Charlie Heaton reflects on emotional 'Stranger Things' series finale

Charlie Heaton is opening up about the emotional end of Stranger Things and saying farewell to the cast that became his second family.

The actor, 31, shared with People magazine at the season 4 premiere of HBO’s Industry on January 8, where he reflected on his final day filming season 5 of the hit Netflix series.

“It’ll forever live in my memory,” Heaton said of shooting scenes for the highly anticipated series finale. “Just like gratitude for the people that I was working with. Love, not gratitude. It’s really rare.”

The finale takes place 18 months after the group’s final battle with Vecna. Jonathan (Heaton), Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Steve (Joe Keery) and Robin (Maya Hawke) reunite on a rooftop, sharing an emotional moment as they catch up on life.

Heaton recalled, “You’re always looking for the truth in a scene, and you’re always looking to have these relationships. And that last day on set, the things we were shooting, it was just real honesty.”

By the end of the series, Jonathan moves to New York City to attend NYU and work on an anticapitalist cannibal movie. Steve stays in Hawkins as a Little League coach, Nancy takes a job at The Herald in Boston, and Robin attends Smith College. The friends promise to stay in touch and toast to their futures.

“I’m sad to say goodbye. It was a really special experience,” Heaton said.

The Duffer Brothers later explained Jonathan’s ending on Netflix’s Tudum site.

“We set up that he’s been wanting to go to NYU for a very long time. That’s all the way back to season 1. So it made us happy to see him finally realize his dream,” Ross Duffer said.

Stranger Things is streaming on Netflix. Heaton can next be seen in Industry season 4, premiering January 11 on HBO and Max.