This holiday season has the added bonus of ushering in the final season of Netflix’s Stranger Things, which has reached its final season after a decade. Spanning three presidents, a global pandemic, and 12 Taylor Swift albums, the show and characters have been around for quite some time. In preparation for the final season, I recently rewatched all of the first four seasons of Stranger Things, and of course, the new episodes over Thanksgiving break. Since my mind is literally now consumed by this show, I figured this would be a perfect time to rank all the main characters ahead of the last few episodes.
Spoilers ahead if you have not watched all the released episodes of Stranger Things!
24. Dr. Brenner
You might be surprised that Vecna isn’t last but I personally think Dr. Brenner is the root of all problems in Hawkins and deserves to be very last place. Not only is it his fault that Vecna became evil in the first place, but he also spent his entire life literally experimenting on women and then kidnapping and experimenting on their children. He is a total creep and I may have cheered a little when he died.
23. Vecna/ Henry Creel
Ok, this one is obvious. I mean there are really no good attributes of this guy. I think in the rest of season five we may learn more about his background and maybe find out some tragic backstory that explains why he is so insane. But it’s definitely not tragic enough to excuse murdering your entire family and a bunch of traumatized teenagers and then kidnapping elementary school students.
22. Ted Wheeler
This man is literally completely irrelevant and never knows what’s going on. I do appreciate his comedic relief sometimes and he did have his one moment of glory this season, fighting the demogorgon after finally standing up from the one chair he has sat in for four seasons straight. So maybe we’re in for a Ted Wheeler hero arc? I doubt it.
21. Holly Wheeler
I’m sorry to Holly, she seems nice and all, but I just am not that invested in her. I mean obviously I want all the kids to escape, but I just feel like Holly is getting way too much screen time as a basically brand new character and is also just kind of annoying me.
20. Karen Wheeler
Karen is an icon this season for defending Holly, which is why she’s ranked above her. But unfortunately, all of Karen’s questionable moments in the past put her low in my ranking. I feel like she just needs to talk to her children more and she could actually be super helpful. Unfortunately, she never knows where her kids even are and believes whatever the obviously evil government people tell her. I don’t even know if she realizes Mike has a girlfriend, seeing as she still thinks Eleven is an evil Russian spy. Her plotline with Billy was also freaky to me because he’s literally supposed to be 18 years old, and she is a mother with three kids. I mean, I guess you do you girl, but it’s for sure creepy.
19. Argyle
I don’t know what happened to Argyle after season four. I guess he just drove back to California and forgot all the freaky stuff he saw. He’s so funny and such a good friend for driving Jonathan, Mike, and Will all over creation to find Eleven when he didn’t even know what was going on.
18. Suzie
Suzie is such a little cutie and she and Dustin are so sweet. As of the first few episodes of season five, there’s been no mention of her, but I really hope the two of them are still together and can finally be happy after all this crazy stuff ends. She’s also a genius and totally saves everyone in season three and in season four even though she has no clue what’s actually going on.
17. Derek Turnbow
I love delightful Derek and I think he is a great addition this season. His leading all the children and telling off the military officers was so funny, and he is such a little hero. Unfortunately, he’s ranked lower because I feel like he’s just so new and hasn’t done enough yet to be up any higher.
16. Bob
Bob is so sweet and so good to Joyce. His death was arguably the saddest death we have seen so far in the show, maybe tied with Eddie. Bob was such a sweetie, and even though his advice did kind of end up leading to Will being possessed, he was always so supportive of the boys and was one of the few people who never told Joyce she was crazy. He cared so much about all of them and I honestly wish Joyce had listened to him and just moved to nice peaceful Maine instead of insane cursed Hawkins.
15. Jonathan Byers
This might be controversial but I am just not a Jonathan fan. Ever since season one when he took creepy photos of Nancy changing through the window, he has just rubbed me the wrong way. I feel like he doesn’t really do anything helpful, and if they took him out of the group, they would all still be fine. He means well, but he’s just kind of moping around most of the time, and it also made me so mad that he wouldn’t go see Nancy in the hospital this season. I do feel bad for him, though, because Joyce lowkey forgets that she has a son other than Will sometimes. I also give him points for being so good to Will throughout the whole show. But all in all, he’s just not my fav.
14. Eddie
I do love Eddie and his vibes, and his guitar solo in the Upside Down is one of my favorite scenes in the show. Overall, I just feel like he didn’t contribute as much as all the others because he was only around for one season and, unfortunately, spent most of it hiding from the police. Also he obviously didn’t kill everyone, but Hellfire was a little culty and he was at the scene of two of the murders, so I kind of get why everyone suspected him. I do love Eddie though and I wish he had a happier ending.
13. Erica
Erica is so funny and has the best one-liners. I love how she tells everyone off, and I feel like she is always called in at the craziest and crucial moments, and she always saves everyone’s butts. I have nothing bad to say about her, she’s just an icon.
12. Robin
I loved Robin in season three, but I feel like in the last couple of seasons, she has become a little bit more sporadic. I still love her, but I just feel like her vibes in the last few seasons have been really different and at times, kind of annoying. But I love her friendship with Steve, and her and Vickie this season are so cute. I am crossing my fingers that all the theories online about her dying are wrong.
11. Mike Wheeler
Ok I feel like this might be controversial. I do love Mike, and he has contributed so much to the group. But, he’s just not my favorite out of the main characters. He kind of just gets on my nerves, and in the early seasons he is always yelling and getting mad at everyone. I also think he’s crazy for the way he talks to Hopper when he’s worried about Eleven. Mike does get bonus points for everything he does to help Will when he is struggling, and also for season 1 when he literally jumps off a cliff to save Dustin not knowing that Eleven is there to save him. I honestly think Mike is a good guy, he’s just also an annoying teen boy.
