Jamie Campbell Bower addresses ‘Stranger Things’ finale on Jimmy Fallon

He told Jimmy Fallon the ‘Stranger Things’ finale feels right, stopping short of confirming Vecna’s death

Jamie Campbell Bower appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this week to talk about Stranger Things and how things wrapped up in season 5. When Fallon asked him directly about the fate of Vecna and the emotional resolution in episode 8, Bower repeatedly framed his comments cautiously, saying that what viewers saw in that installment “is the ending the show deserves” and that it “feels right” given the theme of friendship, love, joy and hope at the heart of the series.

During the conversation, Fallon pressed on whether Vecna truly dies in that sequence, but Bower didn’t offer a straight confirmation on screen. Instead he emphasised how honoured he was to be part of the story and spoke about how the show’s central ideas justified the direction taken. Reviewers and fans spotted that Bower referred again and again specifically to episode 8 when discussing how the story concluded, rather than calling it the final or last episode, something that’s added fuel to fan theories about a possible secret follow-up story.

His tone shifted between genuine appreciation and subtle hesitation as Fallon probed deeper, and some viewers online interpreted his body language and choice of words as reluctant or sceptical about detailing the finale’s specifics. Clips of his appearance on Fallon circulated on TikTok with captions like “tomorrow it begins,” which some fans linked to a fringe theory about an additional episode beyond episode 8, though there’s no confirmation from Netflix that anything beyond the eight instalments exists.

Bower also joked about his experience joining the franchise as Vecna, recalling that hearing he would be killed off came as a surprise when the script for that episode was first read. He said being part of the show was an honour from start to finish, and suggested that the emotional beats of episode 8 “fit” the series’ overall arc, without explicitly revealing whether his villain’s story is truly over.

Fans have taken Bower’s comments as both affirmation and ambiguity, with some seeing his reluctance to flatly answer discussion-ending questions as intentional and others interpreting it as playful avoidance on national television. Whatever the intent, his appearance on Fallon keeps conversation about the finale’s meaning and Vecna’s ultimate fate lively among viewers.