Actor Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers, has confirmed that shooting for the fifth and final season of “Stranger Things” will begin as early as May this year! This means that the writing for the season will be essentially be finished by then, the story will have been set and all that’s left to do is bring it to reality. Fans can expect to see the series return to Netflix sometime in 2024. At the end of the fourth season of “Stranger Things”, we saw that a giant hole has been opened in the middle of the town of Hawkins. Vecna is wounded but still alive and is gathering the forces of the Upside-Down to storm our world. All this is done at the behest of the true master of the hellish dimension, the Mind Flayer. We saw the return of some old fan-favourites like Murray Bauman and Jim Hopper but also the loss of our dear Eddie Munson.
Throughout the series, death has been constant, whether it be used to redeem characters, develop character arcs or just give us a nice, cathartic kick. With the final season approaching, you can expect the death count to rise. The question is: Who is on the chopping block? We’re here to break down our top picks for characters most likely to die this season!
1. Vecna
While Vecna may seem near-god-like throughout the fourth season, we very much know that Henry Creel can in fact be wounded. His main weakness proves to be his inability to fully protect himself when he uses his telepathic abilities to enter into the mind of a particular victim. This means that as long as he’s adequately distracted, he won’t be able to see an attack right in front of him until it’s too late. By no means is it going to be an easy fight though. With the Mind Flayer being able to exert its will on Hawkins more easily, Vecna will definitely have a power boost.
The Mind Flayer seems to be the hive mind in charge of the entire Upside-Down but Vecna is merely a mortal extension of his will. Just like how Demogorgons can be destroyed by Eleven’s psychic powers, Vecna can be too. Vecna is by far the most interesting villain we’ve seen thus far in the series but we’re confident that by the series finale, he’ll be dust in the wind.
2. Jack Sullivan
With the death of the insane Martin Brenner, the series is going to need another human antagonist to step up and get in the way of the Hawkins Gang. As of now, the only candidate seems to be Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan. Unlike Brenner who wished to harness Eleven’s psychic powers for his own ends, Sullivan simply wishes to eliminate the girl. He believes that she’s responsible for all the horrifying supernatural murders that have been going on in Hawkins. So unless the kids manage to convince Sullivan that she’s innocent and Vecna is the true threat, he’ll continue to hunt them…which would eventually lead to his death.
Another scenario is that Sullivan finally sees reason and does help the Hawkins Gang, leading the U.S. army in a war against the Upside-Down. This would also lead to his eventual death at the hands of the various monsters of the Upside-Down as well. Sorry, Sullivan but if we’ve learned one thing about the Duffer Brother’s world is that military personnel are nearly always cannon fodder for our heroes to beat, or for monsters to eat.
3. Dmitri “Enzo” Antonov
Whether you love it or hate it, “Stranger Things” has a habit of killing off minor characters just as you started to warm up to them. They did it with Eddie Munson in the fourth season and Billy Hargrove in the third. And of course, they killed off sweet, sweet Bob Newby in the second season of the series! That’s right, we’re still sore over Sean Astin’s character being taken out before he had a chance to be a real father figure to Will and Jonathan Byers. He and Joyce would have made a great pair.
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Why are we bringing this up? To let you know that Dmitri “Enzo” Antonov could be the Duffer Brothers’ next victim. Enzo survived the fourth season along with Hopper, and he’ll probably be returning to help his American friend and Joyce in their battle against the Upside-Down. If actor Tom Wlaschiha will reprise his role as Enzo, you can bet he’s going to die fighting off monsters like Munson.
4. Murray Bauman
Alright, now we’re getting into the main cast now, namely the adults. We know Jim Hopper won’t be killed off in the final season because they already did a fake-out death for him in the third. So to have him die again would be redundant. The show certainly won’t kill Joyce Byers because they’re setting up Joyce and Hopper to be a couple. So the only viable death that will have a massive impact on the fanbase without upsetting any of the relational dynamics and character arcs would have to be Murray Bauman’s.
From recurring fan-favourite to being one of main the characters in the series, Murray has played a pivotal part in defeating the Americans, the Russians and the forces of the Upside-Down. His quirky personality and quick thinking have won us over but we believe that his plot armour will soon run out. He’s been a faithful friend to Hopper, Joyce and the kids but his devil-may-care attitude is bound to get him killed. Let’s just hope he goes out swinging.
5. Jonathan Byers
We know all you #Jancy shippers are probably yelling at the screen right now but hear us out. We initially loved the idea of Jonathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler together as a couple but the series just hasn’t done much to develop their relationship. In fact, it seems to go to great lengths to imply that both of them don’t quite want the same things in life. Then in the fourth season, we see Nancy and Steve Harrington catching feelings for one another again. We know the Duffers aren’t going to kill off Steve because of his connection to Dustin Henderson, who has already lost an older mentor figure in Eddie Munson.
So, what’s the most logical way to have Nancy and Steve end up back together without having her seem like she’s cheating on Jonathan? Kill him off. That’s the not only reason we think Jonathan is going to be getting the axe though. Charlie Heaton’s character has also been relegated to a backseat role thus far. Meanwhile, Joe Kerry’s Steven Harrington has been getting plenty of development with characters like Robin Buckley and Dustin. Having Jonathan die would deliver one of the most heart-wrenching moments in the series while also closing a chapter on Nancy and Will’s relationship.
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