Warning: Includes MASSIVE SPOILERS for Stranger Things, Season 5, Part 1!
Stranger Things has somehow kept its most tiring nine-year tradition alive… because how on earth did no one die in Season 5, Part 1? Despite being one of the most popular shows of the 21st century, Netflix’s supernatural sci-fi series has constantly been the subject of criticism for various reasons, one of which is the lack of character deaths. While the Stranger Things ensemble cast is beloved, it’s almost entirely the same as it was in Season 1, Episode 1, with the only characters cycled out being the ones who’ve been added late: Billy, Bob, and Eddie Munson being the prime examples.
Stranger Things Season 5 is one of the biggest television events of the year, and like Game of Thrones before it, fans are essentially playing death bingo with the character ensemble. Season 5, Part 1’s ending is here, and four episodes into the final season, there have once again been zero character deaths. There’s no devastating loss, à la The Empire Strikes Back, to set the tone for the next three weeks as audiences wait for the next episodes. Everyone is alive, and with Will’s new powers and the Kali discovery, the ending actually seems more hopeful than before.
‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Still Won’t Kill Its Main Characters
Stranger Things has always done a fine job balancing action and story, as the seasons have typically built toward a climactic battle with their respective monster, be it a demogorgon, Mind Flayer, or Vecna. As opposed to when monsters would only control a limited amount of screen time due to the CGI budget, the essentially unlimited resources for Stranger Things Season 5 have offered demogorgons in abundance, and they’re significantly less threatening than before. The monsters that were once big enough to cast a shadow over an entire season have been relegated to the responsibilities of headless chickens.
It’s hard not to think of Game of Thrones Season 8, when the White Walkers, once nightmare-inducing monsters, could scarcely kill a main character in “The Long Night,” unless the plot truly demanded it. In the case of Stranger Things, the plot demands it several times, and characters still manage to survive. Season 5 of Stranger Things is off to a much stronger start than Game of Thrones Season 8, but is it as strong as the tightly written Stranger Things Season 1 story that prioritized characters over action? No.
The worst part is, the Duffer brothers obviously know people are expecting character deaths, and scenes seem to be purposefully orchestrated to play with those emotions. Whether it’s a slow pan to Karen Wheeler’s body, a touching heart-to-heart between Joyce and Will before Winona Ryder’s character steps in front of danger, or Hopper revealing he has explosives tied to his chest as a last resort, Stranger Things Season 5, Part 1 repeatedly teases the idea of its main characters dying, then pulls back at the last minute.
I’m sure someone important will die before Stranger Things ends, but it would be absurd if the main death were someone like Derek or Holly Wheeler, keeping consistent with the show’s trend of only killing off new additions. I mean, come on, Karen Wheeler got torn up by a demogorgon and was left bleeding out on the floor, but is still alive. Elsewhere, the unarmed teens of Stranger Things came face-to-face with the monsters on numerous occasions but were left unscathed. Even Ted Wheeler slipped through the cracks and evaded death against all odds, though that wouldn’t have provided the most significant emotional catharsis.
‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Missed the Perfect Death Opportunity
Stranger Things Season 5 missed the opportunity for a bold, game-changing death that would have set a dark tone for the remaining half of the season: Hopper. Yes, the series already faked out Hopper’s death before, which was silly in retrospect, but they’ve now missed the opportunity to do it in actuality, during his and Eleven’s trip into the Upside Down. After convincing Eleven she wasn’t ready to join him on the mission, primarily out of fear of losing to her, she ends up following him anyway, perpetuating their lasting protective father-hasty daughter dynamic. What better way for Hopper to die than actually protecting her?
In this scenario, Hopper gets to redeem the loss of Sara by protecting Eleven, and the protagonists lose their patriarch and leader. In terms of shock value, it’s not unlike killing off Logan Roy in Succession or Joel in The Last of Us. This would leave Eleven to grieve for her adoptive father in the final few episodes, while still being forced into action as the primary hero. With Hopper’s absence, she’d become the best chance for good to prevail, but would be burdened by the guilt of what happened to him. Now, having that additional perspective on her side, she’d have the potential to be stronger than ever.
If Eleven is Luke Skywalker and Vecna is Darth Vader, Hopper could have made for the perfect Ben Kenobi. Stranger Things Season 5 could have blown audiences’ minds with a twist like this, or some other character death, but instead, it’s maintained its lasting trend. Rather than heading into the final episodes with strong emotions to reckon with, the biggest change is that Will Byers has superpowers.
- Release Date
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2016 – 2025-00-00
- Network
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Netflix
- Writers
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Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock