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‘There’s Not Going to Be a Red Wedding Situation’ — Stranger Things Creators Insist Season 5 Won’t Do a Game of Thrones as Fans Wonder Who Will Die in the Finale

 29/12/2025 2 Views

Stranger Things is nearly over, with the Season 5 finale set to bring an end to the long-running Netflix show and finally confirm the fate of its much-loved characters.

Who will die by the time the show is done and dusted has been the big Stranger Things question for years now. There are many theories, which we’ll briefly run through below.

Warning! Spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5 follow:

Steve, played by Joe Keery, often comes up in conversations about potential Stranger Things character deaths. But there are also concerns for Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), who some believe will end up sacrificing herself to destroy Vecna, thus allowing the rest of the Stranger Things crew to survive, and Jim Hopper (David Harbour), who has already revealed himself to be on something of a suicide mission this season.

Meanwhile, some believe Will (Noah Schnapp) will bite the dust, using his new power to finally bring Vecna’s tyranny to an end but killing himself in the process. But according to IGN’s poll on the matter, below, Jonathan Byers, played by Charlie Heaton, is the most popular pick for Season 5 death, with 22.4% of the vote.

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Who Will Die In Stranger Things Season 5?

We won’t know until the series finale airs at 5pm PT on New Year’s Eve, of course, but recent comments from the Duffer Brothers have hinted that fans shouldn’t expect a bloodbath when it comes to character deaths. That is to say, Stranger Things is not like Game of Thrones, and there’s no Red Wedding equivalent scene.

For the uninitiated, the Red Wedding is perhaps the most famous moment in the entire Game of Thrones saga. It sees much-loved characters, many of whom had been central to the story up to that point, murdered in graphic detail, shocking readers and viewers alike.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Matt Duffer insisted the series finale shouldn’t be compared to Game of Thrones, and jokingly singled out Steve as the most discussed character when it comes to being killed off.

“It’s not Game of Thrones. We’re not in Westeros,” he said. “I love Game of Thrones, but it’s just a very different type of show than that. There’s not going to be a Red Wedding situation. I think some things happen in the finale that are very surprising, but we’re not trying to shock or upset anyone. I hope by the time people get to the end of the finale that it just feels like there’s something inevitable about what happens, and that it doesn’t feel painful but feels satisfying. We’ll see. But as for Steve’s fate. I don’t know. I can’t say. It would be the next logical step. He keeps getting beaten up more and more. The only way we could take it further is death. (Laughs.)”

The Stranger Things Season 5 finale, Episode 8, is called The Rightside Up, and has an official runtime of 2 hours 8 minutes. It will be screened in theaters nationwide at the same time it is shown on Netflix. Ross Duffer has told fans they should only see it in theaters if they’re cool with crying in a crowded room.

“The finale. Theaters. New Year’s Eve,” Duffer wrote in a social media post alongside a photo of the drawing Lucas and Max used to ask each other on a date in Season 4. “This is something my brother and I have dreamed about for years. If you don’t mind crying in front of strangers, GO. And if you’re in LA… maybe we’ll see you there.”

Check out our Stranger Things: Season 5, Vol. 2 spoiler review for more.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.