It's not easy living in Hawkins, Indiana. One day you could be out at a party living your best life and the next you could be getting dragged into a parallel dimension by Demogorgons. That's life for you in Stranger Things!
Netflix's pop-culture phenomenon has thrilled audiences through the years while also ensuring that they remain on the very, very, very edges of their seats. The big concern? Whether their favorite characters will make it out of the madness alive. In the past, that hasn't always happened (RIP Bob, Alexei, Eddie) and the fear of it happening again rings so true in the fifth and final season. After all, this time there aren't any do-overs or resurrections.
With that in mind, does fan-favorite Steve Harrington die? Can Dustin, Will, Mike, and Lucas make it out of another caper alive? Does Max come back to life? All understandable questions that everyone wants to know the answer to. And with that, let's dive into all of the deaths that transpire in Stranger Things 5.
Every death in Stranger Things season 5 (so far)
Stranger Things 5 promised to be one of the most shocking installments from the Netflix series yet and it wasted little time in getting that off to a convincing start. We kicked things off with some genuinely jaw-dropping moments where it looked like some major characters were set to die - especially when Karen and Ted Wheeler were viciously attacked by the Demogorgon - but, for the time being, some of those victims remain alive.
The question is: Which of these characters weren't so lucky? With that in mind, here are all of the confirmed deaths in Stranger Things season 5 part 1, including those who seemingly perished without official confirmation:
The Scientist in Dr. Kay's lab: The unsuspecting doctor / scientist who was simply working on his notes when Hopper and Eleven blindsided him did exactly as he was told to avoid meeting an early demise at the hands of the show's most formidable duo. Unfortunately for him, Hopper placed him in a nearby cabinet when Dr. Kay's soldiers began firing. They thought it was Hopper behind those doors, not their poor unconscious colleague.
Countless members of the Military: While the military's involvement in Stranger Things 5 is questionable at best - particularly under the leadership of Dr. Kay - there is a potential argument to be made for them at least having good intentions of stopping Vecna and protecting the kids. But their plan goes awry when gates to the Upside Down open all over the place and a horde of Demogorgons arrive to bludgeon the soldiers to death.
From one unprepared soldier having his head stamped on by an invading creature to the endless amount of soldiers who had their innards dragged across the military base, there was a lot of bloodshed in the season's midseason finale. But not even that prepared viewers for the truly shocking sight of Vecna inserting his own pointed tree-like fingers through the face of a nearby soldier, presenting Stranger Things with its most violent death ever.
Lt. Robert Akers (presumably): Although we didn't see a body, the fifth season does suggest that Lt. Robert Akers is killed. Although he survived his initial run-in with Eleven and Hopper (which resulted in the former sifting around in his mind), he went back for more when he returned to the lab and alerted Dr. Kay of their presence. However, upon leading a group of soldiers into the lab itself to open fire on Hopper, he is seemingly caught in Hopper's return fire. The show doesn't make it clear whether he lives or dies, but he does go down when Hopper opens fire on all of them. He also doesn't resurface after Eleven is left alone in the lab for a long period of time, suggesting that he did die in the crossfire.
Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan (presumably): Sullivan leads the charge as the soldiers attempt to hold back the invaders from the Upside Down and he does hold his own against the raging Demogorgons. However, he is caught in a blast when Vecna manages to reverse a wall of fire meant for him. The blowback results in the Colonel himself catching on fire and screaming in agony. It's unclear if he lives or dies, but considering the show spends the next few moments on Venca's confrontation with Will (and the roaring stops), it's a safe bet that he might not have made it. After all, Dr. Kay is the show's new human threat now.
Multiple Demogorgons: When Will Byers awakened his powers, absolutely no creature from the Upside Down was safe. With that, any Demogorgon on the same dimension as him - all of whom threatened to do harm to his friends - met a grizzly end as Will was able to destroy them exactly like Vecna did to his victims in season 4, without ever laying a hand on them.
Characters still in danger in Stranger Things season 5 part 2
Needless to say, Stranger Things 5 has kept us on the edges of our seats already - and we're only halfway through. The show has been full of gruesome deaths and jaw-dropping moments already, and it's clear that the worst of Vecna's reign of terror is yet to come.
But, as we said above, no moment was more shocking than the first Demogorgon's arrival at the Wheeler house where it squared up to Karen and Ted Wheeler as it attempted to steal Holly from them. Although it did manage to do so, things got very bloody, very fast.
Karen Wheeler: Although Karen survived the Demogorgon's attack, she was left with potentially life-changing injuries. She's currently stable and in hospital, but she's unable to speak after having a chunk of her throat and chest slashed by the creature's demonic claws. As she was able to communicate with Mike and Nancy, there's a pretty good chance that she will survive, but until the credits roll on the series finale, we will still be nervous about Karen's fate.
Ted Wheeler: Ted may have a bit of a reputation for being nonplussed about everything, but he wasn't going to sit idly by when a monster attacked his family. Armed with a golf club, Ted squared up to the Demogorgon, but he was quickly overpowered by the beast, which slashed his chest and threw him across the room. Although he was still alive when we last saw him, he was in a coma. And with that, we will all hope that Ted pulls through.
Max Mayfield: The third episode of season 5 may have confirmed that a version of Max is still trapped inside Henry Creel / Vecna's memories, she's still in a coma at a Hawkins hospital. We're halfway through the season and she hasn't been pulled out of it yet, with hopes that she will manage to do so in Part 2. Now that she's helping Holly, however, will both of them make it out alive? It's a pretty safe bet that Max will successfully get Holly back to her family, but can she pull through herself? Let's hope so!
Dr. Kay: Linda Hamilton has been deliciously evil as the all-business Dr. Kay. She has no time for anything other than success and nothing will stop her from studying Eleven the way that she has been doing to her other psychokinetic and telepathic captive. But that also makes her one of the most likely characters to die in Part 2. Hopper gave her a fighting chance when he knocked her out in episode 4, but something tells us that she'll never relent in her attempts. Evil never sleeps, and neither will she until she is ultimately stopped.
It's also worth noting that, if Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan does survive, then he's still very much in danger in the second half of the season too. The same goes for Akers. Neither one of them has good intentions for Eleven and there's a pretty strong chance that both of them could meet a more grizzly end in their hopes to apprehend her.
Who else could be in danger in Stranger Things season 5 part 2? It better not be Steve, Hopper, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, Eleven, Joyce or any more of our favorites, that's for sure!