All ten of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85‘s episodes have landed on Netflix. This newest animated entry into the world of Stranger Things takes us back to the time between seasons two and three of the main series. But this time, a brand new adventure unfolds. Most of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 is devoted to short vignette-like stories. And the show has much less lore than Stranger Things proper. But during the series’ final episode, things do heat up—taking us back to a very familiar place. So join us for our breakdown of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85‘s ending as we explain what exactly ended up going down and what it means for Stranger Things‘ overall lore.
Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Ending, Explained
The Queen Vine Monster Wants to Go Home to the Upside Down
Throughout the entire first season of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, Eleven, Mike, Dustin, and the rest of the Party have been fighting different forms of Upside Down plant monsters that seem to have evolved to survive in our world. Eventually, though, Dustin figures out that all these monsters are connected to an Upside Down vine creature called The Queen.
In Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, we learn that Dan Fischer, the seemingly nice-guy dating new character Nikki’s mother, was actually responsible for the creation of these creatures. He experimented on stolen Upside Down creature specimens and accidentally allowed them to escape back into our world. Of course, he thinks he still has control of the Queen, but at the end of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, we learn that’s not so. The Queen has secretly been growing, and after stealing some of the green growth goop she seems to crave, she escapes Dan’s clutches, hell-bent on getting home.
The Queen Opens a New Upside Down Gate
And home, naturally, or unnaturally, is the Upside Down. During the ending of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, the vine-monster Queen begins to open a new gate to the Upside Down. We know Upside Down creatures DO have that power. Anna Baxter explains to us, “Many creatures, I guess even from other dimensions, return to the place of their birth once they’ve matured and believe they can flourish.” And, as El, observes, if she can open one gate, she can open many gates.
As the Queen persists in tearing a gate between our world and the Upside Down, the Party springs into action.
Nikki, El, and The Party Manage to Stop the Queen and Close the Gate with Science!
It’s a hard battle for The Party, especially as the Queen devours even more of the green goop that Dan created. But thanks to El’s powers, the Party’s ability to work together, they are able to defeat the Queen and close the gate. Nikki’s mother, Anna, is a scientist, and Nikki is a tinkering genius. Firstly, Nikki makes weapons for all of her new friends. And secondly, she realizes that even though plants need light, too much light can be very harmful to them. Honing the powers of a car battery, Nikki makes a light gun that damages the vine-monster Queen enough for El to destroy her and close the gate.
Nikki Is Still in Hawkins
After the battle, we learn that at the end of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, Nikki Baxter is still in Hawkins. She and her mom move into a new home, and Nikki joins the group for a game of Dungeons & Dragons. We’ll talk more about this ending twist below.
A New Creature is Born in the Upside Down in the Ending Scene of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85
Indeed, El successfully closes the gate to the Upside Down in Stranger Things: Tales From ’85‘s final episode. But during its very last scene, we see something ominous. In the TRUE ending of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, we see that the Queen has dragged herself “home” to the Upside Down version of Nikki’s old house. Though the Queen appears to be a corpse, a deadly-looking, blue Upside Down flower sprouts from her, bearing its teeth. It also appears to light up with preternatural light not otherwise found in the Upside Down. That can’t be good news.
What Does Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Ending Mean for Stranger Things?
Ultimately, Stranger Things: Tales From ’85‘s ending means that a gate to the Upside Down was opened between Stranger Things 2 and Stranger Things 3. Something we did not know previously. Whether this new gate opening has any impact on the way the Mind Flayer is able to Flay Billy and the rest in Stranger Things 3, we don’t yet know.
Additionally, we know now a new kind of species has taken root in the Upside Down. For now, we don’t know what kind of deadly power this new flower holds, or what impact it will have on the world of Stranger Things. But we bet we will find out.
What Happens to Nikki at the End of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85?
Another point of interest, as mentioned, is that after the ending of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, Nikki remains in Hawkins. Of course, we know Nikki is not part of the friend group in Stranger Things 3. And we kind of expected her to move away at the end of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85. But here she is, still around.
Creator Eric Robles previously noted, “One thing that’s probably hard for a lot of people to understand is that in the ’80s, it wasn’t like it is now – you would have a friend that you would meet for summertime, if you went to camp, and they’d be amazing friends, and you’d have amazing adventures for that one summer. It wasn’t like you stayed in touch via Instagram or anything. If you got a phone number, maybe you stay in touch. But for the most part, people came in and out of your life, and they were your best friend ever for the two weeks or three months that you were with them, and then they’re out of your life. It’s the same concept with Nikki, but we’ll see what happens to her at the end of this thing.”
Well, although Nikki is supposedly someone who will come in and then go out of the lives of our Stranger Things‘ heroes, for now, she’s still around. And that tells us the story isn’t over yet.
Will There Be Another Season of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85?
Given the current ending of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, we have to assume there will be another season of the animated series. Otherwise, we’ll just have to imagine how Nikki left the group for ourselves, and that doesn’t seem very satisfying. Additionally, the song that plays during the ending scene of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 is “We’ll Meet Again” by Vera Lynn. So yep. That feels like season two of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 to us. Surely, Netflix will give us some updates soon.
Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 season one is streaming on Netflix.