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Credit: NetflixStranger Things is no stranger to killing off characters, but it’s fair to say that the most memorable are the ones we truly connect with. What’s particularly great about the hit Netflix series is its ability to make us fall in love with newly introduced characters only to kill them off episodes later. This has happened a handful of times throughout the four seasons.
But while Season 5 will be the end of Stranger Things, we’re sure it will be packed with plenty of equally heart-wrenching moments. And it’s unlikely to end there — the franchise is set to expand with spinoffs, so who knows how many stings it has left in its tail.
That said, one of the best things about franchises like Stranger Things, Star Wars, and Marvel is that, while we’re forced to watch characters we know and love meet their maker, we can always revisit our favorite episodes and movies and watch them all over again.
Unfortunately, that also involves watching their demise, too. Shows such as Stranger Things are quite clever in tricking us to believe that these are real, lived-in people, which is a testament to both the writing and the performances from the actors. But it’s this that makes it all the more difficult to watch when our favorite Hawkins hero gets the chop.
But there’s one death that has been etched in our memories forever. While Eddie Munson’s untimely demise at the end of Season 4 is still relatively fresh, there’s a Season 2 death that has also left some pretty big scars: Bob Newby (Sean Astin).
During a panel hosted by Collider‘s Arezou Amin at San Diego’s Fan Expo in 2023, The Lord of the Rings star Sean Astin explained how the show’s creators, Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer, were devastated by his character’s death in Season 4. Bob Newby was introduced as Joyce Byers’ happy-go-lucky love interest, only to be brutally killed before the season was up.
“You always want to be a part of something epic and big, and, you know, with Stranger Things, Bob deserved better, that’s right,” Astin said.
“I try and capture for people, particularly young filmmakers in something, that you sort of go, the screenplay, you know, it all starts with the screenplay. The word — if it’s on the page, it’s just an awful sentence to read. You know, the Duffers, I’m like, ‘Did it hurt to write it?’ And he’s like, ‘I was sobbing, I was sobbing writing it.'”
The actor went on to explain that he was happy to be in the show, describing it as being able to “step onto a moving train that somebody else has built.”
“But that idea that there’s a franchise, that is, it’s clearly a franchise, it’s clearly a tentpole thing for the platform, you know, for Netflix,” he said. “And then I get to be on it, and I step onto a moving train that somebody else has built, and you know, you want to do your part as well as you can and contribute meaningfully.”
Fortunately, while Bob Newby is dead in the current Stranger Things timeline, he has since returned to the franchise in Stranger Things: The First Shadow (2023).
The West End stage play focuses on the younger versions of Joyce Maldonado (later Byers), Jim Hopper, Henry Creel, and Bob Newby. This time, they are played by Isabella Pappas, Louis McCartney, Oscar Lloyd, and Christopher Buckley, respectively.
But, as we’ve already said, Bob Newby’s isn’t the only gut-wrenching Stranger Things death — there are a handful more that also left fans in total despair. So let’s rank them by order of how utterly heart-breaking they are. Best grab a tissue for this trip down memory lane.
Stranger Things Character Deaths
6. Billy Hargrove — Season 3
Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery) is easily one of the most unlikable characters in Stranger Things, from the moment he was introduced as Max Mayfield’s nasty older brother in Season 2, to his battle with the grotesque Shadow Monster in Season 3.
There’s no denying that it’s tough to see Max (Sadie Sink) watch her brother’s demise in the Season 3 finale “Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt,” but Billy was hardly a character fans warmed to, even if his flirting with Mrs. Wheeler (Cara Buono) was fun to watch.
But just because Billy is a bad character, that doesn’t make him a bad character. His complex relationship with Max is engaging, and if we were ranking villains, he’d be higher.
Related: ‘Stranger Things’ Is Recasting Three of Its Main Characters
5. Jim Hopper — Season 3
As you can already tell, we’ve certainly taken some liberties here. Nevertheless, a “fake-out death” is still eligible for ranking, because at the time, we were none the wiser as to the fate of that particular character. In this case, it’s Jim Hopper (David Harbour).
