The Stranger Things finale went out with a bang, including not one, but two iconic Prince tracks – and the Duffer Brothers have Kate Bush to thank for scoring the rights.
SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses the Stranger Things 5 season finale plot details. Read ahead at your own risk if you’ve yet to watch it.
The Stranger Things series finale has been making waves online after dropping yesterday, wrapping up nearly a decade of 80s science fiction storytelling that has repeatedly broken the internet over its massive five season run on Netflix. The final episode contains not one, but two Prince songs, including the track ‘Purple Rain’ – which the musician’s estate hasn’t generally allowed to be licensed for anything but the movie of the same name.
Speaking in an interview with Netflix’s own publication Tudum, series creators and Episode 8 directors Matt and Ross Duffer (referred to from here in as the Duffer Brothers) shared why they picked these songs – and how Kate Bush was integral in scoring the White Whale of music rights. Just a reminder if your curious wandering eyes have made it this far, there’s spoilers for the finale’s plot ahead.
If you’ve already watched the Stranger Things series finale, you know that the Upside Down (aka the wormhole / Einstein-Rosen bridge) is blown up to the sound of two Prince & The Revolution’s tracks from the 1984 Purple Rain album – ‘When Doves Cry’ and the titular track, ‘Purple Rain.’
“Once we came up with the idea that the record was going to be the trigger for the bomb, we knew we needed an epic needle drop, and so many ideas were thrown around,” Ross Duffer said. “I think there’s nothing really more epic than Prince.”
The Duffer Brothers said they were looking for an album that began with a victorious song, but wrapped up with a track that carried the emotional weight as the Upside Down falls apart, supposedly with Eleven still in it (of course, Eleven’s actual fate at the end of Stranger Things remains up to audience interpretation thanks to a final-hour story twist from Mike that could be the reality, or simply a story to believe in). Ross Duffer says that in looking for an album that met these requirements (and no, Butthole Surfers did not make the cut despite Mike’s enthusiasm), “Prince lined up perfectly for us.”
‘When Doves Cry’ blares out as Hopper and Murray begin the bomb’s timed trigger during the episode, with the Party ready to make their grand escape after defeating Vecna and end the Upside Down once and for all. However, as they make it back to Hawkins, they realise Eleven is still inside the Upside Down as it prepares to go down, exotic matter and all – tracked to ‘Purple Rain’ as the characters scream for her to escape rather than die with the wormhole that seemingly began everything in Stranger Things Season 1 (and in the events prior).
The Duffer Brothers said they had “never talked about a song choice as much as we did for that moment.”
“What is also very exciting about it is it just has not been used. [Prince’s] estate does not generally allow that song to be licensed outside the Purple Rain movie,” Ross Duffer added. He felt the song choice was perfect, “because I think it summed up the emotion of the moment.”
“And then, thanks to Kate Bush, we were able to acquire the rights,” Matt Duffer said. Bush’s 1985 song ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)’ ran up that chart in July 2022 when Stranger Things Season 4 dropped thanks to its massive emotional weight tied to Max’s storyline, hitting third place on the Billboard Hot 100.
According to the Duffer Brothers, when they said they wanted to include two Prince songs in the Stranger Things finale, “we were told that it was a real long shot, so we just crossed our fingers.”
Matt Duffer said: “Thank God they agreed.”
While Prince features heavily in the final episode of Stranger Things, it’s not the only iconic track to grace the ears of viewers. Iron Maiden’s ‘The Trooper’ also got a look in during Dustin receiving valedictorian in a fitting tribute to the much-loved character of Eddie Munson, who was killed off in Season 4 (and many fans hoped and wished would somehow make a return in the last Stranger Things season, but unfortunately did not).
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