The end credits of the Stranger Things Season 5 finale feature a series of illustrations styled like a player’s manual, and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it set of map coordinates has sparked speculation about Eleven’s fate.
After a decade of monsters and mayhem, Stranger Things has drawn to a close, with the last ever episode of the Netflix series dropping on New Year’s Eve (and leaving everyone in floods of tears).
Season 5 Volume 2 set up the final showdown, seeing the Hawkins crew prepare to take down Vecna, stop the Abyss from colliding with the real world, and close the gateway to the Upside Down for good.
Simple, right? As expected, things don’t quite go according to plan, leaving El’s fate hanging in the balance. Warning: spoilers ahead!
Stranger Things Season 5 credits spark Eleven theory
Although the gang manage to save the world and kill Vecna, El is seemingly killed in the process, but Mike suggests that she secretly escaped. The Duffer brothers have since said it’s up to the viewers to decide whether she survived or not.
This ambiguity has sparked plenty of discussion, which is where the end credits come in. You see, in the illustrations, a map appears with a set of coordinates on it. Some fans questioned whether this might be where El is now living, but this has since been debunked.
Turns out, the coordinates – 37°03’00.0″N 116°05’16.8″W – appeared on a computer screen in Stranger Things Season 4 when Suzie hacked into the system and discovered El’s whereabouts.
In the Netflix show, they reveal where the Nina Project’s desert bunker is located, whereas in real life, they point to a random spot of land in the Nevada desert.
Interestingly, the real location is close to the Apple II House, one of the test structures built for the 1955 nuclear bomb test, reinforcing the show’s long-running references to government experimentation, secrecy, and the Cold War. It’s also not too far to Area 51.
But as for the idea that the coordinates refer to where Eleven is now living, it’s simply not the case.
The detail has generated plenty of discussion, with one fan writing on Reddit, “The coordinates at the end of the episode… I don’t understand… is this where El is or what?”
“Ooooh good catch,” said another, to which the OP responded, “I cried a lot but now I feel optimistic because… I believe.”
Another Redditor asked, “Did they start an ARG or something?” One replied with the question, “Is that supposed to be where El is?”
However, an eagle-eyed fan pointed out, “Nina Project coordinates from Season 4 I assume.”
Another wrote, “Google said ‘The Nevada Desert Lab in Stranger Things 4 actually exists (sort of).
“‘The coordinates 37°03’00.0″N 116°05’16.8″W translate to 37 degrees, 3 minutes North, and 116 degrees, 5 minutes, 16.8 seconds West, a location famous in pop culture as the facility where Eleven was held in Stranger Things, situated in the Nevada desert, near Area 51.’”
Mystery solved – but as for El’s fate, that’s for you to decide.
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