As Stranger Things' final chapter comes to a close, its cast and creators bid an emotional farewell to the series that they spent a decade working on.
As Stranger Things concluded its groundbreaking run on New Year's Eve, the cast, many of whom grew up on the set, look back and reflect on the impact the series has had on their lives and careers. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Millie Bobby Brown, who began portraying Eleven at age 11, revealed how surreal it feels.
The actor said that she couldn't fully admit to herself that the show was over until the night before the last day of filming. "It really has to be in my face for me to be like, 'Oh my God! It's happening. A year in advance, I wasn't thinking about it because I was like, 'We still have a year to go.' But then on the last day [of filming] it really hit me. Actually, the night before it really hit me," she explained.
She added that when she fully realized it was over, she was about to drive back home. She said that she had to sit in her car for half an hour to calm down and collect herself before she could drive. "I actually had to drive home, and I had to wait half an hour in my car to really calm down before I drove," she told the publication.
Brown stated that Stranger Things did more than just boost her career, she also met one of her best friends through the show, Noah Schnapp. Brown and Schnapp, who plays Will Byers in the hit science fiction show, were so close that the latter became the godfather to her child, whom she adopted earlier this year with her husband, Jake Bongiovi.
For Schnapp, the hardest part was having to say goodbye to the people with whom he grew up. After spending draining days on set while going through the ups and downs of child stardom, it's almost impossible not to grow close to your co-stars. He added that knowing he wouldn't see them on set anymore was heartbreaking for him, which also made the last day of filming particularly rough. "Saying bye to everyone. Knowing that I won't ever see them again in the same space was really tough. I think the day after [filming ended] was just devastating for me."
Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler) said he was in "complete denial" until the very last shot of filming. The actor had a bittersweet take on the end of Stranger Things. He said that while the Netflix show was over, the friends he made are now family in his eyes, and that will never go away, no matter what they go on to do after the show. "It's the end of that specific life circumstance that we all had when we were in a routine where we saw each other, but also sometimes it doesn't. There are pieces of it that don't feel like they're over just because we're all still a family. We still see each other all the time. So there are parts of it that are always gonna last forever."
Caleb McLaughlin, who played Lucas Sinclair, said that the series' conclusion began to sink in during Stranger Things season 4. He said it was an odd feeling to know that something he has been a part of for so long is coming to a close, but at the same time, it was going to get a real ending instead of just getting canceled as so many other shows do. "Our last time looking forward to a new season. "In that moment, I was like, 'Whoa. This thing that's been a part of my life for so long is gonna have an ending to it."
All episodes of Stranger Things can now be streamed on Netflix.
