Stranger Things Star Finally Reveals the Truth About Eleven’s Fate After the Finale — And the Answer Is Perfect

Stranger Things wrapped with a finale that split the room, mostly over what the show actually did (or didn’t) do with Eleven. Is she gone for good, or did the Duffers leave a door cracked open? Most of the cast has already picked a side. One notable holdout: Gaten Matarazzo. That changed this week.

Gaten finally weighs in on Eleven

Talking to THR while promoting his new movie Pizza Movie, Matarazzo broke his silence on Eleven’s fate. He joked that he originally planned to plead the fifth, but once everyone else started sharing their takes, he felt fine throwing his in, too.

• Where Dustin lands: In Gaten’s view, Dustin would assume Eleven is dead. The guy is practical and science-brained — he follows the evidence — and he’s not wired like Mike, who leads with hope. That said, Dustin would still tell his friend he believes she’s alive, because that’s the kind of friend he is.
• Where Gaten lands: Personally, he’s not committing. He can imagine a version where Eleven really is gone. He can also see Matt and Ross Duffer pulling a late flip at some point. Which, if you’ve watched the show long enough, tracks.
• The vibe: He doesn’t want to pile onto the 'she’s dead' train, and he genuinely seems split.

'I don’t know. I can see her being gone, but I can also see Matt and Ross flipping it later. So, I don’t know.'

About that rumored secret finale episode

Remember the wave of posts insisting Netflix had a surprise ninth episode coming — the real ending? The Duffer Brothers shut that down, but the theory stuck around anyway. When the supposed drop window came and went with nothing new, fans finally let it go: the finale was the finale.

Matarazzo says watching the hype from the sidelines was fun until it wasn’t. One fan even told him they bailed on a date because they thought the mystery Episode 9 was dropping that night. He felt bad breaking the news that nothing was coming. Still, he gets why people bought into it — recent promos for other projects have been wild enough to make that kind of stunt feel possible.

And yes, he got asked about Conformity Gate

It came up along with the secret-finale chatter, but the juiciest bit from Gaten here was squarely about the phantom Episode 9 and how bonkers that mini-moment got.

The whole series — all seasons — is streaming now on Netflix. If you’re rewatching the finale with a microscope, you’re not alone.