Stranger Things 3: 11 Best Chief Hopper Moments Of The Season
1. His Goodbye
After years of anticipation, Stranger Things 3 goes and delivers an utter whammy of an ending, with a final episode that not only pays lip-service to bona fide change being on the horizon but full-on commits to it.
Not only do characters like Joyce, Will, and Eleven all move out of Hawkins, not only does Eleven seemingly lose her powers for the time being, not only does Billy wind up sacrificing himself to help stop the Mind Flayer; but Cheif Jim Hopper ultimately sacrifices his life to close the Gate.
It is an utterly unexpected move for a show that has never killed off really anybody (outside of beloved periphery characters like Barb of Alexei) to suddenly up and murder one of its central characters. But what makes it all the more affecting is the grace and poignancy with which it is handled.
The final scenes play out with Hopper's final letter to Eleven narrating them, as he speaks about how much he loves her and how much he's scared of change, while also coming to terms with the fact that change is ultimately good and necessary.
It's Hopper as a character delivering one final lesson to his daughter while also serving as a voice for the show itself; change is necessary in order to survive and with the death of Hopper, change has indeed come to Stranger Things.