Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Ending Explained: Who Created the Queen Monster?

The final scenes of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 brought The Party together as they face off the Queen monster, which has been unleashing her minions and wreaking havoc on the people of Hawkins. With the Gate reopening, a new and mysterious threat emerged, and our favorite characters had to stick together for one big spooky adventure.

To keep the stability of the local town, Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max had to team up with Nikki Baxter, the new kid on the block. It turns out, she’s not just a punk rock girl who loves to tinker—she plays a critical role in stopping the Queen!

TV Series:	Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85
Showrunner:	Eric Robles
Based on:	Stranger Things by The Duffer Brothers
Release Date:	April 23, 2026
Episode Count:	10

Stranger Things: Tales From ’85: The Queen Monster Was Defeated

Throughout the show, the gang tries to find out where these mysterious creatures were coming from, knowing El had closed the gates of Upside Down, meaning no more threats can make their way to Hawkins.

It turns out these mutable plants from the Upside Down, with dead spores still attached, remain in Hawkins, and if they cannot find a host within 24 hours, they will die. It seems these creatures are evolving, because after the team realized this, they confirmed that these monsters can survive even without a human host.

One of their leads is the vision their school friends—who were victimized by the creatures—see in their minds after being attacked. The investigation revealed that these minions were taking orders from a Queen monster.

Apparently, the Queen monster found a portal to the Upside Down and is attempting to reopen it. The group’s mission now is to stop the Queen with the help of El’s powers. In a collective effort, they managed to neutralize the threat with the aid of Nikki’s weapon, and El killed the monster and closed the portal.

Now, the million-dollar question is who created the Queen monster? The beginning of the first episode showed a scientist trying to kill one of the creatures. It was later revealed that one scientist took some of their remains to a lab and injected various kinds of serums, the last one reviving it to life.

Nikki’s mother, Anna Baxter, is a scientist who also teaches at Hawkins Middle School. When the gang came to visit her house and asked her about evolution, they later realized that these creatures were releasing spores so that they could turn the plants of Hawkins into monsters.

In an epiphanic moment, Dustin realized that Nikki’s mother might have something to do with this, especially after he spotted the tower—the one his school friends were seeing—when he went to the washroom. This was later reinforced after they found tapes inside the Baxters’ house showing scenes from a laboratory.

The greatest plot twist, however, is that it wasn’t Anna who was the mastermind of it all. It was Daniel, her partner, who created these monsters. While everyone was trying to kill the Queen, Daniel was trying to escape with the bottles of serum, but unfortunately for him, he was attacked by the Queen and killed in an instant.

Ending Scene Shows A New Creature Is Born in the Upside Down

In the very last scene, we see the Queen monster lying dead in the Upside Down, but just when we thought it was all over, a mysterious blue flower sprouts from her. What this means is that the threat is not yet obliterated, as we know that the spinoff takes place between Seasons 2 and 3.

Our takeaway here is learning that the Gate has been reopened during this period and that a new kind of species has been born in the Upside Down. This already signals that there are more adventures waiting for the group, perhaps in another follow-up story.

We do know, however, that Nikki is still in Hawkins, and she and her mom have found a new home. It’s still unclear whether her character would return in the future, and if her staying here means more for the original group.

What are your thoughts on the new animated spinoff? Let us know in the comments!

Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 is now streaming on Netflix.