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Major spoilers for Stranger Things 2 follow below. Turn back now if you’re not caught up.

Like at the end of Season 1, Stranger Things Season 2 has left us with a ton of questions about where things might go next. But the second season's finale was a little less overt in setting that up, and when our own Steve Weintraub sat down with executive producers Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen, they explained that that was very intentional.

As you'll recall, Season 2 ends with the lovely Snow Ball, which we then exit out of as the camera slowly turns, revealing the Upside Down and the "Shadow Monster" (a.k.a. the Mind Flayer, but the producers said on set they called it the former). “From the beginning, we all knew that this had to end with the Snow Ball." Levy said. "Not only do our fans need it, but our characters need it. They need moment where they get to return to normalcy."

But what does that shot mean? Is Hawkins in for Round 2 next year? Levy explained that the plan of turning the camera upside down at the end came out of an idea he pitched in Episode 4 about doing that when Hopper goes underground. That image stuck in everyone's minds, and that led to the final shot. As Levy continued,

“We cannot top that Snow Ball. We will never make people happier than that dance will make people. So let’s not leave there with the promise to come. Let’s let people have a moment of joy. And then we have The Police song, 'I’ll Be Watching You,' and then indeed the camera turns and we see that something is."

That was not supposed to be the very end, though. Originally, “There were epilogue scenes that were considered for after that shot that would have hinted more at Season 3. But there was a decision made by all of us where we said let’s not back in to any promises again," Levy told us. He added:

“We always felt after Season 1 that we had to payoff that slug that Will coughs up in the sink, or whose black car Hopper was getting into, and had to — and wanted to — follow-up on Hopper putting the Eggos out in a wooden lockbox in the woods. This time the [Duffer Brothers] very consciously wanted to promise less, so that their freedom is more.”

The Demodogs, and Particles of Evil

When asked about whether or not the Demodog in the fridge is one of those cliffhangers that they might follow-up on, Levy said that hasn't been discussed yet. While Cohen added that the Demodog is definitely dead, he did say,

“Whether or not his current state will lead to Dustin’s scientific genius being received by the world, we’ll have to wait and see.”

However, the producers did tell us a key fact about what they call the “particulates of evil," as Levy explained:

“We definitely see when Will is saved those particles, that particulate — we used to call it the particulate of evil — it emerged not in the Upside Down but in our world. and maybe that’s got to be dealt with...”

Leaving Hawkins

Levy and Cohen confirmed that the lab had been shut down, and as Levy said, “there’s only so much evil that can happen here." (Although I would offer up series like Erie, Indiana or even Buffy the Vampire Slayer to show how one unfortunate location can indeed be the nexus of plenty of evil to come!) Because of that, though, and the fact that the lab has been shut down, the show will likely be leaving Hawkins in future seasons.

Levy continued,

“We took a big swing by opening the show with a car chase in another city, then Episode 7 goes to another city for an entire episode, and whether or not people feel that episode was entirely successful, the Duffers want to take some swings. And they know that they aren’t going to please everybody, but there is that feeling of the world getting a bit bigger."

True, Episode 7 was pretty divisive because it lacked the character shading that the show does so well. And we'll see how, if the show does leave Hawkins, it will continue to incorporate its young cast.

What's Coming Next

Obviously, everyone is cagey about what might be coming next for the show, with Dan Cohen saying that while the seasons are obviously connected,

“They’re movies, they really are standalone movies, and they really do fit within the Star Wars films or Harry Potter movies in that they are standalone things where you have enough of a nod to get into the next story, but they can function and you can enjoy on their own.”

Levy continued, saying that they don't spend a lot of time planning out the future of the series:

“Our show has a warmth to it that’s not cynical, and that’s why we’re not looking to the masterplan that much. And I don’t want to create a crisis of consciousness with our viewers that we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

But, as Cohen noted, “And trusting [The Duffer Brothers] that they know where they’re going to get to.”

For more Stranger Things coverage, check out these recent posts:

• ‘Stranger Things 2’: Bob Originally Had a Much Darker Fate
• ‘Stranger Things 2’ Highlights the Problem with Netflix’s Drive for Quantity over Quality
• ‘Stranger Things’ Producers Confirm [SPOILER] Is Still Alive
• ‘Stranger Things’ Trivia Reveals Season 2 Tidbits and Season 3 Teases
• ‘Stranger Things’ Season 2: Creators Defend Divisive Episode 7