Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Stranger Things season five
The creators of Stranger Things have revealed why the show didn’t kill off any of its main characters following criticism of the series.
The Netflix series came under a lot of criticism in its final season, whether it be characters ‘completely disappearing’ in the finale or the lack of Demogorgons in the final fight, but the most common criticism has been how reticent the show is to kill off main characters.
Throughout the entire series leading up to the finale, there were arguably four major character deaths if you exclude the villains, Bob, Billy, Barb, and Eddie.
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Leading into the final season, the creators of the show promised that it would not be a Game of Thrones Red Wedding-style massacre, but many still expected that there would be some pretty big deaths to ratchet up the stakes.
Many were surprised then that, leading into the finale, the closest thing to a major death was the anonymous military soldiers killed by Vecna.
The finale did not end up giving us any major character deaths, with Kali, Vecna, and the Mind Flayer being the only confirmed goners from the final episode.
Whilst at one point it looks like they have killed off Eleven, the show ends up hinting that she actually survived, with Will telling the party that he ‘believes’ that she made it out and tricked everyone into thinking she died.
Speaking about the decision not to kill any main characters throughout the show, the Duffer Brothers told The Hollywood Reporter that they ‘don’t know’ if Eleven actually died at the end of the show, saying that if they gave a definitive answer, it would mean her sacrifice ‘meant nothing’.
They went on to add: “We came up with Eleven 10 years ago; we’ve been working with Millie for 10 years.
"So we’re very protective of her. It was really hard.
“I know we get hit for not killing more people, but Ross and I love these characters and these actors so much. It just felt like such a courageous and brave thing for her to do.”
In an interview with Deadline, they spoke specifically about why more characters didn’t die, saying: “In the writers room, I think we talked through everything.
“You talk through everything, every possibility, and we knew from early on what we wanted to do with Eleven and her fate, and you talk through the other characters, but I think at the end of the day, for us, the show is an adventure story.
"It's a coming of age story.
"So for us, it was really talking about those last 30, 40 minutes and where we wanted our characters to be and what we wanted their growth to be and where we wanted to leave them behind.
“Having those discussions is how we landed on [the decision] that we want our heroes, most of them, to make it out of there."
Whilst many fans will think that characters like Hopper, Steve, or Will should’ve died to make things more impactful, it’s hard to argue with that.
Topics: Stranger Things, Netflix, TV and Film, TV
Michael Slavin