Stranger Things has finally concluded with the release of Episode 8 – The Rightside Up, which marks the final episode of the TV series. It’s been a long ride from when it all started with Will going missing, right up to this final showdown with Vecna. But who makes it out alive, and who meets their end along the way? If you’re interested in finding out, this guide has all of the information you’ll need.
SPOILER WARNING: This guide covers content involving MAJOR spoilers for the Stranger Things Season 5 finale. Proceed with caution.
Who Dies in the Stranger Things Finale?
The Stranger Things finale shaped up to be a massively epic fight against the villains of the show, Vecna and the Mind Flayer. There were also some interruptions from Dr. Kay and the Military, of course. Among all the action and dire circumstances, it seemed certain that not everyone would make it to the end.
For the most part, a majority of the deaths in the Stranger Things finale were of unnamed military soldiers as Hopper, Murray, Eleven, and Kali worked their side of the plan. However, there were also some more significant casualties that occurred along the way. Here is a complete list of every death that took place in the Stranger Things Finale (Season 5 Episode 8 – The Rightside Up).
Lt. Akers
Hopper, Eleven, and Kali had found themselves hunted by Lt. Akers and the military soldiers. After making a move to save Kali, Hop finds himself in a confrontation with Lt. Akers, who threatens both of their lives if they don’t give up El’s location. Murray, however, has a surprise explosion in stock for them.
This causes a massive blast that kills the soldiers standing by the windows and opens up the opportunity for Eleven to attack back, taking out the others. Eleven then kills Lt. Akers by forcing him to turn the gun on himself and firing.
Kali
Kali was the first death from the “good guys” side (despite what some popular fan theories suggested) to occur during the finale. For a split second, though, it seemed that Murray had managed to save everyone with his crazy impromptu helicopter explosion. However, it soon became clear that Kali had not been so lucky – Lt. Akers had shot her just as the helicopter exploded, and she died promptly after from the wound in the arms of a tearful Eleven.
Unnamed Scientist (Henry’s Flashback)
Perhaps one of the most saddening moments of the finale was witnessing the second half of Henry’s most traumatic memory. It was at this point that Will also grew to understand that Henry was just like him – no more than a vessel who was being manipulated by the Mind Flayer.
After beating the scientist in the cave with a rock to what viewers initially thought was his death, Henry opens the briefcase to find Mind Flayer particles. These particles enter through the bullet hole in his hand and fuse with him, establishing his connection to the Mind Flayer.
The scientist then wakes back up and spends his last moments begging Henry to resist the manipulation, warning him that it will consume him entirely if he does not resist. However, the Mind Flayer puts a short and sharp end to those words, immediately manipulating Henry to end him, his eyes gouged out in the first-ever Vecna-styled slaying.
Vecna / Henry Creel
And of course, the big bad finally met his end. During the finale battle, the majority of the Hawkins crew took on the exterior (Mind Flayer), while Eleven battled Henry front-on. Will was then able to tap into Vecna’s mind to assist. As Vecna and the Mind Flayer are a hivemind, damaging one resulted in damaging the other. In an epic showdown, the gang emerges victorious.
Vecna is last seen impaled on a spike within the Mind Flayer, slowly bleeding out. Then in an absolutely badass moment, Joyce steps forward and delivers final blow after final blow to the show’s big bad, for all of the pain not just on behalf of herself and Will, but on behalf of everyone there in that fight, everyone who was waiting back at Hawkins (Max, Vickie, Karen), and everyone who had ever been impacted by Vecna’s evil. All of that suffering comes to an end when Joyce fully decapitates Vecna, ending his reign.
Eleven
In a bittersweet ending, Eleven does not make it back to Hawkins with her loved ones. While at first she does travel back with the others, she escapes during an ambush from Dr. Kay’s military and steps back through the gate as the Upside Down starts to perish. She gives a final goodbye to Mike through her psychic abilities and stands there, locking eyes with everyone who desperately pleads and tries to break free in hopes of stopping her. Then, the Upside Down is destroyed, Eleven is obscured in a gust of wind, and is never seen again as the gate ceases to exist.
Based on this, it was heavily implied that Eleven gave herself up in self-sacrifice, just as Kali had originally planned for them to. Vecna confirmed to Hopper that Eleven had been committed to this plan alongside Kali, so when Kali perished before they reached that point, it only seemed to further push Eleven to end the cycle in a selfless and noble move.
However, it is seen in the final moments of Stranger Things when Mike plays out the end story of the party members following his final campaign, that he believes a different story. Mike reveals he believes Eleven escaped to a landscape that she had dreamed of, some place where she can never be hurt again. Of course, while he genuinely believes this, there’s no telling if Eleven has somehow sent him a sign that points to this, if she touched on it during their final goodbye, or if it is simply a coping mechanism.
Fan theories are already starting to pool in, with one angle being that Kali managed to stay alive for just long enough to buy Eleven a true escape. This theory suggests that while Kali was in no state to continue due to her bullet wound, she didn’t actually pass away until the Upside Down was destroyed. After defeating Vecna, Eleven escaped through the Abyss to another world, and Kali used the last of her energy to create a fake image of Eleven standing at the gate. As Kali knew she was dying and would be taken out with the collapse of the Upside Down, she gave a chance for Eleven to escape to the life they had both dreamed of. Could this be true? Possibly. It does certainly add wonder to just how ambiguous Eleven’s endgame is, that’s for sure.