Kali dies and what is the ending?

January 1, 2026

1 3 minutes read

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for the series finale of “Stranger Things,” now streaming on Netflix.

‘Stranger Things’ has come to an end.

The horror-fantasy sensation, which started in 2016 as a modest ’80s pastiche and quickly grew into a Netflix juggernaut, has ended with a major series finale written and directed by series creators The Duffer Brothers. Below is a breakdown of what happened during the last episode.

Eleven made it out alive!

It appeared that Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) sacrificed herself when the bomb exploded, destroying the Upside Down and effectively closing the bridge so evil could appear. She even had one last kiss with Mike (Finn Wolfhard), and all her friends and loved ones mourned. But surprise! Her sister Kali (Linnea Berthelsen) actually cast one last spell to create a fake Elf, so only then looked as if she died. Ultimately, by Mike’s estimation, Eleven is safe and sound on a beautiful walk, far from anyone who wants to harvest her blood.

Both Vecna and the Mind Flayer appear to be dead.

While Eleven and Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) fought in the massive Mind Flayer, the rest of the Hawkins crew shot and battled the big beast. When Will (Noah Schnapp) entered Vecna’s mind to help Eleven, both villains – who according to Henry (also Jamie Campbell Bower) are one and the same – took too many hits and were taken down. Joyce (Winona Ryder) delivered the final blow, decapitating Vecna with an axe. Bonus: the little kids were saved too!

Kali is killed.

Lieutenant Robert Akers (Alex Breaux) shot at Kali just before Murray (Brett Gelman) caused a distraction by blowing up the helicopter. After this, Elf killed all the soldiers and then took over Akers’ spirit to make him shoot himself in the head.

Henry Creel’s traumatizing cave memory is revealed.

It turns out that after killing the mysterious man, Henry watched his younger self open the suitcase as a piece inside jumped into his hand. Turns out the Mind Flayer didn’t want Henry to remember using him as a vessel to reach Hawkins – just like Will was a vessel for Henry. However, Henry disputed this, saying that he and the Mind Flayer were one and the same.

Eighteen months after Vecna, things in Hawkins are pretty much back to normal.

The catastrophic events may have been swept under the rug like an earthquake, but at least there is a memorial! We catch up with our crew after a time jump on high school graduation day. Max (Sadie Sink) is skateboarding and making out with Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin). Hopper (David Harbour) fulfills stepfather duties for Joyce and her children, but takes time to comfort Mike, who is still grieving El. Plus, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) is a valedictorian, and of course his speech is all about “Dungeons & Dragons.”

Steve (Joe Keery) is now a high school sex ed teacher and baseball coach – and Derek (Jake Connell) is a catcher on the team. In other news, Nancy (Natalia Dyer) left Emerson for a journalism job, Robin (Maya Hawke) is studying at Smith, and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) is working on a film at NYU film school.

After graduation day, Hopper proposes to Joyce and suggests they move to Montauk, where he was offered a new job, and that they could have a fresh start. Meanwhile, Mike, Max, Dustin, Lucas and Will skip an invitation to a graduation party to play a D&D campaign with a bittersweet ending that mirrors their own futures: Will goes to the big city and starts dating; Max and Lucas stay together; Dustin goes to college but still hangs out with Steve; and Mike becomes an author.

In the final scene, Mike watches as Holly (Nell Fisher), Derek and their friends launch their own D&D campaign.