The Duffer Bros. Were Worried About Demogorgon Fatigue in the STRANGER THINGS Finale and They Shouldn't Have Been
Even though Stranger Things has come to an end, fans are still digging through it and dissecting every creative choice tied to the endgame.
One of the more surprising revelations comes from Netflix’s behind-the-scenes documentary One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, which pulls back the curtain on a major change made late in the writing process.
The Duffer Bros. reportedly scrapped Demogorgons from the final battle after worrying fans might be tired of them. That concern feels wildly off base, especially given how baked into the DNA of the show those creatures are.
The documentary reveals that the climactic showdown in The Abyss, where Eleven and the rest of the Hawkins crew face off against Vecna and the Mind Flayer, was originally designed to include Demogorgons swarming the battlefield.
That idea was later reworked after Ross Duffer raised a red flag about overexposure. The moment was captured on camera by director Martina Radwan, who found the debate fascinating to watch unfold.
“I like the conversation, because it obviously changed, right? And so having them sit there and really explore that – to me, the writers' room is so fascinating, because you see them thinking.
“I love that they were so sure about the Demogorgons in the final Abyss – except Ross was like, ‘Mmm, maybe there's some fatigue, Demogorgon fatigue.’ And [writer/executive producer] Kate [Trefry] agreed,” she told Variety.
“And you're like, ‘Oh, OK – so this is not the last conversation. They disagree, and they will resolve it on some point.’ We, in the doc, left it open because at the time the doc comes out, everybody knows there are no Demos in the Pain Tree.”
The idea of cutting back on Demogorgons might sound reasonable. The show has used them a lot over the years. But context matters, and this particular moment was the exact time they should’ve been present.
Earlier in the season, Dustin figured out that Demogorgons didn’t actually originate in the Upside Down. They came from The Abyss and used the Upside Down as a kind of interdimensional hallway to reach our world. If the final battle is literally set in their home turf, their absence sticks out in a big way.
Demogorgons aren’t just monsters-of-the-week. They’re part of the ecosystem of Stranger Things. Fans understand that and expect them to be there because they always have been.
Pulling them out of the finale feels less like restraint and more like removing a key ingredient at the worst possible time. It’s the equivalent of stripping all the orcs out of The Lord of the Rings during a major battle. It doesn’t elevate the story. It just feels wrong.
What makes the choice even stranger is how firmly the show established Vecna’s control over them. Through the hive mind, he’s used Demogorgons as weapons before, including abducting Holly Wheeler and other Hawkins kids.
Season 5 also put a lot of narrative weight on Will’s evolving connection to that hive mind, with his arc centered on learning how to tap into it and siphon Vecna’s power. That setup practically begs for a payoff where Demogorgons are involved in the final confrontation.
Worrying about Demogorgon fatigue is strange because they’re a visual and thematic cornerstone of the series. Seeing them unleashed in The Abyss during the final showdown would’ve felt earned and fans would’ve accepted it.
Instead, their absence turns a logical, story-driven moment into a head-scratcher, and that’s a weird note to strike as Stranger Things ends.