Major spoilers for the final episode of Stranger Things, “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up,” lie ahead.
Ahead of the Stranger Things series finale, fans have a considerable amount of theories, to say the least. What seemed to weigh on viewers’ minds most was the prospect of more than a few major characters being killed off. Ultimately, while there were some casualties, the death count wasn’t nearly as high as some imagined it would be. Since the episode premiered, cast member Gaten Matarazzo has spoken about those kill-related expectations, and he brought up a good point in the process.
Gaten Matarazzo’s Dustin Henderson was just one of many major ST characters who was seemingly on the chopping block. However, Dustin survived and, in the show’s epilogue, he was revealed to be the valedictorian of Hawkins High’s graduating class of 1989. Matarazzo – who once even theorized about how Dustin could die – was more than aware of fans’ death speculations going into the finale. While speaking with Variety, the actor weighed in on those assertions and explained why countless deaths wouldn’t have felt appropriate:
We were all curious going in, and I think everyone was open to the idea of our characters dying, but I just don’t think that was the show that they really had in mind. A lot of the obsession with who’s dying was more fan-pushed than anything. I could be wrong, but I don’t think the creative team ever really pushed that the main characters wouldn’t make it out alive. And I think that ultimately ended up being a really great way to define what the show was about.
Honestly, I was expecting a number of major players to die during the Hawkins crew’s final battle with the maniacal Vecna as well as the Mind Flayer. Of course, the writers of the show also killed off characters in some tragic ways throughout its run. (There are those who are still reeling from Bob Newby and Eddie Munson’s deaths.) Still, as Matarazzo points out, this isn’t a show about bloodshed. It’s a series about how people push forward in the face of extraordinary odds, and Matarazzo doubled down on that belief:
It’s about persevering through unimaginable odds. I think there’s something special there. The point is that the kids make it through, so I was never really scared. Also, if one of us was dying, I feel like they would have told us before the writing process even started. It’s not something they would have sprung on us in the table read. They would have told us individually if it was coming.
With all of this said, there were still some deaths, which were set up during Stranger Things’ penultimate episode. The illusion-conjuring Kali was killed by soldiers, and that was a fate she relished, given she wanted to prevent the government from using her blood to prevent other super-powered youths. Eleven also seemingly sacrificed herself for that same purpose, though her fate is left a bit more ambiguous than Kali’s.
Series creators Matt and Ross Duffer also spoke with CinemaBlend about the surprising death count, explaining that they aimed to drown out the “noise” from fans and write what felt true to them and ST. The series finale may not have pleased everyone, but it could be argued that the Duffers stuck to their guns and stayed true to the theme of perseverance brought up by Gaten Matarazzo.
Fans can now stream Stranger Things in its entirety using a Netflix subscription. Also, check out the 2026 TV schedule to get a sense of the new and returning shows headed to the small screen.
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