We're counting down the days until Stranger Things returns to Netflix for its final season, fearing it means some of our favourite characters may be killed off.
As the Duffer Brothers have teased a "violent" finale, fans seem to know who is really going for good in chapter five.
We're not talking about favourite Steve Harrington — yes, we've seen that theory and we refuse to accept it.
While Steve seems like a good candidate to sacrifice himself to save the others as a culmination to his jerk-to-hero arc, his death would hit hard.
Too hard, in fact, for some viewers, who have made their own predictions about who might unfortunately kick the bucket in Stranger Things season five.
Who will die in Stranger Things season five?
Steve's scenes from the season-five trailer (which you can watch at the top of this page) may suggest he is likely to feature less in the new instalment.
What to Read Next
The Duffer Brothers have clarified they've used segments from all eight episodes in the teaser. Of course, a clever edit could point in the direction of Joe Keery's character not faring that well, though some fans are convinced this is a red herring.
On Reddit, Stranger Things lovers are coping with the bittersweet feelings of going into the fifth and final season by placing their 'death bets'.
There are some names who have appeared several times, with some fans thinking the kids-on-bikes gang will ultimately be safe, while adult characters will have to watch their backs.
Parents have been a popular choice for fans of the show, as Redditors have identified Mike's mum and dad, Karen (Cara Buono) and Ted Wheeler (Joe Chrest), as potential casualties of season five, alongside other secondary characters like Murray Bauman.
"The deaths will be: none of the main characters from the last 5 seasons," one fan suggested. "Either Karen or Ted (both would be CRAZY!!), Murray and handful of new to this season side characters…"
"I honestly think both Wheeler parents are just gonna wind up seriously injured…" someone else wrote, while a third person put their money on Ted rather than Karen.
"It's more likely to expect screen time for Karen consoling her children over their father's death than the other way around," they noted.
As for Murray, Stranger Things' resident conspiracy theorist played by Brett Gelman, a fan called for a "badass" death.
"I can see Murray dying in the most badass way possible tho, like locking himself in with all the Demodogs and demibats and just setting the whole thing on fire," they suggested.
Related: Stranger Things season 5's wildest fan theories – has Will been in the Upside Down the whole time?
A fan also predicted another ordeal for Eleven, portrayed by Millie Bobby Brown. While El "doesn't die", they argued, she is "sucked into the [Upside Down]", though they didn't specify whether she would make it out in one piece.
A "fake death" for Eleven, who was feared to be dead at the end of season one, is another hot theory.
"I think they have a surprise ending in store for Eleven and that they will maybe do a fake out death," wrote one fan.
It wouldn't be particularly original, as this seems the route they're going down with Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink) after season four.
However, it could still shock viewers if played out as a cliffhanger between Part One, released on 26 November, and the episodes streaming over Christmas and New Year.
Will Stranger Things pull an "Eddie Munson" with new character Derek?
As we're not over the loss of Eddie just yet, Stranger Things could pull a similar trick with a new character.
Introduced in season four, the initially polarising metalhead and Dungeon Master played by Joseph Quinn quickly won the hearts of fans. After softening up and forming a sweet friendship with Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Eddie was served a terrible death courtesy of a vicious swarm of Demobats.
As some still hope for Eddie to appear in flashbacks in season five, the new instalment could see a similar arc for character Derek Turnbow, portrayed by Jake Connelly.
Presented as a bully in the character description, Derek might have to sleep with one eye open, especially if he ends up reforming and joining the central gang in their fight against Vecna.
"I bet [he's] gonna be the new bob/alexei/eddie side character introduced in season that everyone loves and ends up dying," one fan offered, while someone else stated: "The Derek guy is definitely not surviving."
So, will Steve die in Stranger Things season five?
Speaking of characters everyone loves, Steve started out as Nancy Wheeler's (Natalia Dyer) obnoxious crush and became the kids' unofficial babysitter, an older-brother figure to Dustin and a best friend to Robin (Maya Hawke).
His death would be devastating, but some fans seem to believe he'll be safe this time around and that someone else connected to Nancy is actually dying.
"I feel like any suspicion or fears about Steve is logical, but also a red herring or possibly too predictable," one person said, adding: "Which is to say that I think Jonathan is a dead man."
"I'm leaning HEAVILY towards Jonathan," someone else agreed.
"I think they've given him and Nancy a pretty prominent focus in the trailer and while that doesn't mean everything, it's interesting and could be telling for sure. A lot of times when a character is slated to die they give them that focus so their death will hit all the more to the viewers."
What will happen to Vecna in Stranger Things?
The big baddie played by Jamie Campbell Bower won't survive season five, fans agreed.
This seems a pretty safe bet — they wouldn't let the main villain roam free in Hawkins, right? — but some viewers went further, predicting a, frankly unlikely, happy ending for Stranger Things.
"everybody lives, Vecna dies," one person tentatively wrote, pointing out how the finale releasing on the last day of the year may be an indication that the Duffer Brothers won't be playing with out feelings.
"There will be no sad start of the new year," they added.
Why Stranger Things season five is going to be "brutal"
Stranger Things has a reputation for keeping its central characters alive despite all odds and opting to kill off secondary fan-favourites — RIP Barb, Bob, Alexei, Billy and Eddie.
As much as we wouldn't want to see a huge death, or multiple, in the upcoming season, upping the stakes with a darker storyline would make for a grand finale.
The Duffer Brothers have confirmed that season five will be "brutal" and not just played for shock value.
"It's a brutal season, I will say that," Ross told Entertainment Weekly last week.
"Yeah, it's very brutal," Matt added. "It's violent. The stakes are higher than ever. Because you're hurtling through the end, a lot more is on the table, I will say. Hopefully it's surprising and earned, what's happened. We weren't going for shock value."
The showrunners have said they are "careful" about who they decide to kill off as there won't be a further season to absorb the shock of a big death in the final episode.
While this seems to hint at a tragic death more likely to happen during the midseason finale, the Duffers remained tightlipped and explained they wanted to do right by their characters.
"There is no season six, so we need to make sure, if and when there are deaths, that it makes sense in terms of where we want our characters to end up at the end of the show. That was a lot of the discussion this year."
Stranger Things seasons 1-4 are streaming on Netflix. Season 5 premieres with four episodes on 26 November. Three more episodes will be released on Christmas Day, with the series final to drop on the streamer on 31 December.
The new edition of Living Legends is here! Buy Ariana & Witches in newsagents or online, priced at just £8.99.
Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
