The tiny detail in the 'Stranger Things 3' finale you may have missed

Warning: Contains spoilers for Stranger Things Season 3.

Jim Hopper is set to be the new Jon Snow.

The guy has only just "died", and there's already been a bounty of evidence unearthed that all but proves he's definitely still alive and coming back for Season 4.

And let's be honest: the evidence is actually pretty convincing, isn't it? We didn't see him die, there are a couple of reasonable ways he could have escaped destruction, and -- crucially -- there was a distinct absence of body/remains.

Basically, Hopper is no more dead than Elle was at the end of Season 1. David Harbour is now going to have to carefully navigate a year's worth of interviews and set visits without someone giving the game away.

Until that happens, though, let's try to further convince ourselves that Hawkins' favourite bear-sized human is okay.

Here's an interesting screengrab from the show shared by Reddit user u/tierfonyellowaces in the r/StrangerThings subreddit.

We double-checked, and it's real. If you jump to the 49:00 mark in the show's final episode, there's a shot of that big laser machine that clearly shows a ladder leading down from the platform Hopper is standing on.

The shot takes places shortly before Joyce turns the key, which makes me think it was put there on purpose -- so we're briefly shown a possible escape route. In the blackout that happens before the laser explodes, Hopper would likely have had just enough time to scramble down the ladder to safety.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

If I had to guess, I'd say there are four possibilities regarding Hopper's fate:

1) He really was killed in the blast.

2) He scrambled down the ladder and was taken captive by the Russians.

3) He scrambled down the ladder and was taken captive by the Americans.

4) He got sucked through the gateway into the Upside Down.

It's impossible to say for certain which of those scenarios is true. But I'd be really, really surprised if it's option one. Besides, there's all these elements to consider too.