This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things, up to (but not including) Season 5, as well as Stranger Things: The First Shadow.
We’re almost at the end of the road for Stranger Things. After nearly a decade and four blockbuster seasons, as well as a Broadway play, the Netflix hit is closing the book on the Upside Down with a three-part Season 5. With the show creators, the Duffer Brothers, promising this fifth and final season will wrap up all the show’s mysteries – and perhaps more importantly to the focus of this article, the character arcs – fans are on high alert, wondering who if anyone is going to die by the series’ end.
To be clear: nobody has to die in this final season. It’s entirely possible the show could end with all the characters alive, happy, and settled, starting a new life with Demodog pets and Demogorgons working at the local garden shop. In fact, despite some big character deaths over the past four seasons, the Duffers have been very careful and calculated about making sure those deaths have the proper impact.
“It’s important that every death resonates in a big way,” Matt Duffer told Time Magazine in an interview last month, “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.”
That’s all well and good – one could throw out that nobody will die because the show doesn’t have time to deal with the deaths – but let’s be honest: all bets are off. Nobody is safe, and with the town of Hawkins under siege by the villainous Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) and frequent incursions from the Upside Down, things are looking more dire than ever for everyone involved. Heck, the Duffers have teased that you’ll be “crying in front of strangers” if you see the finale in theaters. Probably not crying with joy, right?
With that in mind, we’re going to break down every major member of the show’s main cast and give our best educated guess as to who will kick the bucket in Stranger Things Season 5, from least likely to most likely. And we’ll throw in plenty of fan theories and conspiracies along the way, so let’s run up that hill one more time and figure out which Stranger Things characters are most likely to die in Season 5!
Erica Sinclair (Priah Ferguson)
You can’t spell America without Erica, and even though she was a relatively late addition to Team Hawkins, we can’t imagine Stranger Things without Lucas’s bitingly sarcastic little sister.
Why she’ll probably die: Honestly? Erica isn’t going to die; we’re not even going to entertain the thought. This isn’t fan blinders so much as the fact that the impact of killing one of the younger members of the cast would tie into something the Duffers have avoided for the past few seasons: It would be unnecessarily sad.
Why she probably won’t: The bigger reason, though, is that Erica is the future of Hawkins. She’s grown into a powerful and devoted Dungeons & Dragons player of her own, and while the early word is that spinoffs won’t be tied to Stranger Things as all the plotlines will be wrapped up, it only makes sense that Erica will be carrying the torch at the end of the season in a new D&D game, whether that’s picked up in a new series or not. If any character is completely safe, it’s Erica.
Karen Wheeler (Cara Buono)
The Wheeler matriarch has been curiously featured heavily for a parent character throughout the action of the previous seasons. While she doesn’t technically know what’s been going on with the Upside Down, there’s always been the suggestion that maybe she knows more than she’s letting on. In fact, there’s a popular theory that she is secretly Alice Creel, the sister of Henry Creel, aka Vecna, and did not, in fact, die when Henry attacked his own family. Seems far-fetched, but hey, why not; after all, they’re both blonde! That’s how theories work; they’re based on the color of people’s hair.
Why she’ll probably die: The juice-loving Holly Wheeler is finally a main character in Season 5, with twins Anniston and Tinsley Price replaced by actress Nell Fisher. While we don’t expect the show to murder a child, putting Holly front and center means that her mom, Karen, may be in danger protecting her.
Why she probably won’t: One could argue that leaving the three Wheeler kids motherless would throw them toward growing up and taking the family lead, perhaps a theme of the final season, but there’s really nothing to be gained by killing off Karen… unless that wild Alice theory is revealed to be true. On the other hand, her clueless husband Ted Wheeler (Joe Chrest) can go at any time, and honestly, nobody would even notice or care. Hey, he may have died seasons ago and nobody thought to try and wake him from his armchair.
Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder)
The mama bear of the Byers family has always been right in the center of the action, and with her son Will in particular in even more danger than ever before, is it on the one-time Lydia Deetz to make the ultimate sacrifice?
Why she’ll probably die: As one of the few characters who hasn’t “died” but been part of the main action, Joyce certainly could be in trouble in this final season. Based on trailers for Season 5, her son is in a tough spot with Vecna, and we know she’ll do anything for her kids. There’s also the matter of the plot of the play, The First Shadow, which finds Joyce far more tied to Henry Creel than has been let on in the TV show. Fans have also put Joyce pretty high on their “to die” tier list, mostly because they expect the cursed Byers family to suffer some sort of loss by season’s end.
