Stranger Things: The heartbreaking detail you probably missed in season 3

There's a small, but crucial detail in the finale of Stranger Things season 3 that more casual fans might have missed.

In the epilogue that shows fans what happens three months after the 4 July drama, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) pays tribute to her fallen father, Chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) in an extremely emotional way.

After Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) givers her the handwritten letter he wrote while coming to terms with Eleven's blossoming romance with Mike (Finn Wolfhard), she lies on the floor and reads it while wearing an oversized flannel shirt.

While most viewers wouldn't pay attention to the outfit, one diehard fan noticed that this is the same shirt Eleven brings with her when she runs away to Chicago in season two's controversial episode, "The Lost Sister".

It's the one that reminds her of her family unit back home – which makes it all the more emotional due to the fact she's about to leave Hawkins, Indiana with the Byers family.

This isn't all. Remember that blue hairband seen in season one? It's the one shown in flashbacks worn by Hopper's daughter Sara, who went on to pass away, and is later worn by Hopper himself as a wristband.

Eleven is seen wearing that same hairband in this scene, also. She truly is continuing the Hopper legacy.

Of course, most fans are hoping that Hopper didn't perish in the season three finale and that he somehow escaped the explosion unscathed. Could he be "the American" mentioned in the season's mid-credits sequence? We're keeping our fingers crossed.

Whether or not this lends credence to this theory linking the series to the Chernobyl disaster remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, actor Finn Wolfhard – who plays Mike Wheeler – has revealed that a much-discussed scene hinting at the sexuality of Will byers (Noah Schnapp) was originally played very differently.

Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix.