Why the ‘Stranger Things’ finale has Philadelphia fans buzzing
Because of course someone's "weird" uncle lives in Philadelphia and has a really big house.
This article contains spoilers.
New Year’s Eve brought the much-anticipated finale of the ultrapopular Netflix series Stranger Things, marking the official conclusion of the 10-year sci-fi saga.
But one detail from the series’ two-hour finale caught the ear — and imagination — of local viewers.
In one of the episode’s final scenes, four of the show’s main characters — Robin, Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve — discuss how to keep in touch now that many of them have departed their cursed hometown, the fictional Hawkins, Ind.
Over beers on the rooftop of a local radio station, the characters vow to meet up once a month in a convenient location.
“What’s a city between Hawkins and Massachusetts [and] New York?” asks Nancy, who drops out of Emerson College to take a job at the Boston Herald.
“I have an uncle who lives in Philly,” replies Robin, played by Maya Hawke, who attends Smith College in Massachusetts. “He’s kind of weird, but he’s got a really big house.”
It’s an idea that Philadelphians quickly took to online, obviously.
“The closest thing to the upside down IRL would probably be Philly, so I guess that makes sense,” wrote one commenter in a Reddit thread on the topic.
“Gritty has yet to emerge so they think it’s safe,” wrote another.
Even the city’s official tourism agency got in on the action.
“Did the Stranger Things crew just say they’re meeting up in Philly?!” the Visit Philly account posted to the social media site Threads. “Where should they meet?”
(Among the suggestions: Abbott Elementary, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Paddy’s Pub.)
Inevitably, some pined for a Philly-based spinoff — or, at the very least, a crossover with another high-profile show set in the region.
“I’m pretty sure when she says Philadelphia she really means Delco which, to [an] Indiana native, would be close enough,” wrote one Reddit commenter. “And would make for a kicka— spin off or team up with Mare of Easttown.”