Millie Bobby Brown had a message for “Stranger Things” fans who pushed the secret ninth episode theory for the Netflix drama’s fifth and final season: “Shut up.”
The actress, who played Eleven on all five seasons of the Duffer Brothers-created series, touched on the final episode during a Thursday appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” Given Brown hadn’t been on the late night show since before her character’s presumed death at the end of Season 5, she admitted it was really hard to “lie to everyone” about the conclusion.
“Everybody’s like, ‘What happens?’ I’m like, ‘She dies. She dies. She dies. She dies,’” Brown said. “It’s so hard, because it’s all that plays in my head. And I wore black the whole press tour, because I was mourning her.’”
However, later on in her chat with Jimmy Fallon, Brown made it clear that only she and the Duffer Brothers know Eleven’s true fate – which was left up in the air with Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and company stating they chose to believe their friend survived the final showdown.
“Do you believe?” Brown then asked Fallon’s studio audience. “You have to. For my mental health, I need to believe. It took a real toll on me, saying goodbye to such an impactful show that’s changed my life forever.”
She added: “I think … it took a real toll on all of us. But, for me, I had to believe. Because, if I didn’t, I couldn’t come to terms with the goodbye. She’s out there somewhere.”
At this moment, Fallon mentioned fans’ extra finale theory, noting, “And then with the finale … They’re like, ‘It isn’t the finale. There’s an extra finale.’”
To which Brown responded: “Oh my gosh, shut up!”
“What more could you want?” Fallon jumped back in. “Yes, I said that’s a great ending. You had enough. Everything got solved. Everyone scored. It was like the greatest ending ever.”
Brown co-signed this sentiment, offering up a “Yep,” before defending the open-ended ending.
“You know what, the Duffer Brothers and I, we’ve made a secret pact that we know the true ending,” she added. “And whatever they choose to do with that information they do. Even my husband’s like, ‘Just tell me.’ Absolutely not!”
For those who missed the viral theory (called Conformity Gate), it cropped up on TikTok and social media last winter after the Season 5 finale dropped New Year’s Eve and pointed to a number of alleged Easter eggs and clues in the 45-minute epilogue.
These clues ranged from people at the graduation standing like Vecna to the D&D books lining up to say “X A LIE,” seemingly hinting that what happened in Dimension X/The Abyss didn’t play out like everyone saw.
Yet, when January 7 (the suspected release day) came and went and no bonus episode dropped, fans were forced to admit that “Stranger Things” really was over.
Watch Brown’s full “Tonight Show” interview above.
“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC.
