When it comes to quality television, Stranger Things can count itself among an elite list of  TV series that can lay claim to the holy trinity of great actors, great writing and great music. The penultimate season of the 80s-set sci-fi phenomenon, and its epic two-part finale, is no exception, which explains why Stranger Things season 4 has just passed the billion-hour mark in viewing figures worldwide following the release of the last two episodes on 1 July.

With conversations about everything that went down in Hawkins reaching fever pitch, the writers of Stranger Things have now revealed that several dramatic moments from the final episode weren’t in the original script.

In a series of tweets posted to the Stranger Things official writers’ account, the creative minds behind the blockbuster-sized finale shared three scenes that were completely improvised by the cast.

The first scene revolves around Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) and Jim Hopper (David Harbour). At one point, Joyce says goodbye to Hopper, who’s getting ready to fight the prison’s Demogorgon. Visibly upset, she urges him to be careful, saying that she doesn’t want to hold a second funeral for him. Then, in a sweet moment that actually occurred spontaneously on the day of the shoot, they share a kiss.

The writers also shared that the heartbreaking moment when Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) desperately pleads, “Erica, help!” to his sister (Priah Ferguson) as Max (Sadie Sink) is dying in his arms was improvised by McLaughlin on the day of the shoot.

Finally, the writers revealed that the poignant scene where the leader of the Hellfire Club, Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) says, “I love you, man,” to Dustin (played by Gaten Matarazzo) was not planned, either.

This moment is especially poignant given the season four fan favourite perishes in the Upside Down after bravely sacrificing himself to the demobats to give everyone else more time to stop Vecna.

According to Sadie Sink, creative collaboration is not uncommon on the set of Stranger Things. In an interview with Deadline, the actor, who plays Max Mayfield, explained that the Duffer brothers have a great relationship with the younger cast members.

“What all the kids have loved about the Duffers is that they never once treated us any differently than they would an adult cast member,” she explained. 

“Like, they really respected and valued our opinions and created a really fun environment. They never undermined us in any way and really just listened to us and collaborated with us.”

As we puzzle over who lives, who dies and whether anyone can defeat the monstrous Vecna in the enduring franchise, one thing is certain: Stranger Things 5 is going to be huge.

Images: Netflix