Who will die in ‘Stranger Things’ season 5? Every main character’s odds

Killing off Erica (Priah Ferguson) wouldn't just be nonsensical — she's one of the youngest characters, often used for comedic relief, and rarely placed in the line of fire — it would be incredibly messed up. Fans wouldn't stand for it, and neither, I hope, would the Duffer brothers. She will live another day.

Risk level: Very Low

The showrunners would be sick for killing Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), historically the sweetest boy in Hawkins — especially after the season four finale, when Dustin watched his idol, Eddie, slowly bleed out after getting stabbed to death. I will not accept this as an option.

Risk level: Very Low

Hopper (David Harbour) already kind of died in the show, vanishing in the season three finale — only to have his survival be revealed in a mid-credits scene.

Of course, while the audience knew that Hopper was alive, the other characters didn't. Their grief was thoroughly explored in season four, especially Eleven's. The duo's emotional reunion in the season four finale is a series highlight.

Hopper's fake-out death would dull the sting of watching him die again, so the Duffer brothers would be wise to avoid it.

Risk level: Low

As far as adults go, Joyce (Winona Ryder) is at slightly more risk than Hopper, who seems to have a thing for dangerous situations and suicide missions. Still, I doubt the show would leave Will, Jonathan, or Eleven motherless after everything else they've been through.

Despite all the evil forces she's battled in Hawkins (and briefly in Russia), Joyce has remained steadfastly alive. In the first four episodes of season five, she's already faced off with a murderous Demogorgon and with Vecna himself, yet emerged from both with barely a scratch.

Risk level: Low

Mike (Finn Wolfhard) is one of the few leads who's yet to visit the Upside Down. His death never truly seems like an option — and that doesn't seem likely to change now that Will, Mike's best friend since childhood, has realized his Vecna-like powers.

Even as Demogorgons and other monsters continue to attack Hawkins, Mike is arguably in less danger than ever with Will and Eleven acting as his devoted protectors.

Risk level: Low

Holly's promotion to core cast member could spell trouble. She's technically been around since season one, but she was aged up and recast with Nell Fisher so she could play a bigger role; Matt Duffer even described Holly as a "centerpiece" in season five. And historically, in "Stranger Things," newcomers are in the most danger.

In the first installment of season five, Holly has already proven essential to the show's endgame. Episode two, titled "The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler," opens with her violent abduction via Demogorgon. She becomes the first of 12 children to be taken captive by Vecna, aka Henry Creel, setting his final plan to destroy Hawkins in motion.

Heading into episode five, "Shock Jock," Holly's body is trapped in the Upside Down, while her mind is trapped inside Henry's memories. Realistically, she could die at any moment.

On the other hand, introducing Nancy and Mike's baby sister into the narrative just to kill her seems callous. Yes, it would follow the show's established pattern, but there are plenty of other newcomers to worry about, namely Derek Turnbow (Jake Connelly) and Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton).

It's more likely that Holly will follow an arc similar to Will's in season one — thrown into the thick of the action, victimized by the evils in the Upside Down, but ultimately saved by her family.

Risk level: Medium-Low

Max (Sadie Sink) already died in season four. In the finale, she fell to Vecna's curse, her bones broke, and her heart stopped. She was miraculously resurrected — likely thanks to Eleven's powers, though it was left ambiguous — and she ended the season in a coma.

In season five, Max's body is still in a coma, but her character is far from dead. Episode three, "The Turnbow Trap," reveals that Max's consciousness is trapped inside a web of Henry's memories. For over a year, she has survived by hiding in a cave where Henry refuses to go — a memory that frightens him — but hasn't been able to escape back to reality.

All that may sound dire, but if the Duffer brothers wanted to kill Max, she'd already be dead. Her heroic arc in season four would have been that much more poignant if her life ended in Lucas' arms.

Instead, Sink was reportedly paid upward of $7 million to return as Max for season five. She clearly has a significant role to play in saving Holly and defeating Vecna, especially if psychoanalyzing his past is the key to his downfall.

Risk level: Medium-Low

Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) is always at risk in some way; she's spent her entire life being tortured or hunted. Once Vecna is finally defeated, she deserves to live a normal life with her friends and family — at least, one that's as normal as someone with telekinetic and telepathic powers can hope to have.

This could be wishful thinking, but I don't see Eleven's arc ending in death, even if it's a heroic sacrifice. It would be too cruel.

Plus, Eleven already sacrificed herself to save her friends and kill the Demogorgon in season one, assuming the burst of energy would kill her too. Reusing that narrative technique would be a frustratingly predictable move.

Risk level: Medium-Low

Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) is the true neutral of "Stranger Things" risk assessments. He's neither likely nor unlikely to die at any given moment. Especially in season four, he was mostly there to move the plot along and lacked any big scenes that threatened his life. (Meanwhile, his girlfriend, Nancy, was in the Upside Down blasting Vecna with a sawed-off shotgun.)

That being said, Jonathan cares deeply for both Nancy and Will, who often find themselves in the line of fire. He's probably the kind of person to sacrifice himself to save his girlfriend or his little brother.

Risk level: Medium

Nancy (Natalia Dyer) is one of the few characters who's cool under pressure and handy with a gun. She's certainly been able to hold her own in combat thus far, but as the supernatural threats from Vecna grow ever more menacing, bullets may not be enough.

Nancy is also at a disadvantage for having two younger siblings, Mike and Holly. She has a natural protective instinct and can be bold to the point of recklessness — qualities that could make her extra vulnerable this season.

