Maya Hawke Hints at a Bitter Finale for Stranger Things Season 5
Stranger Things Season 5 is almost here, and the cast is getting candid about their final days in Hawkins — including Maya Hawke, who joined in 2019 as Robin Buckley alongside Steve Harrington at the Starcourt Mall, and is bracing for a bittersweet goodbye.
Stranger Things is finally rolling toward the finish line, and the cast is already in their feelings about it. Maya Hawke, who joined back in 2019 as Robin Buckley (Steve Harrington’s Scoops Ahoy partner-in-sass at Starcourt Mall), just laid out exactly how that last stretch hit her. Short version: less sweet, more salt.
Not bittersweet. Just bitter.
Talking to Variety, Hawke said the goodbye landed harder than she expected. Years ago, she figured the end would feel bittersweet. Instead, it mostly stung because it meant walking away from a group she’d grown to love.
"The ending really was just bitter. It was just really sad to say goodbye to everybody. And not that it’s goodbye forever, but it will never be the same."
Worth remembering: unlike the day-one Hawkins crew, Hawke has only been in two seasons so far (Seasons 3 and 4). Season 5 is her third. She admits the first couple years came with that new kid energy — the vibe of a friend invited to Thanksgiving — and it took until this final season to actually feel like part of the family. Of course, that’s right when the family started packing up.
The last scene wasn’t a splosion-and-out
Hawke also gave a very specific, very welcome peek at how the show wrapped filming. The creators didn’t send her off with a random action beat and a hand wave.
"I will be forever grateful to them for allowing our last moment not to be like, 'OK, and now throw a grenade at the monster again. Cut! That’s a wrap on Maya!'"
Instead, the final scene they shot together intentionally matched the headspace the cast was in that day — a goodbye that felt like a goodbye. Hawke called it a gift: the real emotions they were processing as people could actually feed the moment on screen. And no, she pointed out, that’s not a spoiler; you don’t know her personal experience.
That final day rewired her as an actor
Hawke didn’t just get sentimental about the end — she says it changed how she works.
"I think it changed me as an actor forever. I am a different actor today, and I think a better actor, because of that opportunity to do a scene that was on such a high-stakes emotional day of my life that was also a high stakes emotional scene. I felt like I got to connect a red wire and a blue wire, and all of a sudden, I understood how to be present as an actor."
She says she now has access to a deeper part of her emotional toolkit on set — something she didn’t fully have before this experience.
A 12-hour cry day
If you’re picturing a graceful curtain call, it wasn’t that. Hawke says she spent about 12 straight hours in a loop of crying, pulling herself together to start a take, then breaking down mid-scene, then crying after. By her own description, it was a weepy, weepy day. After more than six years with the show, fair enough. And it’s not just her; plenty of cast members have been similarly emotional about the end.
As for the bigger picture: I’ll miss this world too, but I’m also glad they’re not dragging it out until it loses its spark. Better to end strong than turn it into a forever cash machine.
When Season 5 drops
- Volume 1: November 26, 2025
- Volume 2: December 25, 2025
- Grand finale (Episode 8): December 31, 2025
How are you feeling about the show wrapping up — ready to say goodbye, or not remotely there yet? Drop your take below.