In Season 3’s “The Battle of Starcourt”, Jim Hopper sacrifices himself in the Hawkins lab in an attempt to save the rest of the gang, including love interest Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder). Fans watched in horror as Hopper gives Joyce a knowing smile while he braces himself for death.
Fortunately, death didn’t come, as Season 4 finds Hopper in a Russian prison where he must survive harsh winters, cruel prison guards, and, of all things, a Demogorgon.
Related: Gaten Matarazzo Speaks Out Ahead of Exit From ‘Stranger Things’
4. Barbara Holland — Season 1
We arrive at the death that started it all: Barbara Holland (Shannon Purser). Long before Bob Newby and Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), “Barb” sent the Internet into a frenzy when she was taken and killed by the Demogorgon in Season 1’s “Chapter Three: Holly, Jolly.”
And how can we forget the hashtag trend #JusticeForBarb, which set the online world alight with fans demanding that the Duffer brothers bring the character back to life. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be for poor Barb.
Still, her legacy lives on, and in her wake, she’s created a vacuum for lovable characters to be introduced and then brutally dispatched within a matter of episodes. So, er, thanks for that.
Related: David Harbour Jumps to New Franchise After Leaving ‘Stranger Things’ Role
3. Bob Newby — Season 2
We’ve already talked about poor Bob Newby’s death in Season 2’s “The Mind Flayer,” but as we’re now ranking Stranger Things deaths, it’s only fitting we place him nearer the top, seeing as we’re measuring these tragic departures by their emotional impact.
Bob is a nice guy. Which makes it all the more difficult to watch as a pack of Demogogs tears into him while he’s about to escape Hawkins Lab with Joyce. The Duffer brothers knew exactly how to hit fans in the feels with this one.
Luckily, though, as we’ve also already said, Bob Newby returns in Stranger Things: The First Shadow, as a teen played by Christopher Buckley.
Related: New ‘Stranger Things’ Prequel Will Be “Mega Episode,” Matt Duffer Reveals
2. Eddie Munson — Season 4
Well, here we are. The most soul-destroying death in Stranger Things so far. Eddie Munson is easily the most “metal” character to have graced Hawkins, and his pre-demise rendition of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” will be forever etched into our conscious.
Unfortunately, so will watching him get attacked by a horde of flesh-eating bat creatures in the Upside Down. Fortunately, Eddie is given a luxury other deceased characters that fell before him weren’t — he doesn’t die immediately.
Watching Eddie’s interaction with a devastated Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) left fans in pieces, and just as we thought we’d wiped away all the tears, Joseph Quinn’s heart-warming exchange with a fan at London Comic Con weeks later got us going again.
Related: Despite Some Bad News, ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Gets Exciting Update
1. Max Mayfield — Season 4
Okay, so we don’t know what the future has in store for Max Mayfield, and given the fact that Stranger Things Season 5 is yet to get a release date, we probably won’t find out for quite a long time. However, it’s safe to say that she is currently alive, whatever that may look like.
Nevertheless, Max’s fate in Season 4 should definitely count as a Stranger Things death, because that’s exactly how it feels at the time. When Vecna/Henry Creel/One (Jamie Campbell Bower) snaps all her limbs and puts her in some sort of coma, it hits so hard.
To make matters worse, Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin) and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) echo our screams of despair with their award-worthy performances.
It remains to be seen which characters will be killed off in Season 5, but as it’s the final one, we’re sure the show will go out with a bang.
Stranger Things Season 4
Stranger Things stars Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven/Jane Hopper), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Joseph Quinn (Eddie Munson), Paul Reiser (Dr. Sam Owens), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Papa/Martin Brenner), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), and Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna/One/Henry Creel).
Stranger Things seasons 1 — 4 are streaming on Netflix.
Which Stranger Things death do you find the most heart-breaking? Let us know in the comments down below!