Why she probably won’t: Again, there doesn’t seem to be anything gained by Joyce dying. Per the repercussions thing, there’s a good chance the Duffers want to give as many people a happy ending as possible; having Joyce find out her cursed family isn’t so cursed might be a good thing indeed.
Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo)
Dustin is always leading the team into danger and naming the monsters, but is his name about to come up… for death?
Why he’ll probably die: Dustin is the least likely of the core group of kids to die, which means he’s maybe the most likely to die, because we won’t expect it? There’s another reason he could kick the bucket, at least according to fans: His line, “If you die, I die” in Season 3, spoken to Steve Harrington. While that wasn’t written into law or anything, Steve and Dustin have been so tied together, it might be a mercy to take them out at the same time rather than eliminating one or the other.
Why he probably won’t: He’s Dustin; he’ll be fine.
Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin)
Lucas has seen significant growth throughout the run of the series, but his Achilles’ heel is Max Mayfield, who he loves more than anything.
Why he’ll probably die: Max was left in a comatose state at the end of Season 4, and we’ve already seen footage in the trailers of Lucas trying to protect her in the hospital. Their relationship has hit multiple rocky points, but what better way for Lucas to prove his love than to make the ultimate sacrifice for Max?
Why he probably won’t: Other than his link to Max, there’s not a lot working against Lucas in a “gonna die” pool. It would rip Max’s heart out (assuming she wakes up), and destroy the rest of the D&D party – not to mention Erica, her blasé attitude be damned – but as with a lot of these deaths, Lucas dying would be more of a bummer than a triumphant exit.
Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard)
Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. We learned Mike was the “heart” of the party last season, and there are certainly some romantic feelings Will seems to have towards him that a section of the fanbase would very much like to see resolved. But once those are out of the way…
Why he’ll probably die: Mike has been curiously sidelined in the action for someone who is supposed to be the center of the party. He’s been there as Will’s friend, Eleven’s boyfriend, and even settled his beef with Hopper. But it’s hard to argue that Will hasn’t quite stepped up to save the day in the same way as the other characters. It’s entirely possible that he could do just that here in the final season… at the cost of his life.
Why he probably won’t: You may be aware of this, but a body can’t survive without the heart. Whatever anyone thinks about Mike as a character, the Duffers clearly feel he is central to the survival of the party, so survive he shall.
Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer)
In some ways, Nancy is the leader of the whole kids’ group. She knows how to make a plan, she’s an intrepid reporter and sleuth, and she fires a mean shotgun. But when you’re the center of the action, you’re also smack dab in the middle of danger.
Why she’ll probably die: Nancy is also in the center of a love triangle between her current boyfriend, Jonathan, and her old one, Steve. Not to make everything about romance, but one way out of this pickle is to kill Nancy rather than having her choose one or the other.
Why she probably won’t: While we’re only talking a few seconds of footage here, there’s a scene in the trailer where Nancy is sobbing and washing blood off her hands. That certainly points to someone else dying, not her.
Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink)
We already noted that Max was left comatose at the end of Season 4, so she’s going to have a hard time fending off Vecna and his minions. Sure, the baddie doesn’t need her to open the portal to the Upside Down anymore like he did in the previous season, but that doesn’t mean she’s safe.
Why she’ll probably die: The better question is: Will she get better? Eleven was unable to find Max in the void, meaning she might be gone for good. Fans have also pointed out that Sink was the only cast member to wear white on the Stranger Things Season 5 premiere red carpet, which they take as a subtle hint that Max is with the angels now. While Lucas is trying to keep Max’s body safe, there may be nothing left to save.
Why she probably won’t: There are a lot of ways out of this one, and having Max narrowly survive getting killed in Season 4 only to die of natural causes in Season 5 isn’t a rousing end to the MADMAX story. There’s more to come with her, her relationship with Lucas, and her ties to Vecna and the Upside Down. She’s in dire circumstances, for sure, but there’s no reason to think she won’t wake up at some point this season… probably sooner rather than later. Also, other cast members did wear white at the London premiere, so that whole dress theory doesn’t hold a lot of water.
Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke)
The former Scoops Ahoy employee and BFF of Steve Harrington may have finally found love in the finale of Season 4 (maybe); will it all be ripped away in Season 5?
Why she’ll probably die: Robin is one of the only characters without familial ties, which means the impact of her death would be felt differently than a lot of the rest of the cast. But if you’re going to kill Robin, you might as well have her and Steve blow themselves up together in a blaze of glory; we really don’t want one going out without the other.
