matarazzo candidly acknowledged the complexity of Dustin’s arc: “I was kind of hoping there would be a bit of a conflicted feeling around it. I didn’t want it to come across as like, ‘Oh, poor him.’ Because as much as that’s true, and I think a lot of people can clearly see he’s going through a lot, he’s also being a dick. And I think, no matter how much one is grieving, it doesn’t excuse your behavior towards other people, especially those who are in your corner, people who are there supporting you.”

This honest portrayal of grief is echoed in the contrast between Dustin and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), whose own journey involves coping with Max (Sadie Sink) being in a coma for over a year. Matarazzo noted, “Lucas is clearly dealing with something very similar to Dustin, but also seems to be taking it in a route that’s less selfish,” highlighting the show’s nuanced exploration of how different people process loss.

The shift in Dustin’s relationship with Steve presented unique challenges for the actors as well. Matarazzo described how their off-screen camaraderie sometimes clashed with the on-screen conflict: “Sometimes we’d be goofing off before takes and especially early on, they would yell, ‘action,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m not centered in the slightest,’ because I’m still just joking around with him. That was a different approach. And so we would look at things and look at each other and be like, ‘Man, this is really sad,’ because we just want to have fun sometimes. That’s the natural drive there.”

Despite the emotional heaviness, the season isn’t devoid of the playful banter fans have come to love. Matarazzo pointed to a standout scene in episode 4, where Steve drives his car through a rift into the Upside Down, with Dustin, Nancy (Natalia Dyer), and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) along for the wild ride. “There’s the normal excitement of us screaming and yelling and insulting each other, but with playful banter, and I think it’s one of those moments where in [Dustin’s] weird, little pent-up rage, when all is said and done and when everything else goes crazy around him, he doesn’t really have time to actively try to be mean to [Steve],” he said.

But the heart of Season 5, Volume 2, lies in the confrontation and eventual reconciliation between Dustin and Steve. Their journey comes to a head while investigating Hawkins Lab in the Upside Down, culminating in a raw exchange of words and a physical fight. Matarazzo recalled the experience of filming these scenes: “Sometimes I just wander around in a corner with headphones on, not really to build up any emotions or anything like that, but to just weirdly get the head fog out of it and just be at a neutral place, because then you can be open to discovering what happens. There are a lot of different takes. There are takes where we’re crying before the fight, there are takes where we’re even angrier, and there’s takes where’s it just at a neutral tone, where we’re just saying these things to each other and then seeing how naturally it digs in, and they took a lot from each of them.”

The reconciliation scene, which Matarazzo admitted he was “so scared of the whole time,” is described as cathartic and deeply moving. Filmed after much of the season’s emotional build-up, it allowed the actors to bring genuine vulnerability to their performances. “I think one of the healthiest things to do in grief is unpacking it when you feel the need to do so and diving in and feeling everything that you possible can feel and that you’re naturally inclined to feeling,” Matarazzo said. This moment, where both characters drop their defenses and express how much they mean to each other, stands out as a testament to the show’s emotional depth.

For Gaten Matarazzo, this journey has been particularly meaningful. Born in 2002 at New London’s Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in Connecticut, Matarazzo’s roots in the state run deep, even though he moved to New Jersey as an infant. He’s played Dustin in all five seasons of Stranger Things and has also graced the Broadway stage in productions like Les Misérables and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. During his run as Gavroche in the touring company of Les Misérables, he returned to Connecticut for performances at New Haven’s Shubert Theater in 2013, further cementing his connection to the region.

Connecticut’s ties to Stranger Things don’t end there. Shawn Levy, the series’ director and executive producer, is a Yale University graduate, having earned his degree at the age of 20. These local connections have given fans in the state even more reason to celebrate and reflect as the show reaches its conclusion.

Since its premiere, Stranger Things has captivated audiences with its blend of 1980s nostalgia, supernatural intrigue, and heartfelt storytelling. Set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, the series follows a group of friends as they confront secret government experiments and terrifying forces from the Upside Down. The final season, released in two volumes—with the first four episodes dropping on November 26, 2025, and the next three on December 25, 2025—has brought the story full circle, challenging its characters and fans alike to face the unknown.

As the clock ticks down to the series finale, anticipation is running high. Whether watching from the comfort of home or joining fellow fans in theaters, viewers are preparing to say goodbye to a show that has left an indelible mark on pop culture. For Dustin, Steve, and the rest of Hawkins, the journey has been anything but ordinary—and for those who’ve followed along, it’s been unforgettable.