Who dies in ‘Stranger Things’ season five?

Stranger Things hasn’t been shy about killing off characters in the past, so naturally there’s a lot of speculation over who could die in the final season.

Created by the Duffer Brothers, the show’s fifth season brings all the residents of Hawkins together as they gear up for the final battle against Vecna.

• READ MORE: ‘Stranger Things’ season five, volume one review: the big, bold beginning of the end

All the main cast reprise their roles, including Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery and Maya Hawke. Linda Hamilton also makes a guest appearance.

Netflix has split Stranger Things season five into three volumes, with the first four episodes hitting the streaming service on November 27, 2025. The remaining four episodes will roll out across Boxing Day and New Year’s Day in the UK.

Does anyone die in Stranger Things season 5 volume 1?

Military grunts aside, no one of significance dies in the first four episodes of season five. There is a sequence where it appears Jim Hopper (David Harbour) might sacrifice himself, as he gives some emotional parting words to Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), but this is quickly defused when we realise Vecna isn’t hiding at the military compound.

That isn’t to say some characters aren’t in a precarious situation. Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) has been captured by Vecna, along with lots of other children. Meanwhile, Max (Sadie Sink), who is still in a coma, is similarly trapped inside Vecna’s mind prison.

Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Holly and Nancy’s (Natalie Dyer) parents, Karen (Cara Buono) and Ted (Joe Chrest) are also in hospital after being attacked by a demogorgon. While we know Karen is in a stable condition, with injuries to her throat, Ted is in an induced coma.

Is a big death coming in season 5?

The show’s creators, the Duffer Brothers, have teased that the final season features the most “violent” death yet – but it’s unclear whether this relates to a main character.

Speaking to The Times, Matt Duffer said: “I would say season five is not as violent as season four, but it has the most violent death of any season.”

“The goal was always to scale up each series with the age of the characters and our audience, but then we keep getting new audiences,” Ross Duffer added. “Hopefully, parents don’t get too mad at us.”

While it’s unclear who will make it out alive, the duo spent a lot of time crafting the perfect ending for each character. “Every character’s ending needed to feel right,” Matt said. “That was more important than providing the fans with the ending they’re hoping for.”

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