With Stranger Things season 5 on the horizon, one question has been on the tongue of every fan: who will die before the series ends? Though the series isn’t known for bloodlust and brutality like, say, Game of Thrones, many fans appear to feel certain that many characters will die in the final seasons.
Why this is is due to multiple reasons: Stranger Things has been known to give its main characters plot armor, and some have felt that these characters being saved has lessened the quality of the show. Others might feel that the death of a main character would give the show the emotional heft it requires to be a “home run”, as David Harbour has called the final season.
In actuality, however, killing off too many characters may rob the show of its themes, and might just run contrary to the nostalgic inspiration the show carries. The show has never claimed to be a kill-em-all slasher, nor has it ever pretended to be brutal and heavy-handed on removing its main characters. That’s why Stranger Things won’t suddenly change course in season 5 and start killing off lots of characters.
Killing the Children Would Be Too Much of a Downer
The cast members of Stranger Things might be all grown up now, but their characters are still fairly young (something James Cameron dubbed the 'Stranger Things effect'). Just last season, the core group of kids were around 15. While it’s been rumored that Stranger Things will do a time jump in season 5, it likely won’t jump out of the ‘80s, and probably won’t be anything too far in the future. The immediacy of the finale necessitates that the characters address what happened in Hawkins at the end of season 4 sooner rather than later.
And that’s a huge issue if Stranger Things chooses to kill off a child character. Even three years seems like too large of a gap in time for the show to jump ahead, so the child characters will likely all be under 18 when the series comes back. Will (Noah Schnapp) was thought to be dead in season 1, and it led to some truly heartbreaking sequences. Would the Duffers kill off one of the beloved child characters when they won’t be addressing the aftermath of such an event, and leave fans on a sad note? Of course, that does leave the adult characters, but there are also issues with killing them off wantonly.
The Duffers Don’t Write Cruelly
At the end of the day, the Duffer Brothers have shown themselves to value emotional satisfaction over shocking plot twists. Hopper (David Harbour) could have died at the end of season 3, but he didn’t. He had unfinished business with both Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). Leaving him dead could still have been a satisfying ending for the character, but the Duffers decided to instead reunite him with these two characters in the next season. The Duffers have also acknowledged backing down from going too dark; they admitted that they nearly had Eleven kill her mother in season 2 of Stranger Things, before deciding that it was simply too dark to do.
Killing off Hopper would now mean that Eleven once again loses her father. Killing Eleven means that Hopper cruelly loses both of his daughters. Killing Joyce means that her burgeoning relationship with Hopper never got off the ground - a twisting knife in the back, because the crux of their emotional arcs last season was their devotion to one another. And Will, who’s a commonly speculated character that might die? The kid’s suffered continuously throughout the entire show: bullying, trauma, abuse, homophobia; killing him off would make his story quite dark.
The Films Stranger Things Takes Inspiration From Are 80s Childhood Adventures
Stranger Things takes a lot of cues from ‘80s horror films, but it doesn’t solely draw from that pool for inspiration. Other films that have inspired it include moves like E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, The Goonies, Stand By Me, and even IT. While IT departs from being a more family friendly film than the other three, it does follow much of the same beats as those stories, which fall under '80s childhood adventure films.
The usual ‘80s childhood adventure film follows a pretty classic formula. The children in this genre of film band together and face many hardships, even some which leave them a bit worse for the wear, but they still come out on top in the end. Their friendship is tested and proves true; it’s just what they need to beat the bad guy and get their happy ending. Stranger Things has yet to deviate from many of the themes from these movies: the power of friendship and love will always save the day, even in the face of some massive growing pains.
Some Characters Have Already Been Thought Dead
There’s been several fake-out deaths in the series, which is what might have made some wary fans want a death that lasts in the show. Will, Eleven, Hopper, and Max (Sadie Sink) have all been seriously thought to be dead at one point or another, and the impact of a subsequent death would be lessened and made cheaper.
Eleven’s supposed death in season 1 already affected Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and the others. The trauma is something that Mike has had to try to overcome these last few years - for it to end in Eleven’s death once again would make it feel like a weak arc; Mike's entire character would have been running in place for the whole series. Will’s death would nullify the plots of the first two seasons, which were all about keeping him alive. Hopper’s death was very recent in fan’s minds, and the Russia plotline would then feel like a waste. Max died for real, and then was brought back. And after her poignant realization that she wanted to live last season, Max deserves to keep Running Up That Hill (thanks, Kate Bush).
Who Might Be In Danger
Frankly, there are a few faces that are in danger. Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman), lovable conspiracy theorist, has been on the show since the second season, and has become a close friend for both Hopper and Joyce. His death would have an effect on the audience, though he may not have as big of an impact if he’s the only one.
Karen Wheeler (Cara Buono) might also be in a tight spot next season. For years, she’s been clueless as to what Mike and Nancy (Natalia Dyer) have been going through. She’s listed as a main character for several seasons, and has had a close call with the Upside Down in season 4 - Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) even showed Nancy a vision of Karen dying. Stranger Things has tackled grief before, but hasn’t yet gone into depth about parental deaths. For that reason, Ted Wheeler (Joe Chrest) might also be in danger - a heroic, sacrificial death would redeem him in the eyes of many. However, it’s unlikely that both will die, as that would leave the Wheelers as orphans.
Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) might be the most likely candidate to die. Not only is Steve one of the fan favorite characters, his arc has been one of the best in the show. From typical jock to caring den mother, he’s done much to endear himself to audiences. It’s a testament to Keery’s acting ability and likability; Steve would have been killed off in season 1 (and been a much more unlikeable character) had the Duffers not been charmed by Keery’s performance.
Steve has a connection with pretty much every facet of the main cast. He also fits the mould that the younger, deceased characters fill, like Barb (Shannon Purser), Billy (Dacre Montgomery), and Eddie (Joseph Quinn). All of them have absent, rarely seen, or even abusive parents or guardians. This keeps the audience from thinking too deeply about how wracked by grief they must be - what the audience saw Joyce going through in season 1. If Max dies, her mother has lost her stepson, her husband, and her daughter - after becoming an alcoholic last season, she’s left with nothing. If Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) dies, Joyce will go through what she did in season 1. If Mike dies, his mother, who has a decently big role for audiences to latch onto, will be devastated.
Steve’s parents have never been seen, and he implies that they’re fairly absent and not the best parents. The audience wouldn’t be left on a downer, necessarily: while they’d be sad about Steve dying, they’d come to accept it as the natural end result of his growth into selflessness. The characters would still have someone to mourn, but Steve’s memory would live on in a big way that isn’t necessarily devastatingly sad. On the other hand, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) did seem adamant about stopping the Upside Down, and it’s unlikely he’d part so easily with another big brother figure after losing Eddie (whose death was also ironically considered one of the worst moments of the year by GameRant) last season. It’s possible Dustin could be Steve’s saving grace.
But then again, anything’s possible. While examining patterns is all perfectly well and good, it has to be acknowledged that the Duffer Brothers are cooking up something to surprise and delight audiences before Stranger Things season 5 starts shooting. It’s their last shot to hit things out of the park - and that means they’re bringing their A game. Hopefully, Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) will be able to take Max out on that date, the Byers and Hoppers can form a nice family, the party can play Dungeons and Dragons one last time, and Eleven can finally settle down and move on from her traumatic upbringing.