Following the tumultuous fourth season of Stranger Things, fans of the Netflix series will have to wait at least two years before its final season hits the streaming platform. The rather ominous ending of the sci-fi horror series' fourth season, and the two-year window before its next installment, has given fans plenty of time to theorize how the series will reach a meaningful conclusion. Some have begun to think it will end with an Eddie Munson-style sacrifice to save the others.
Unfortunately, Stranger Things is not unaccustomed to killing off its beloved characters. The Duffer Brothers have said that season 5 won't introduce anyone new, practically guaranteeing that any major death in season 5 will involve a character Stranger Things viewers have gotten to know quite well. While there are worries that the final season could spell trouble for fan favorite Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) or Vecna's equally powerful counterpart Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), should Stranger Things end with a character making the ultimate sacrifice, there's only one logical choice.
From the initial season of Stranger Things, Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) has been a focal piece of the puzzle. It was Will's disappearance in Season 1 that sent Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), and Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) into the woods where they discovered Eleven and, eventually, the Upside Down. After being taken by the Demogorgon, Will has had an unfortunate spell of bad luck that has left him eternally tied to the Upside Down and its creatures. Season 4 revealed that the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer, both of which have tormented Will endlessly, were entities of Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower). Despite Will's connection to these sinister characters, after season 2, Will became a largely insignificant part of Stranger Things, but Season 5 hopes to change that.
As the ominous ending of Vol. 2 suggests, Will will have a major part to play in what's to come. After all, it was Will that revealed Vecna was still alive in Vol. 2. He said that since arriving back in Hawkins, he had been able to feel Vecna's presence on the back of his neck. After all his entanglements with the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer, Will knows how Vecna thinks better than anyone. It's what prompts Will to warn Mike that Vecna won't stop until he's hurt everyone and captured everything. Given his strong connection to Vecna and the Upside Down, Will's death may be the only way they can rid Hawkins and the rest of the world from Vecna's wrath.
Vecna's presence has been rooted in causing pain for the other characters, and there is no better way to continue that trend than claiming someone they love. Traumatic moments and the use of the memory of some Stranger Things characters have allowed Vecna to scare these characters in a horrific new way. The impact that Barb's death had on Nancy (Natalia Dyer) is the closest thing any of Stranger Things' core cast has got to experience a significant loss. The newest exception to this is Dustin's admiration of Eddie (Joseph Quinn), who was the most recent character to meet an unfortunate end. Vecna's form of mental torture could result in one member of the Party having to sacrifice themselves to save the others.
Viewers have experienced their own form of Vecna-like torture from the Duffers, who have created a trend of introducing easily likable characters, only to use them as sacrificial lambs to spark a shift in its core cast. Barbara Holland, Bob Newby, Alexei, and most recently, Eddie Munson, have all met bitter ends at the hands of the sci-fi series. By thrusting Will back into the spotlight, he may receive a similar ending. In fact, Will is a lot like Eddie. Eddie was labeled a freak and widely considered an outcast, which is no different from Will who has been bullied throughout the series.
If Season 5 does in fact avoid introducing any new characters, the Duffers will finally break their formula and likely end up killing one of the focal characters to save the others. Sensibly, Will is the character that best fits the bill, and the loss of one of its core characters in season 5 is what would usher in a new era for Hawkins and whoever makes it out of Stranger Things alive. Even as a background character, Will's relationship with other Stranger Things characters have been used throughout the series. The recent off-screen confirmation that Will is in love with Mike has added an emotional layer to their close bond over the years, giving Will's potential demise an added twinge of sadness.
Ultimately, if Stranger Things needs to heroically sacrifice any of its characters in the final season, Will makes the most sense. If he can be credited as the character who got everyone involved with the Upside Down, he could also be credited as the one who gets them out of it. If Season 5 aims to confirm Will's sexuality, Will may want to prove himself as an Eleven-like hero in Mike's eyes, leading him to make the sacrifice to save his crush, his best friends, and his family. Will's fake funeral in Season 1 has already provided a glimpse into how devastating his death would be, and with four additional seasons of watching Will's journey, it will be a heartbreaking end for the characters and viewers alike. With the hand Vecna has had in all this, it would ultimately make Stranger Things a massive mind game that comes full circle, both beginning and ending with Will and Vecna.
Stranger Things is now streaming on Netflix.