Disclaimer: this article was written before the release of season five.
Stranger Things season five releases on Nov. 27, 2025. Despite Thanksgiving happening on the same day, the release of season five was something I was extremely excited for. My dad and I watched all the previous four seasons of the show, and I have seen multiple fan theories online about what’s to come with the new release. However, I have also taken the time to come up with some of my own, mainly surrounding who will survive the grand finale. In every season of Stranger Things thus far, someone dies, so I can only imagine what this season will look like. Regardless, here are my predictions for who survives season five of Stranger Things.
Mike Wheeler: 100% survival rate
I don’t think it makes sense for Mike to be killed off, especially with the current plot line. He’s the one that connects the entire group together, and they use his house as a base most of the time. At the same time, I don’t think his death would be emotionally significant for the viewers. Unlike some of the other characters, I don’t think anyone would really care if Mike died. For me, Mike is just kind of there. He’s not my favorite or least favorite character, so I can imagine that other viewers feel the same way. If Mike were to die, it would just be a “meh” death, and I think the Duffer Brothers, the show’s creators, could do better.
Lucas Sinclair: 100% survival rate
Again, in my opinion, it doesn’t make sense for Lucas to die. In the official season five trailer, Lucas is seen holding an unconscious Max while a Demogorgon charges at them. If Lucas were to die in this scene, or at any point, during the show, there would be no one directly at Max’s side. I will explain my theory on Max later, but it also seems unlikely for her to die if Lucas is by her side. Plus, Lucas is the only one out of the core friend group with a connection to the basketball team and the non-nerdy members of Hawkins High School, which might be a connection the party needs during this season’s events.
Dustin Henderson: 80% survival rate
Dustin is an absolute fan favorite, so it would be diabolical for the Duffer Brother’s to kill him off. But, since he is a fan favorite, this could make him a potential target this season. As proven by the death of Eddie Munson in season four, the Duffer Brothers have no problem killing off fan favorites. I don’t think, however, that Dustin will die in season five. He is one of the few characters to always figure out what is going on with the Upside Down and come up with a plan to tackle it. For these reasons, I think it’s likely that Dustin will survive, but there is a small part of me that can see him dying this season.
Will Byers: 10% survival rate
There is absolutely no way that Will survives this season, given the events in the trailer and the first five minutes of the season. Viewers see that Will was taken over by Vecna when he was trapped in the Upside Down during season one. Then, in the trailer, Vecna ominously proclaims that Will is going to help him “one last time.” Therefore, I think that Vecna is going to use Will as a vessel to leave the Upside Down and enter Hawkins once and for all. The friend group, however, will have to kill Will to destroy Venca, so Will’s survival rate is the lowest of the core four.
Max Mayfield: 70% survival rate
If Max was going to die, I feel like the Duffer Brothers would have killed her at the end of season four. Why place Max in a coma just to kill her off later? It does not seem like something they would do. I also think that Max is one of the best characters in the show, so that makes her another potential target for a major character death. If the Duffer Brothers do kill Max off (which I hope they don’t) then it would be absolutely amazing if Will, controlled by Vecna, is the one to do it.
Eleven: 50% survival rate
Eleven is the main weapon the group has to close the Upside Down and defeat any forces that come out of it. In Stranger Things season four, we saw her struggle with her powers, but she ultimately regained them to temporarily save Hawkins from Vecna. That being said, I don’t think that Eleven will die in this new season. Instead, I feel like she will permanently loose her powers after defeating Vecna and closing the Upside Down for good. If, for whatever reason, Eleven does die, then it will be saving someone else, like Max or possibly even Will (although I seriously doubt Will is surviving this one). I also think having Eleven die is way too predictable, so the Duffer Brothers will never follow through with that plot line.
Nancy Wheeler: 75% survival rate
I have mixed feelings about Nancy. Although I don’t really care for her character, I can absolutely see her sacrificing herself for one of the kids or one of the other main characters in the show. I am not convinced, however, that she will die in this season. Nancy is shown washing blood off her hands in the trailer. I think this means that she is a possible target — for death or of Vecna’s — but she defeats whatever threat is coming her way. At the same time, Nancy is one of the smarter members of the group, so it seems unlikely that she would fall into Vecna’s hands.
Jonathan Byers: 100% survival rate
It legit makes no sense for him to die. Jonathan has never been targeted by the Upside Down, or when they are fighting things like Demogorgons or the Mind Flayer. I also personally don’t think Jonathan is anybody’s favorite character, so seeing him die wouldn’t really resonate with viewers.
Steve Harrington: 90% survival rate
Steve Harrington is my favorite character in the entire show, so if something happens to him I will obviously riot. Thankfully, I don’t think anything is going to happen to Steve. In a recent interview, Joe Keery, the actor who portrays Steve Harrington in the series, said that he thinks fans will be “very happy” with the way things ended for his character. I am taking that as a sign that Steve lives! Looking at the plot of the show, however, it also doesn’t make sense for Steve to die as he could have been killed off in season four when the Upside Down bats attacked him. Therefore, I think Steve has a high chance of survival.
Robin Buckley: 90% survival rate
Although Robin talks a mile a minute, there’s nothing drawing her to the Upside Down. I don’t think that there’s any reason to kill her off. The only reason I can see her dying is if something happens that takes out most of the group.
Chief Hopper: 90% survival rate
Hopper is the type to sacrifice himself for the people he loves, but he already did this at the end of season three. That makes the storyline old and repetitive, which is the exact opposite of Stranger Things. I also think that if Hopper was going to die, it would have happened during the mall fire in season three. Therefore, it seems redundant to kill him off now.
Joyce Byers: 80% survival rate
Joyce is not a target of the Upside Down; her son is. Therefore, I don’t think she will die because Vecna or one of his monsters targets her. The only way Joyce will die is if she dies trying to protect Will, but I don’t even see how that would be possible.
All in all, I am extremely excited for the new season of Stranger Things but I am so scared to see who the Duffer Brothers kill off. While I don’t think any of my favorites will die, the show has always been unpredictable. I guess the only way we’ll know is with the release of the show.