Spoilers ahead for “Stranger Things” seasons one through four.
“Stranger Things” creators Matt and Ross Duffer have proudly said their hit Netflix show is not a bloodbath like “Game of Thrones.”
“This is Hawkins. It’s not Westeros,” Matt said in 2022 after the show’s star, Millie Bobby Brown, called the Duffer brothers “sensitive Sallies” for not killing off more characters.
While some of the show’s main characters have been on the brink of death at times — Will (Noah Schnapp), Hopper (David Harbour), Steve (Joe Keery), Max (Sadie Sink) — they’re usually rescued by a combination of Eleven’s powers and plot armor.
So far, only minor characters have died in the show’s first four seasons, including including Bob (Sean Astin) in season two, Billy (Dacre Montgomery) in season three, and Eddie (Joseph Quinn) in season four.
Yet the final season of the hit Netflix show is promising to go out with a bang: the Duffer brothers teased that it features “the most violent death of any season.”
“The goal was always to scale up each series with the age of the characters and our audience,” Ross Duffer told The Times. “Hopefully, parents don’t get too mad at us.”
Is death coming for someone in the main cast of the show’s final season? Below, we rank 15 main characters in ascending order of likelihood that they’ll die in “Stranger Things” season five.
15. Erica Sinclair
Killing off Erica (Priah Ferguson) wouldn’t just be nonsensical — she’s one of the youngest characters, often used for comedic relief, and rarely placed in immediate peril — it would be incredibly messed up. Fans wouldn’t stand for it, and neither, I hope, would the Duffer brothers. She will live another day.
Risk level: Very Low
14. Holly Wheeler
On one hand, Holly’s promotion to core cast member could spell trouble. She’s technically been around since season one, but she was aged up and recast with Nell Fisher for season five, meaning she’ll actually have a role to play this time around. And historically, in “Stranger Things,” newcomers are in the most danger.
On the other hand, introducing Nancy and Mike’s baby sister into the narrative just to kill her seems callous. It’s more likely that she’ll follow an arc similar to Will’s in season one — thrown into the thick of the action, maybe even victimized by the evils in the Upside Down, but ultimately saved by her family.
Risk level: Very Low
13. Dustin Henderson
The showrunners are not going to kill the sweetest boy in Hawkins, especially not after Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) watched his idol, Eddie, slowly bleed out after getting stabbed to death. Let’s be serious!
Risk level: Very Low
12. Max Mayfield
Max (Sadie Sink) already died in season four. In the finale, she fell to Vecna’s curse, her bones broke, and her heart stopped. She was miraculously resurrected — likely thanks to Eleven’s telekinesis, though it was left ambiguous — and she ended the season in a coma.
Max has been conspicuously absent from the fifth season’s promotional materials (she didn’t even get a character poster), and so far, she has only been shown as limp and unconscious in trailers.
All that may sound dire, but if the Duffer brothers wanted to kill Max, she’d already be dead. Her heroic arc in season four would’ve been that much more poignant if her life ended in Lucas’ arms.
Sadie Sink is confirmed to reprise her role, and there’s no way she got paid reportedly upward of $7 million for the season just to lie unconscious in a hospital bed. Most likely, Max’s fate has been kept mysterious because when she wakes up, it’ll play as a big emotional moment — not because Max is going to die all over again.
Risk level: Low
11. Jim Hopper
Like Max, Hopper (David Harbour) already kind of died in the show, vanishing in the season three finale — only to have his survival be revealed in a mid-credits scene.
Of course, while the audience knew that Hopper was alive, the other characters didn’t. Their grief was thoroughly explored in season four, especially Eleven’s. The duo’s emotional reunion in the season four finale is a series highlight.
Hopper’s fake-out death would dull the sting of watching him die again, so the Duffer brothers would be wise to avoid it.
Risk level: Low
10. Joyce Byers
As far as adults go, Joyce (Winona Ryder) is at slightly more risk than Hopper, but I doubt the show would leave Will, Jonathan, or Eleven motherless.
Risk level: Low
9. Mike Wheeler
Mike (Finn Wolfhard) is the only character who’s never been to the Upside Down. His death never truly seems like an option. Maybe that’ll change in season five, but I doubt it.
Risk level: Low
8. Eleven
Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) is always at risk in some way; she’s spent her entire life being tortured or hunted. Once Vecna is finally defeated, she deserves to live a normal life with her friends and family — at least, one that’s as normal as someone with telekinetic powers can hope to have.
