1
Credit: NetflixStranger Things is no stranger to killing off characters, whether beloved or reviled. But it’s fair to say that the most memorable are the characters we connect with. What’s particularly great (and pretty cruel) 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 the Stranger Things television series, we’re sure it will be packed with plenty of heart-wrenching moments. And we’re sure it won’t stop there — the franchise is set to expand with spinoffs and stage plays, so who knows how many stings it has left in its tail.
Related: First Part of ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Coming Next Month
That said, one of the best things about franchises like Stranger Things and 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 characters, 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!
Related: ‘Stranger Things’ Reveals First Look at Season 5’s Chapter 1
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 fresh, there’s one that has since buried itself deep in our subconscious, and one that certainly has us asking the question, “Why?!”
During a panel hosted by Collider‘s Arezou Amin at San Diego’s Fan Expo, The Lord of the Rings actor 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 a love interest to Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder), only to be brutally killed before the season was up.
Here’s what Astin said:
“You always want to be a part of something epic and big, and you know, with Stranger Things, Bob deserved better, that’s right. 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.'”
Related: ‘Stranger Things’ Is Temporarily Replacing Its Main Character Lineup
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. 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.”
Related: ‘Stranger Things’ Shares Teaser for First Part of Season 5 Ahead of December Release
Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Fortunately, while Bob Newby might be dead in the current Stranger Things timeline, he’s set to return to the franchise in Stranger Things: The First Shadow (2023).
The upcoming 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.
Per the official website, here’s the synopsis for The First Shadow:
BEFORE THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN…
Hawkins, 1959: a regular town with regular worries. Young Jim Hopper’s car won’t start, Bob Newby’s sister won’t take his radio show seriously and Joyce Maldonado just wants to graduate and get the hell out of town.
When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that a fresh start isn’t so easy… and the shadows of the past have a very long reach.
Brought to life by a multi-award-winning creative team, who take theatrical storytelling and stagecraft to a whole new dimension, this gripping new adventure will take you right back to the beginning of the Stranger Things story — and may hold the key to the end.
Check out the trailer for The First Shadow below:
Related: ‘Stranger Things’ Could Recast Eleven This Year
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 fair better!
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, of course, 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 “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. Instead, 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, whether in Season 1 or a subsequent season. 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. A nice, simple 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 discussed, Bob Newby will return in Stranger Things: The First Shadow, this time 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 previously deceased characters weren’t — he doesn’t die immediately (although we aren’t sure this is a good thing per se).
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. When Vecna/Henry Creel/One (Jamie Campbell Bower) snaps all her limbs and puts her in some sort of coma, it hits incredibly 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
Per Netflix, here’s the official synopsis for Stranger Things Season 4:
It’s been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time – and navigating the complexities of high school hasn’t made things any easier. In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down.
Season 4 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.
The First Shadow will officially open in London’s Phoenix Theater on December 14, 2023.
Which Stranger Things death do you find the most heart-breaking? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!