Why she probably won’t: Killing the one openly gay character on the show (Will wasn’t quite out yet the last time we saw him) would be a very bad look for the series. Also, everyone loves Robin. Don’t kill Robin. Okay? Okay.
Steve Harrington (Joe Keery)
Steve has been marked for death pretty much since the first season of the series, and was in fact supposed to be a one-season bully character. But everyone liked Steve enough that they didn’t just keep him around, they gave the character a massive redemption arc. He’s the babysitter, he’s a warrior, and he’s a loyal and devoted friend and ally of the LGBTQ+ community. Not only that, but he’s rekindled a spark with Nancy, particularly after revealing that he always dreamed they would get married with six kids and an RV.
Why he’ll probably die: Like we said, Steve has the mark of death on him. If Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) hadn’t bought it in Season 4, it likely would have been Steve, particularly after getting chomped on by some demo-bats. Pretty much every season so far, fans have speculated that Steve is going to die, and having him sacrifice himself (with Robin or not) would finish his redemption arc and clear the deck for Jonathan and Nancy as endgame.
One additional piece of “evidence”? Steve just isn’t in the Season 5 trailer that much. There could be a lot of reasons for that; for example, it’s three minutes from well more than eight hours of television. Then again, there could be the dire reason that Steve is being sent to Hair-ven in the first few episodes.
Why he probably won’t: Steve has been so heavily predicted for so long, there would be a sense of inevitability to his death instead of surprise. But there’s also a pretty good indication that the show is leaning towards Steve and Nancy as an endgame relationship, not Jonathan and Nancy. We’ve got a lot of real estate to get through before we see the outcome, but the reports of Steve’s death may be greatly exaggerated. You can tell mom: The babysitter’s not dead… at least, not yet.
Jim Hopper (David Harbour)
Hawkins’ sheriff has grown a ton over the course of the show, opening up tremendously after the devastating death of his daughter to become a father for Eleven and a romantic interest for Joyce… as well as mostly tolerating the rest of the kids. He’s the action hero of the show, the literal and figurative adult in the room, and always throwing himself into danger head first.
Why he’ll probably die: Like we said, if there’s danger and explosions, Hopper is right in the midst of them. He’s willing to die, and even almost did back at the end of Season 3.
Why he probably won’t: Fans have marked Hopper as “safe” in the destruction of Hawkins in Season 5, mostly based on the fact that the show already did a fake-out death with the character, and that’s fair. But, and we realize this is the wrong section for it, that also seems like why Hopper could kick it for real this time. Harbour has been pretty open about feeling like the show has been spinning its wheels with Hopper for a while, so with not much left to say, perhaps there’s only one word left: Goodbye.
Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman)
The erstwhile reporter and conspiracy theorist has become a main part of the adult cast, palling around with Joyce and Hopper, particularly during their Russian adventure in Season 4.
Why he’ll probably die: Look, someone has got to die this season, right? Nothing against Murray, but he’s the easiest to kill off in a fun way, thanks to Gelman’s always over-the-top delivery, It could also have an emotional impact – Joyce and Nancy would probably be bummed in particular – and then we could move on without it ripping apart a whole family or serious romantic relationship. This is more about logistics, but Murray’s death could give the final season the gravitas it needs without sacrificing the rest of the episodes (and the finale) to rioting fans.
Why he probably won’t: Like we just said, all apologies to Murray stans, but his death wouldn’t have the intense emotional impact of almost any other one on this list. So would it be necessary?
Will Byers (Noah Schnapp)
There’s an argument to be made that Stranger Things is Will’s story, not Eleven’s. The argument against that theory is Will was mostly off-screen during Season 1. But it looks like the younger Byers son will be front and center in the action this season as the first five minutes flash back to Will’s time in the Upside Down, and we know that Vecna needs Will to finish what he started… whatever that is (hey, maybe it’s just a particularly difficult jigsaw puzzle, who knows).
Why he’ll probably die: If you’re going to wrap up Will’s story, one way of doing that is to kill him off. One could also venture that Will making an active choice to sacrifice himself to save the world from Vecna is the opposite of where we first found him: kidnapped to the Upside Down to serve Vecna’s bidding against his (no pun intended) will. With the rest of the D&D party growing up faster than Will, what with their relationships and all, this could be his final step into becoming an adult… even if it would be his final step, period.