10. Jim Hopper
I love my guy Hopper, but he is a little erratic sometimes. He has definitely gotten better in the later seasons, but he loses points for the way he screams at Eleven in season 2 and literally tells her he will send her back to the lab. He also loses points for way back in season 1 when he sold out Eleven to save Will. I honestly think he just has some anger management issues that he needs to deal with, and I know Joyce will help him now that they’re together. He has come so far since season one, and he has saved everyone’s butts so many times, so I do love him for that.
9. Murray Bauman
Murray is such an icon. He saves everyone so many times by being the only person in Hawkins who speaks Russian, and with his mad kung fu skills. He is an ally to all and gets Jonathan and Nancy and Hopper and Joyce together, and he always tells it like it is. I love how loyal he is to Joyce and Hopper and that he will always drop everything to help the gang even though he is arguably the least emotionally connected to everyone in the group.
8. Will Byers
Poor Will has been through so much trauma, and my biggest wish for him is that he gets a very well-qualified therapist after season five ends. He is such a little cutie pie in the first few seasons, and I really just want him to be at least somewhat happy for more than 5 consecutive minutes. Unfortunately, I feel like he has one of the highest likelihoods of dying this season with his weird connection to Vecna and the Upside Down, but the end of the latest episode gave me some hope for him. I’m really loving his character in season 5 so far and I’m glad they are finally giving him a chance to be the hero and not just the unfortunate victim of the Upside Down.
7. Lucas Sinclair
Lucas is so underrated, and I hope he gets a big moment to shine this season. He is always ready to fight for his friends with his little camo bandana and slingshot, and his refusal to give up on Max this season is so sweet. I feel like he is the one in the main party that is always telling it like it is and questioning people’s insane plans, but he always ends up helping out, even when he’s apprehensive.
6. Max Mayfield
Max’s story is looking a bit different this season, so I don’t really know how to judge that, but I think Max was a great addition to the party. She is such a little icon with her skateboard and her sarcasm, and she saved all of them in season 4 by confronting Vecna. I hope she wakes up and gets to be happy again because I feel like she has been in the show less than most of the characters, but somehow has twice the trauma. I also really like her friendship with Eleven and how she helps her figure out who she is without Mike’s insane hormonal energy.
5. Eleven
Eleven is another character who I really hope can get intensive therapy after the show ends. The poor girl has been through so much, and she keeps choosing to fight and help her friends. I do like her relationship with Mike, but I’m glad the last few seasons have been giving her some space from her so she can figure out who she is without him. If it weren’t for Eleven, everyone at the party and, frankly, probably all of Hawkins, would be dead, so obviously she is a top character. I also feel like she has a higher chance of dying this season, so fingers crossed she makes it through so she can finally chill out and stop fighting evil demons and monsters and being on the run from the government.
4. Dustin Henderson
Dustin is my favorite member of the og party and is such a genius. He figures out all the confusing science-related stuff for the group, and he never gives up on his friends. He and Steve are my favorite duo, so I am crossing my fingers that they will make up soon in season 5. I do think Dustin seems very different this season, but it makes sense since he just lost Eddie. But hopefully, throughout this season, he will find some closure.
3. Steve Harrington
Ok, this is where it’s starting to get really difficult because I love Steve so much, but I think spot 3 is where he belongs. I love his friendship with Robin and with all the kids, and I feel like although he is never the strongest or most powerful character, he’s always the one who is willing to jump in and try to defend everyone first. He’s literally a teenager when he gets brutally tortured by Russians, and he still doesn’t give away any of the information he was keeping secret. I also love his and Dustin’s friendship, and I really hope they become besties again soon because the beginning of season 5 with them fighting made me so sad. I have also seen a lot of theories that Steve is going to die this season, and I will literally cancel Christmas if this happens because I will be so devastated.
2. Nancy Wheeler
In my opinion, Nancy is by far the best member of the Wheeler family. She is so smart and is always the one unraveling the random plotlines that end up being super important. Everyone (cough, cough Robin) tried to tell her she was crazy in season 4 for looking into the Viktor Kreel thing, and then she literally finds out how to save Max from Vecna. I also love her story of going from a goody two-shoes to a confident woman who is storing up shot guns to kill Vecna. She does start off kind of mean to Barb at the beginning of the show, but after her mistake, she never gives up on looking for her and making sure Barb’s parents can know some version of the truth. Without her management, I feel like the main characters would have gotten lost, killed, or just confused so many times. I don’t really love her with Jonathan, but I also think it would be weird if she just went back to Steve after all she and Jonathan have been through. Honestly, I think she should ditch both of them and go become president or something on her own.
1. Joyce Byers
Joyce is literally such an icon. Every word she says is always right, even though everyone tries to tell her she is crazy all the time. Honestly, it’s baffling to me that Hopper and the others still try to tell her she is irrational because I could not name one time this woman’s theories have been wrong. Throughout all of season 1, she figures out where Will is, finds a way to talk to him, and figures out that his dead body is fake, all while her own son (more points off for Jonathan), Hopper, Will’s dad, and the entire town tell her that she is delusional. She is always there for Will and literally strutted up to Vecna like she had any chance of beating him, and she figured out how to do a full-on exorcism when he was possessed by the Mindflayer. She is definitely not the most physically strong or best character when fighting, but if it weren’t for her nobody would have ever found Will and they would probably all be eaten by demogorgons. I love Joyce so much, and I really hope this poor woman gets a chance to rest and be with her children after the season is over without fear of Will being possessed or going into a freaky coma.