Gaten Matarazzo Drops a Major Hint About Dustin’s Fate in the Stranger Things Finale
Gaten Matarazzo teases Dustin Henderson’s fate, hints at Eleven’s endgame, and admits he snuck into a secret Stranger Things finale screening.
Quick heads-up: this piece includes spoilers for the Stranger Things finale.
Stranger Things wrapped, the internet argued, and here we are. Since New Year’s, I’ve seen everything from ‘perfect ending, no notes’ to ‘what did I just watch,’ and I land closer to the latter: heartfelt, sure, but clunky. Before I start cataloging Season 5’s wonky logic, minimal consequences, and a few performances that didn’t quite land, let’s focus on something the show absolutely nailed from start to finish: Gaten Matarazzo’s Dustin. MVP status confirmed.
Why Dustin works when other things didn’t
From day one, Dustin has been the kid with the busted hat and the big brain: a D&D lifer and sci-fi sponge who could MacGyver a solution with duct tape and a grin. Over five seasons, he grows into a sharper, slightly jaded teen who’s still all heart. A huge part of that evolution is his bond with Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) in Season 4, alongside the ongoing big-brother vibe from Steve Harrington (Joe Keery). That trio brings out a version of Dustin that feels lived-in and earned, not just manufactured for applause.
Matarazzo’s victory lap (in a Grinch mask)
Talking to Variety about closing the book on Dustin after 9 and a half years and five seasons, Matarazzo shared a very Dustin move: he snuck into a New Year’s Eve screening of the finale while visiting family in Jacksonville, Florida. He went in disguised as the Grinch to avoid attention, then clocked the size of the theater and ditched the mask anyway. Surprise, it’s Dustin.
"A lot of shows don’t really give characters the opportunity to kind of just, for lack of a better word, talk shit and air everything out and speak unapologetically about the way they feel... I didn’t take for granted how special that opportunity was."
That line sums up why Dustin’s scenes have consistently popped, even when the show got crowded. The kid gets to be honest.
How Dustin’s story lands
Matarazzo says seeing Dustin end up with a sliver of normal life feels like a relief. After everything this friend group survived, him finally being able to exhale makes sense. He also points out the flip side: Eleven’s ending is intentionally tragic. The way he sees it, if Eleven stayed, real normalcy would never be guaranteed for the people she loves. He calls the choice to end her story that way beautiful. You can agree or not, but that intention tracks with how the Duffers framed her from the start: a hero whose presence is both salvation and a permanent disruption.
So... is Eleven alive?
Matarazzo does have his own take. He’s keeping it to himself. What he will say: the show leaves it open enough for you to decide, and he’s already clocked a basically 50/50 split among fans. If the ambiguity works for you, great. If it doesn’t, also fair. Personally, I think the Duffers wanted you arguing about this one in group chats.
However you felt about the finale as a whole, Dustin’s arc is the rare part that never lost the plot. Credit where it’s due: Matarazzo and the writers kept that character precise, funny, and emotionally honest all the way through. On a show that got bigger and wobblier as it went, that’s no small feat.