The beloved Netflix sci-fi series Stranger Things is coming to a close. This means we’ll have to say goodbye to the beloved characters after the finale, but some of them might not even live to see the happy ending (if there is one).
When it comes to Stranger Things, there’s no shortage of tragic and tear-jerking deaths. It’s a deliberate decision that the Duffer Brothers made since the inception of the series. “It’s important that every death resonates in a big way,” Matt Duffer told Time Magazine in an interview shortly before Season 5’s premiere, “which is why we’re very careful who we kill because it has these massive season-long ripple effects. Otherwise it just doesn’t feel like it has any weight to it.”
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And the ending to the series will perhaps take everyone’s breath away. “We’ve known for a really long time what the final scene of the show was going to be, which gave us a north star,” Matt told The Hollywood Reporter. “I think, ultimately, it was the right way to do this — was as if every season was a movie. Let’s not leave anything on the table. Let’s not hold this back because maybe it’ll be better for later.
Take a look at our best guesses for the Season 5 deaths, including theories on how they will perish.
In the trailer, Nancy is seen washing away blood while profusely sobbing. We have a hunch that the person’s blood might belong to Jonathan. While the couple might be fighting in Season 5, Jonathan’s death might light a spark in Nancy to do even more badass things to get her revenge against Vecna.
Eleven has had quite the arc ever since she was found in Season 1. Fans are saying that she has the potential to sacrifice herself so that everyone could go back to their normal lives, and make it seem like Vecna, the demagorgons, and even the Upside Down didn’t exist in the first place.
The newcomer to the group who has been thrown around by Vecna even after she blasted “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush constantly. Fans theorized that something big is coming after her character after Sadie Sink was the only person wearing white on the red carpet. Could death be in the cards for Max even though she’s technically brain dead?
Lucas is still dealing with the grief of Max being in a coma after Vecna’s vicious attack. Fans are worried about Lucas’ fate after Caleb McLaughlin hinted something towards the finale. “The finale I would say generally was the hardest thing to film for sure, and it’s annoying because we can’t really talk about it,” Finn Wolfhard admitted in an interview clip, to which McLaughlin said, “My finale was different, so I don’t know.” That was enough to ring the alarm in so many different theories, but one thing is for sure. He’s experienced a different fate from everyone elses.
It would be hard to imagine Stranger Things ending without the crew’s victory. Everything leads up to the big boss battle against the villain, but some fans are saying that Vecna isn’t the final boss. The Mind Flayer influenced Henry Creel from the beginning. With the Broadway show Stranger Things: The First Shadow giving away more of his origin story, it would be a complete redemption arc if Vecna defeats the true evil by sacrificing himself.
It all started with Will’s disappearance. Ever since he got out of the Upside Down, it’s been hinted that the place still has lots of influence on him. Fans believe that Will would have to die in order to save Hawkins, and how so? By using his power of “true sight” as the ultimate sacrifice.
Maybe he’s in the middle of the love triangle with Jonathan and Nancy, but Steve’s bond with Dustin is unbreakable. In Season 3, Dustin told his bestie, “If you die, I die.” Foreshadowing?
One Redditor posted, “I’m really not thinking of the plot, but the only thing I did think from reading someone else’s theory about what will happen in S5 is that the clip in the trailer where Dustin is crying and hugging Steve might be that they do a convincing fake Steve death.
“Like all evidence points to him being very dead, and Dustin is devastated after losing Eddie last series, so the reveal that Steve is still alive is a huge relief and makes Dustin have the response he does.
