Spoilers. Obviously. You have been warned.
In the final episode of “Stranger Things 3,” the heroes of Hawkins once again defeat the evil Mind Flayer (and his weaponized pile of gruesome goo!), with Joyce Byers heroically closing a brand new portal to the Upside Down that was created by the Russians. In the process – and again, spoilers are incoming – one of the show’s heroes doesn’t make it out alive.
When she closes down the machine that’s quite literally drilling a hole into another dimension, the machine explodes in epic fashion and kills Chief Hopper, who had been standing near it at the time of its destruction. We never actually *see* Hopper die, but it’s pretty clear that he must have – and an epilogue scene confirms that Hopper is indeed dead… right?
Though the characters are seen to be mourning Hopper’s death months after the climactic events at the Starcourt, a post-credits scene suggests that maybe he’s not actually dead at all.
We’re taken to a secret Russian base in the final moments of Season 3, where we see that Russian soldiers have prisoners locked up in cells, including one particularly unlucky soul who’s fed to a Demogorgon. Yes, the Russians have somehow managed to contain at least one classic-style Demogorgon here on Earth, meaning the threat to Hawkins isn’t truly over.
But perhaps even more importantly, there’s one dialogue exchange in the post-credits scene that has led many to believe Hopper is still alive. One of the Russian soldiers refers to an unseen prisoner as “the American,” the same thing that they repeatedly call Hopper throughout the season. Could it be that Hopper is alive… in a top secret Russian prison?
We must again note here that we never actually *saw* Hopper die. And in the world of television, when you don’t actually see something happen, it’s often because it didn’t happen. Mind you, the unseen American prisoner could be literally anyone – possibly Dr. Brenner? – but the intentional tease from the Duffer Brothers sure seems to suggest it’s Hopper.
As an interesting little side note here that may be connected to all of this, our own Meagan Navarro tweeted earlier today that you can actually call the show’s character Murray Bauman at 618-625-8313, a number featured in the sixth episode of season three. Calling the number plays you a brief message from Murray, who directly addresses Joyce Byers:
“If this is Joyce… I have been trying to reach you. I have an update. It’s about… well… it’s probably best if we speak in person. It’s not good or bad. But it’s something.”
Like the post-credits scene, this pre-recorded message seems to hint at the idea that Hopper may still be out there, even if his fate may be as unpleasant as, well, death.
So what do you think? Is Hopper still alive, or is “the American” prisoner someone else entirely? And if not Hopper, who could it be? Share what’s on your mind in the comments below!
