All 5 Stranger Things Epilogues, Ranked

Time after time.

One of the things Stranger Things has always done so well is finales. And one of the things they've always nailed in their finales are the epilogues. After the action, after the insanity, after the villain is defeated, we get a few more moments with our characters that wrap up their arcs for the season. It's always super satisfying and often very emotional. All five of these epilogues are absolutely amazing, so the ranking honestly doesn't even matter, because they are all very close in quality in my eyes. But I ranked them anyways, because that's what I do. So here is my ranking of all five Stranger Things epilogues.

5. Christmas in Hawkins

Season 1, Episode 8: The Upside Down

The epilogue to season one is still great, but it is both the shortest and really the least emotional. But I find all of these epilogues to still have some level of emotion and satisfaction, so the season one epilogue still hits all the notes it's trying to. I love seeing another D&D game. Rewatching it especially, watching the boys play Dungeons & Dragons and be so into it is just really nostalgic and fun. Of course, the most emotional moment of the epilogue is when Mike glances over at Eleven's little fort and its empty. I love the moment of Nancy giving Jonathan his camera and then revealing that Steve was in on it. I love the tease of Hopper putting the Eggos in the little box in the woods. This epilogue perfectly closes out season one but leaves just you wanting just enough to get into season two.

4. The Byers Family Leaves Hawkins

Season 3, Episode 8: The Battle of Starcourt

This ranking was really tough, because all of these sequences have things that hit really hard. Season three feels like it could've honestly been the final season of the series with how the epilogue closes everything out. After Hopper's "death", we see the Byers family finally deciding to move out of Hawkins. These final scenes between all of our characters as they go their separate ways are just fantastic. I love Nancy and Jonathan's last exchange. I love Eleven telling Mike she loves him. But the real kicker is, of course, Hopper's letter to Eleven, which backs a montage of them all moving out. David Harbour's warm voice delivers one of the most emotional and powerful monologues in the show as we see all of our characters move into a different phase of life. I think the letter scene itself might be the most emotional and powerful moment in the show, and it adds to what is already a great epilogue.

3. Hawkins Burns

Season 4, Episode 9: The Piggyback

I think if season five had been as good as we all wanted it to be, this would be higher, because the end of season four sets the stage for a truly epic finale. Even before that, though, we get some really emotional and impactful moments. This is really the first time that our characters have lost, so they are dealing with the fallout of that. Hawkins is in shambles. Max is comatose. And Vecna is still out there. Dustin telling Wayne Munson that Eddie was a hero and that Hawkins is wrong about him is another one of these moments that will just make you sob your brains out. Seeing Steve and Robin helping out in the school gym is a minor but powerful moment that just makes you love these characters more. And the true final scene, where we see the rifts open in Hawkins and the Upside Down truly invade the Rightside Up, gives me goosebumps every single time. The terrified looks on the faces of our characters with the orchestral version of the main theme playing in the background just sets you up for an epic final showdown.

2. The Snow Ball

Season 2, Episode 9: The Gate

Part of me wants to put this at number one, because this epilogue is probably the best part of season two. Honestly, it's one of the best parts of the show. The last twenty minutes of The Gate is just perfect. After teasing it in season one, we finally get to see the Snow Ball dance. There's so many great moments of payoff that have become iconic in Stranger Things. I love Dustin's newfound confidence that he got from Steve. Him getting rejected and Nancy dancing with him is one of my favorite moments in the entire show. Lucas and Max finally get together. And Mike and Eleven get to have their dance. This sequence, backed by both Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time and then The Police's Every Breath You Take, is such a perfect wrap up to these first two seasons of Stranger Things.

1. Graduation

Season 5, Episode 8: The Rightside Up

The main reason that The Rightside Up is a great finale in my eyes is due to the epilogue. of course this is number one. These are the final moments we get to spend with these characters. And every single one of them hits. Hopper's conversation with Mike solidifies the police chief's arc as the most powerful in the show. Dustin's entire graduation speech as one big homage to Eddie had me both crying and cheering. The rooftop scene of all of the older kids deciding to hang out despite being far away is such a perfect moment that hits because of how real it is. Hopper's proposal to Joyce at Enzo's is beautiful. And, of course, we close out exactly how we started: with a Dungeons & Dragons game. We got one final scene to say goodbye to these characters. Mike tells the story of how Eleven may have survived and the characters all say how they believe her to still be alive. We see that Dustin is a great student in college but still makes time to see Steve. Lucas and Max finally got their movie date. Will is thriving with a possible boyfriend in college. And Mike, the storyteller, is keeping all of these stories alive. The final moments as they all put their books on the shelf make me emotional thinking about them. I love that we see Holly and her friends come downstairs and Mike watches with a teary-eyed smile realizing that he is passing the torch to the next generation of nerds. He then walks upstairs and closes the door on ten beautiful years of storytelling. A perfect, beautiful, and highly emotional ending to Stranger Things. So, of course, it has to be number one.