'Stranger Things' Season 5 finale: Fans debunk why there weren't any demogorgons in Episode 8

Netflix show's faithful believe in one explanation that has been doing the rounds
UPDATED JAN 3, 2026
A Demogorgon in a still from 'Stranger Things' Season 5 Vol. 1 (Cover image credit: YouTube | Netflix)
A Demogorgon in a still from 'Stranger Things' Season 5 Vol. 1 (Cover image credit: YouTube | Netflix)

One of the major absentees in the 'Stranger Things' Season 5 finale was the Demogorgons and the Demobats. This was rather confusing considering a major portion of the first half took place in the Upside Down. However, the Netflix show's faithful believe in one explanation that has been doing the rounds. The Mind Flayer theory looks to be the closest to the many speculations.

With the Mind Flayer basically existing as a smoky, shadowy particle, absorbing the demogorgons, the rest of the creepy monsters would be one way of looking at things. The final form was a squelchy, ugly, spider-like being with long limbs and a tough exterior. But in reality, it had the same weakness as the demogorgons with heat and fire. This was one of the ways the Hawkins' heroes rendered the monster weak, while Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) killed Vecna.

The theory adds up, though there has been a different official reason from the show's creators about the absence of the other monsters that terrorized the town for four seasons. Safe to say, their presence would have made life difficult for the ones on a mission to kill the big bad.

"Mainly, it’s just that Vecna was not expecting this sneak attack on his home turf. Never in a million years could he even imagine that. They’re there somewhere. We obviously discussed having a demo battle on top of the Mind Flayer battle, but it felt more right to us that why does he needs the demos when the Mind Flayer is this giant thing and can attack them?" Matt Duffer said.

"He doesn’t need his little ant army to attack; he’s going to take care of this himself. It’s a giant, desolate planet. If you recall, you see Henry wandering the planet back in Season 4, and at some point in his journey, he does see a demo far in the distance, but it’s not like they’re hanging out in little huts. There’s not like a giant civilization of demos up there."

Ross added that the eggs that Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Steve (Joe Keery) killed were all the army creatures. "We did at some point have that they were going to come across a giant field of demo eggs in kind of an “Aliens” thing, but you can’t get all your ideas in there. You remember the eggs?"

'Stranger Things' season 5 is streaming on Netflix.

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