[This story contains spoilers for Stranger Things, season five, Volume 1.]
The decision to cast their high school drama teacher in Stranger Things season five was notably special for the Duffer Brothers.
Co-creator Ross Duffer shared on Instagram Friday, following the release of the final season’s Volume 1 on Wednesday, that they cast Hope Hynes Love as Ms. Harris, as she was a formative part of their adolescence.
“Miss Harris is played by Hope Hynes Love. She was our high school drama teacher,” he wrote in the caption. “High school was rough for me and my brother. But Hope saw something in us we didn’t see in ourselves — and she helped give us the confidence to not only survive those four years, but to move to LA and chase our dreams.”
Ross added, “Shoutout to all the teachers out there making a difference. And please… let’s prioritize the arts in schools.”
After being introduced in the final season as Ms. Harris, a teacher at Hawkins Elementary School, she becomes a key character when her classroom, which includes Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher), is targeted by Vecna. At one point, she witnesses Holly speaking to her “imaginary friend,” who goes by the name of Mr. Whatsit, on the school playground before the youngest Wheeler is taken. However, Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer) later learn Mr. Whatsit is actually Henry, aka Vecna, (Jamie Campbell Bower).
Later in Volume 1, Ms. Harris also accompanies the military to MAC-Z to help keep watch of the children. And during the Demogorgon attack, she also gets the kids to hide under the beds; however, they’re still ultimately taken by Vecna at the end of episode four, titled “Sorcerer.”
As Matt and Ross Duffer prepare to bring this more than 10-year-long journey to an end with the final season of the hit Netflix show, they’re definitely feeling all the emotions.
“We’re good. We’re excited,” Ross recently told The Hollywood Reporter. “I mean, nervous to show it to the world, but we’re excited to finally be near the end, but also sad… very confused emotions over here! We’ll see how we feel when it’s all done. Right now, we still have some work to do, but we’re getting near to the end.”
Matt added, “We’re still working on it, which allows us to remain in denial. But it’s very weird. When I was in school, I was always the last person working on a test, so I hate that someone has to force me to put pencils down, which is inevitably going to happen.”
Volume 1 of Stranger Things season five is currently streaming on Netflix, with Volume 2 dropping on Dec. 25 and the series finale on Dec. 31, which will also be playing in theaters. Check out all of THR‘s Stranger Things season five coverage here.
