The Duffer Brothers Were Worried ‘Stranger Things’ Fans Had ‘Demogorgon Fatigue’ Before the Finale

Stranger Things‘ Upside Down was always a mysterious place—but fans were certain of a few key things. One is that the Upside Down is known to be crawling with vicious beasties, including the show’s most famous pre-Vecna villain, the Demogorgon.

In season five we learned the Upside Down functions as a wormhole connecting Earth to the Abyss, and it’s from that angry realm that the monsters actually originated. So fans wondered: where were all the demo-beasts when Mike, Nancy, Will, and company barged into their homeworld in the big finale?

It’s not the most vexing question to linger after “The Rightside Up,” but it does feel like something that should be addressed. In a new interview with Variety, the director of Netflix’s upcoming documentary about the making of Stranger Things season five explained the lack of Demogorgons wasn’t an oversight—it was something the Duffer Brothers thought the fans would actually appreciate.

In fact, the documentary includes a scene in the writers’ room where the issue is discussed outright.

“I like that moment, and I like the conversation, because it obviously changed, right? And so having them sit there and really explore that—to me, the writers’ room is so fascinating, because you see them thinking,” director Martina Radwan said.

“I love that they were so sure about the Demogorgons in the final Abyss—except Ross was like, ‘Mmm, maybe there’s some fatigue, Demogorgon fatigue.’ And Kate [Trefry] agreed. And you’re like, “Oh, OK—so this is not the last conversation. They disagree, and they will resolve it on some point.’ We, in the doc, left it open because at the time the doc comes out, everybody knows there are no Demos in the Pain Tree.”

No Demos in the Pain Tree should have been the documentary title, but alas, it’s called One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5. It arrives on Netflix January 12.

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