As the Stranger Things finale looms, Eleven is keeping her secrets close-knit, and the underlying tension between her and Hopper is teetering on the edge of an emotional explosion. Throughout Season 5, Volume 2, the father-daughter duo's relationship is fraught with tension, with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) seething with anger and betrayal towards Hopper (David Harbour).
In Volume 1, it was revealed that Hopper had a suicide plan he had kept hidden for months. Eleven discovered this truth as they broke into the government facility in the Upside Down at the end of Volume 1. Although he claimed it was just a "failsafe," Eleven was not convinced, and her distrust lingers into the next set of episodes.
This "messy and complicated" dynamic between Hopper and Eleven is a crucial piece of the puzzle as we approach the final episode of the series, according to the Duffer Brothers. "We really wanted to explore this dynamic of a parent and their child, who is no longer really a child anymore, but a young adult becoming an adult — and how do you deal with that?" Matt Duffer tells PEOPLE. "How do you deal with letting them go, giving them independence, when especially Hopper, feels so protective of her?"
Hopper's protectiveness is even "more intense than most parents because of his history," having lost his daughter, Sarah, years earlier, to cancer. That tricky dynamic between a parent and child is "really a big part, I think, of everyone's journey in transitioning from childhood or young adulthood to adulthood," Matt adds.
For Hopper, his grief drives him, and "he had to confront it again as he was going to save Will in season 1, and then he had to confront it again over the various seasons as he sort of adopted Eleven as his own daughter," says Ross Duffer. Hopper's "greatest fear" is that "Eleven won't be able to live happily and that she will die at the end of all this," Ross says, and that now "seems to be a possibility," given the suicide pact she makes with Eight.
As episode 7 ends, the gang heads into the Upside Down to begin "Operation Beanstalk," their plan to defeat Vecna before he brings the Abyss to Earth. Eight tells Eleven that they can't "leave with the others" and instead must stay behind so that "when the Upside Down vanishes, so will we." At first, Eleven is hesitant, but she gives her sister a subtle nod just before the episode ends that seems to indicate she's in on the secret plan.
As for what this means for Hopper, Ross teases that his fear "is what we really explore moving into the finale." In episode 7, Hopper shares his fears for Eleven's safety with Joyce (Winona Ryder) before their final mission kicks off. "I can work on repairing things between us when I get on the other side of this, but right now, I need to make sure she gets out of this alive," he said. "That Kali makes one false move, I swear to god, I’m gonna kill her. I’m gonna kill her. I will not hesitate. Anything happens to El in that tank, I am pulling her out. I can’t lose her, Joyce," Hopper said, his voice breaking as he gave voice to his biggest fear. “I can’t.”
Volumes 1 and 2 of Stranger Things season 5 are streaming now on Netflix. The finale drops Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET.