Why he probably won’t: There are so many theories swirling around Will, it’s hard to keep track. One states that he is (somehow) Eleven’s brother; another is that he is the Earthly avatar of Vecna you see wandering around in the trailer. Whatever happens, it’s clear that Will is vitally crucial to the plot of Season 5, and that means there needs to be some sort of closure. Will, maybe more than anyone else, has been put through the wringer over the course of four seasons. Doesn’t he deserve a little happiness at the end, or at least a little kiss from Mike as a treat?
Eleven / Jane Hopper (Millie Bobby Brown)
Whereas there’s an argument to be made that Stranger Things is Will’s story, there’s another, probably better argument to be made that it’s Eleven’s story. Whatever side you fall on, the psychically-powered superhero is in training, Luke Skywalker style, to take Vecna down, and that’s what she’s gonna do by season’s and series’ end.
Why she’ll probably die: To take things a little further, if you go just by the TV show, then this whole thing is her fault. Sure, Henry Creel is a weirdo who liked to fill jars with spiders and loved killing his family, but Eleven is the one who opened the portal to the Upside Down and sent Henry there, which eventually turned him into Vecna. This is all Eleven’s doing, and if she’s going to make things rightside up, she’ll have to give up everything in the process.
Why she probably won’t: To get into big spoilers for The First Shadow, this actually isn’t all Eleven’s fault; it’s the Mind Flayer who corrupted Henry Creel and has been manipulating things since the very beginning. The Upside Down and its infection predates anything that has happened on the show, and if the series works in any of this mythology, it absolves Eleven of a lot of the personal guilt she likely feels about everything. A late-in-the-season revelation could change the course of the plot, allowing her to live out her life happy and free of the torture she’s been through since her birth in Hawkins Lab.
Henry Creel / Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower)
The big bad, Vecna, is coming to destroy not just Hawkins but the entire world. Nancy already had a vision in Season 4 of what his plan is: total invasion of Earth, including monsters we’ve never seen before. Can anyone stop him? Yes, probably.
Why he’ll probably die: He’s the villain; of course he has to die. And he’s caused so much pain and suffering for decades, and killed so many people, that there’s no path of redemption for Vecna. He’s a total psychopath who needs to be stopped at any cost. Is there any way this doesn’t end with Vecna dead?
Why he probably won’t: ...Actually, there sort of is. As we mentioned above, The First Shadow presents Henry as a disturbed child who does just need love, and finds it thanks to his friend Patty Newby, the sister of Bob “The Brain” Newby (Sean Astin). Patty is, as far as we know by the end of The First Shadow, alive and well in Las Vegas, where she went to find her mother. Henry is also sort of befriended, or at least not bullied, by younger versions of Joyce and Hopper, as well as Bob. If you’re wondering why they never mentioned it before (not to get too in the weeds), but as of the end of Season 4, Joyce and Hopper have been in Russia and have no idea the man manipulating things is their old classmate.
So there are a few options for people to reach out to Henry on a human level, to get back to the kid who was infected by the Mind Flayer and further corrupted by Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine) at Hawkins Lab. Heck, it’s fair to speculate that Eleven beats Vecna not by obliterating him, but by healing him; after all, time and again the show has doubled down on how love is far, far stronger than hate when it comes to the powers of the Upside Down*. The final episode is titled “The Rightside Up,” so it’s not as wild a theory as you might think.
*The First Shadow explains that all the psychic powers Henry, Eleven, and the rest of the kids exhibit are all from the Upside Down and not naturally occurring, so there’s a lot of mythology to throw in there if they do want to include the play at all.
Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton)
The older Byers brother has been at a loss about what to do with his life over the past few seasons, and found meaning in his relationship with Nancy. With that on the rocks, is Jonathan going to end Season 5 under the dirt?
Why he’ll probably die: In the trailer, there’s a very telling scene we referenced earlier of Nancy sobbing and rubbing blood off her hands. While fans have gone to Steve, we’re going to play a hunch and say Jonathan is going to be the one to die. Rather than Steve proving his love, it’s Jonathan who finally steps up and makes a decision, either to save Nancy or others by making the ultimate sacrifice. Yes, it clears the way for Nancy and Steve to be together in the end, and it’ll wreck them as well as Will and Joyce. But there’s not a lot else to do with the character at this point. If we were betting, we’d put all our chips on Jonathan being the big death of the final season.
Why he probably won’t: Look, this is mostly based on a hunch. But unlike Murray (sorry again, Murray), Jonathan’s death would have real emotional impact, and also align the pieces on the board the way they likely need to be placed before the finale. Even more than Vecna, we’re sure Jonathan isn’t making it to the end of Season 5.
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