What happened to Murray? ‘Stranger Things’ fans have one question after emotional ending and here's our theory
Finale episodes are quite difficult as it is, and in the case of a finale that is tasked with bringing a satisfying end to such a long-drawn and popular saga such as 'Stranger Things', the work order reels under the added weight of audience expectations. The finale of 'Stranger Things' season 5, titled 'The Rightside Up,' was no different and delivered an emotional showdown, despite several fans being divided by the polarizing way in which the Duffer Brothers show tied up its loose ends. While several characters were given a fitting happy ending in the epilogue, several characters, prominent among them being Brett Gelman's Murray.
As Tudum recounted, the finale episode united all the allied forces in Hawkins, Indiana, in their final battle against Vecna and the Mind Flayer. The build-up to the finale had been impressive in the sense that little exposition was needed to establish the diverse character motivations. While Eleven, Kali, and Max united their forces to deal a fatal blow to Vecna inside Henry's mind, Hopper and Murray scrambled to trigger the bomb that would eventually destroy the entire Upside Down. The group of friends was tasked with rescuing the missing children from the depths of the abyss.
SlashFilm reports that while most of the other characters were given a fulfilling end on the show, the ultimate fate of Murray was left open to debate. Not only was he absent from the finale's second half, but also removed from the epilogue. Keeping in mind that Murray was the chief architect of the plan to bomb the Upside Down, the show could have spent a few minutes giving him a logical farewell. If it were not for Murray, who dispensed an explosive to the military helicopter that killed Alex Breaux's Lieutenant Akers and his soldiers, Hopper, Eleven, and Kali would have died at the spot.
Matt Duffer wasn't able to spell out exactly what happened to Murray and could only say that, "I think Murray's doing his own weird stuff." Murray's absence didn't go unnoticed by the fans of the show, who took to Reddit and Facebook to express their concern. One user wrote, "I love him, I’m pissed we didn’t see him in the ending." Another user remarked, "Murray looked very happy sitting next to Mr. Clarke, aka Schnookums, at graduation. I would love to know more, but I’m glad to know he’s still around!" A third user commented, "He’s a conspiracy theorist who got his conspiracy and got to save the world, he got his happy ending long before the others ever did."
While it seems unlikely that the Duffer Brothers would share Murray's fate in the near future, one might speculate that the character found that his job at Hawkins, Indiana, was over at the present and ventured to delve into his other conspiracy theories, hoping that they too might prove to be true. All episodes of 'Stranger Things' are available on Netflix.