Lest we forget, Nancy's best friend, Barb (Shannon Purser), was killed by a Demogorgon all the way back in season one. Another of her friends, Fred (Logan Riley Bruner), was killed by Vecna's curse in season four. Now that Holly has been kidnapped by Vecna and Nancy's parents are in critical condition, Nancy's personal tragedies are mounting. Her thirst for justice and revenge may just reach life-threatening, self-sacrificial levels.

Risk level: Medium

There was a popular theory during season four that Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) would sacrifice himself to save Max from Vecna, fueled by the lyrics of Max's favorite song, "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush. ("And if I only could / I'd make a deal with God / And I'd get him to swap our places.")

That hasn't happened yet, but it doesn't mean it can't still happen. More recently, panicked theories about Lucas were reignited when McLaughlin hinted that he might not appear in the series finale.

During an interview with Refresher, Wolfhard said the finale was the most difficult episode to film. McLaughlin replied, "My finale was different, so I don't know."

It's certainly possible that McLaughlin was joking, but it's also possible that Lucas is headed for an ill-fated solo mission.

Risk level: Medium-High

Maya Hawke's neurotic character, Robin, is the newest among all the teenagers, so, judging by the established "Stranger Things" pattern, she's in a significant amount of danger.

The last two teenagers who were added to the core cast, Billy and Eddie, both died expeditiously — not to mention the other teenagers who died in the same seasons they were introduced, including Barb, Heather, Chrissy, Fred, Patrick, and Jason. Robin could be next.

Plus, it's worth noting that Hawke admitted she "would love to die" in season five and give Robin a "hero's moment." This may be a classic "be careful what you wish for" situation.

Risk level: High

Steve (Joe Keery) was originally conceived as a side character who was supposed to die all the way back in season one.

Instead, the Duffer brothers fell in love with Keery's performance, and Steve was rewritten with a redemption arc.

"When he comes back and fights the Demogorgon, that was supposed to be Jonathan's dad," Matt said at Geeked Week 2022, per Rotten Tomatoes. "The cast is impacting where you take the narrative, the other writers and directors… It's this living thing."

Steve has been surviving by the skin of his teeth ever since, even as he's been attacked by Demodogs, stabbed by Demobats, and tortured by Soviet soldiers. He's become a fan favorite by throwing himself into the fray, doing everything in his power to shield Nancy, Robin, and the kids from harm. His friendship with Dustin makes him particularly lovable.

Alas, Steve's fan-favorite status may just be his downfall. His long-delayed death would be devastating, which means it would make for great TV — especially as the show comes to an end, when the Duffer brothers won't have to worry about fans swearing off future Steve-less seasons.

Risk Level: Depressingly High

Ever since he was kidnapped by Vecna's puppet Demogorgon in season one, Will (Noah Schnapp) has had a direct connection to the Upside Down. This evil has possessed his body more than once and even used him as an unwitting spy.

The gang believed the connection was severed in season two. However, viewers knew that wasn't the case; Will continued to get goosebumps whenever Vecna was using his powers nearby.

In season five, episode two, "The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler," Will admits that he's always been able to tap into the Hive Mind (the psychic connection that bonds all creatures from the Upside Down, which Vecna channels to control them).

"Ever since he took me, it's like I was permanently changed," Will tells his mother. In episode four, "Sorcerer," Mike explicitly compares Will to Vecna, theorizing that Will could pull the strings of the Hive Mind in the same way.

Two episodes later, Mike's theory proves impressively accurate. When his friends' lives are threatened, Will harnesses his own Vecna-like magic, freezing the Demogorgons mid-attack and killing them from afar.

It's clear that Will's similarities to Vecna will be of tremendous importance in the rest of the season. Unfortunately, because their connection flows both ways, Will also is a liability. As long as he's still alive, Vecna will always have access to the Rightside Up — meaning that Will may need to die if the gang hopes to defeat Vecna for good.

We've seen how hurting one piece of the Hive Mind hurts the rest of it. If one Demogorgon goes up in flames, the rest of them collapse and writhe in agony. If Will is correct that his connection to the Hive Mind is permanent, then killing Vecna could mean killing Will simultaneously.

In the words of Mike, "As far as crazy theories go, I've had crazier." Turning Will into a world-saving martyr would be consistent with the show's motifs. In an interview with Time, the Duffer brothers said they conceptualized "Stranger Things" as "a show about Will." The very first episode is titled "The Vanishing of Will Byers."

Out of all the boys in the original quartet, it would make the most sense for Will's arc to end with some kind of climactic sacrifice. If he managed to save his family and friends, just as they saved him in season one, it would bring the series full circle.

Risk level: Frighteningly High

Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) is getting more character development in season five, largely thanks to Max poking around in his memories.

Some of these memories suggest a more complex origin story for the Upside Down-dwelling villain — more complex, at least, than a simple case of pure evil personified. What caused Henry Creel, once an unassuming Hawkins High student, to sadistically murder his mother and sister? How did he come to possess his psychic powers? The answers to these questions may surprise us.

Still, whatever the answers are, Vecna has slaughtered an awful lot of people. He remains hell-bent on destroying Hawkins and all our beloved heroes within.

At the end of the day, "Stranger Things" is a popular Netflix show inspired by family-friendly '80s classics like "E.T.," "Ghostbusters," and "Star Wars." The series isn't likely to end without a decisive victory for the good guys. Sure, Darth Vader was once just a kid named Anakin Skywalker, but he still had to die.

Risk level: He's toast.