This could be wishful thinking, but I don’t see Eleven’s arc ending in death, even if it’s a sacrifice. It would be too cruel. Plus, she already sacrificed herself to save her friends and kill the Demogorgon in season one, assuming the burst of energy would kill her too, so reusing that narrative technique would be a frustratingly predictable move.
Risk level: Medium-Low
7. Jonathan Byers
Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) is the true neutral of “Stranger Things” risk assessments. He’s neither likely nor unlikely to die at any given moment. Especially in season four, he was mostly there to move the plot along and lacked any big scenes that threatened his life. (Meanwhile, his girlfriend, Nancy, was in the Upside Down blasting Vecna with a sawed-off shotgun.)
That being said, Jonathan is essential to both Nancy and Will’s character arcs. If either of them is placed in jeopardy in season five, expect Jonathan to be in jeopardy as well.
Risk level: Medium
6. Nancy Wheeler
Nancy (Natalia Dyer) is one of the few characters who’s cool under pressure and handy with a gun. She’s certainly been able to hold her own in combat thus far, but as the supernatural threats from Vecna grow ever more menacing, bullets may not be enough.
Nancy is also at a disadvantage for having two younger siblings. She has a natural protective instinct and can be bold to the point of recklessness — qualities that could make her extra vulnerable this season.
Risk level: Medium
5. Robin Buckley
Robin (Maya Hawke) is the newest character among all the teenagers, so if we’re judging by the established “Stranger Things” pattern, she’s in a significant amount of danger.
The last two teenagers who were added to the core cast, Billy and Eddie, both died expeditiously — not to mention the other teenagers who died in the same seasons they were introduced, including Barb, Heather, Chrissy, and Fred. Robin could be next.
Risk level: Medium-High
4. Lucas Sinclair
There was a popular theory during season four that Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) would sacrifice himself to save Max from Vecna, fueled by the lyrics of Max’s favorite song, “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush. (“And if I only could / I’d make a deal with God / And I’d get him to swap our places.”)
That hasn’t happened yet, but it doesn’t mean it can’t still happen. More recently, panicked theories about Lucas were reignited when Caleb McLaughlin hinted that he might not appear in the series finale.
During an interview with Refresher, Finn Wolfhard said the finale was the most difficult episode to film. McLaughlin replied, “My finale was different, so I don’t know.”
It’s certainly possible that McLaughlin was joking, but it’s also possible that Lucas is headed for an ill-fated solo mission.
Risk level: High
3. Will Byers
Judging by the season five trailers, Will (Noah Schnapp) is in the most immediate danger — although that’s not exactly new. Ever since he was kidnapped by the Demogorgon in season one, Will has had a direct connection to the Upside Down, and its evil has possessed his body more than once. Now, it looks like Vecna intends to use Will as a pawn in his final attempt to destroy Hawkins.
Unfortunately, because this connection flows both ways, Will is a liability. As long as he’s still alive, Vecna will always have a connection to the Rightside Up.
In an interview with Time, the Duffer brothers said they conceptualized “Stranger Things” as “a show about Will.” The very first episode is titled “The Vanishing of Will Byers.”
Out of all the boys in the original quartet, it would make the most sense for Will’s arc to end with some kind of climactic sacrifice. If he managed to save his family and friends, just as they saved him in season one, it would bring the series full circle.
Risk level: High
2. Steve Harrington
Steve (Joe Keery) was originally conceived as a side character who was supposed to die all the way back in season one.
Instead, the Duffer brothers fell in love with Keery’s performance, and Steve was rewritten with a redemption arc.
“When he comes back and fights the Demogorgon, that was supposed to be Jonathan’s dad,” Matt said at Geeked Week 2022, per Rotten Tomatoes. “The cast is impacting where you take the narrative, the other writers and directors… It’s this living thing.”
Steve has been surviving by the skin of his teeth ever since, even as he’s been attacked by Demodogs, stabbed by Demobats, and tortured by Soviet soldiers. He’s become a fan favorite by throwing himself into the fray, doing everything in his power to shield Nancy, Robin, and the kids from harm. His friendship with Dustin makes him particularly lovable.
Alas, Steve’s fan-favorite status may just be his downfall. His death would be devastating, which means it would make for great TV — especially as the show comes to an end, when the Duffer brothers won’t have to worry about fans swearing off future Steve-less seasons.
Risk Level: Start preparing your eulogy
1. Vecna
“Stranger Things” is a popular Netflix show inspired by ’80s classics like “E.T.,” “Ghostbusters,” and “Star Wars.” It’s simply not going to end without good triumphing over evil.
Risk level: He’s toast.
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