Here’s who I think will die in the Stranger Things Season 5 finale

I’ve watched Stranger Things long enough to know when the show is setting the table for real loss. But Season 5 doesn’t feel like earlier seasons, where danger hovered and somehow everyone made it out alive.

This time, the tone is heavier, quieter, and more final, and the Duffers aren’t teasing shock value anymore. They’re clearly talking about consequence. After Volume 2, I don’t think the finale ends without at least one permanent goodbye.

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Stranger Things: Here’s who I think will be 100% dying in the Season 5 finale

Eleven: the sacrifice the show has been building toward

I hate saying this, but Eleven feels like the most obvious answer. Her entire arc has always circled one idea: giving herself so others can live. Volume 2 pushes that idea right to the edge, and her plan to enter Vecna’s mind isn’t framed as brave.

It’s framed as fatal. Plus, the death pact she makes with Kali in Stranger Things: Chapter Seven: The Bridge isn’t impulsive. It feels prepared, almost terrifyingly calm. The bridge explosion plan makes it clear she isn’t planning an exit strategy. Even the Season 5 trailer leans into this, using Who Wants to Live Forever in a way that feels pointed.

The show has compared Eleven to religious figures before, especially martyr-like ones. That parallel feels louder than ever now. So, if the series wants a clean end to the Upside Down, Eleven’s powers, and her life, may be the cost.

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Kali: the wildcard who may not make it out

Kali worries me in a very different way, and her return feels intentional, not nostalgic. She’s been tied to death imagery since Escape from Camazotz, especially that hearse scene.

That Stranger Things moment didn’t feel random, even before the pact. Kali’s history with the labs adds another layer of danger. She’s been captured before and knows how the military thinks. Hopper’s comment about not trusting her didn’t come from nowhere.

There’s a real chance she’s playing a long game to survive, and if she does betray Eleven, I don’t think she lives through it. The show rarely lets betrayal go unpunished. So, Kali dying while trying to protect or redeem herself feels very possible.

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Steve: The Duffers teasing his death

I’ve gone back and forth on Steve for years, but Season 5 changed the math for me. Steve no longer feels like a character being protected by popularity, he feels like a character being prepared. His arc has quietly reached a place of completion.

He started as a selfish high school jerk and soon became the group’s shield. And now, he’s the guy who steps in first without asking if he’ll make it back. Volume 2 leans into this hard, and Steve isn’t talking about the future in vague ways anymore, he talks about normal things like a house, kids, and a life that doesn’t include monsters.

You know that’s dangerous territory for characters in shows, like what happened to Richie in IT: Welcome to Derry. Also, the Duffer Brothers have teased his “ill fate” in the season finale, set to air on December 31. There have been several fan speculations across social media platforms, and undoubtedly, we are all hoping for the best.

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What about other characters?

Yes, other names come up in fan theories all the time. For example, Hopper always feels like a target, but his survival arc already paid off once. Killing him now would feel repetitive, not powerful.

In Stranger Things, Max already crossed the line between life and death, and bringing her back just to lose her again feels cruel. Eleven, Kali, and Steve, though, are walking toward death with their eyes open.

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My final take before the finale

I don’t think the show ends happily, I think it ends honestly. Eleven dying feels like the story completing itself. Kali dying feels like collateral damage in a world that never gave her a fair choice. And Steve’s death could be executed for emotional impact, or, you know, the Game of Thrones effect.