Stranger Things has never shied away from big emotional beats, but for its series finale, the Duffer Brothers went bigger still, securing two iconic Prince tracks for Episode 8’s climactic sequences.
According to the Duffers (who also wrote and directed Episode 8), the decision to bring When Doves Cry and Purple Rain into the grand finale was born out of pure narrative necessity. “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 tells Netflix’s Tudum. “I think there’s nothing really more epic than Prince.”
He isn’t wrong there! Indeed, the Duffers say the pairing of the two tracks “lined up perfectly for us,” with When Doves Cry scoring the tense moment when Hopper and Murray set off the record-triggered bomb as the gang makes its escape. Later, the tone shifts as Purple Rain underscores Eleven’s appearance by the collapsing MAC-Z gate, leaving audiences to ponder her fate as the Upside Down falls apart.
It wasn’t an easy beat to land. The Duffers admit that Prince’s catalogue is notoriously hard to license, especially pieces that have never before appeared on television. “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 says.
Matt Duffer credits the show’s earlier music success with helping clear the hurdle: “And then, thanks to Kate Bush, we were able to acquire the rights,” he explains, referencing Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God), the song whose Season 4 resurgence opened doors the Duffers once thought closed. “We were told that it was a real long shot, so we just crossed our fingers. Thank God they agreed.”
Indeed, the show has continuously been synonymous with its music. From its now-iconic theme song (created by Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon of the electronic band Survive) to, of course Running Up That Hill and not forgetting Eddie (RIP) shredding Master of Puppets by Metallica in Season Four, the show has always put music at the front and centre. A sentiment not overlooked by the artists who have created them…
“The way The Duffer Brothers have incorporated music into Stranger Things has always been next level, so we were beyond psyched for them to not only include ‘Master of Puppets’ in the show, but to have such a pivotal scene built around it,” Metallica said in a statement posted on social media at the time. “We were all stoked to see the final result and when we did, we were totally blown away… it’s so extremely well done, so much so, that some folks were able to guess the song just by seeing a few seconds of Joseph Quinn’s hands in the trailer!! How crazy cool is that?”
Stranger Things Season 5, including Episode 8 ‘The Rightside Up’ is now streaming on Netflix.
Fancy a Stranger Things binge listen? Find the official Spotify playlist here…
