The time has come! The most highly anticipated time of 2025 has come, and not just
for the holidays! Stranger Things season 5 episodes 1-4 have dropped. And the fan excitement
is wild and anxious as millions from around the world wait for Christmas Day and New Year’s
when the last episodes of this dearly beloved show complete the reign of Stranger Things.
Without spoilers, let’s just say that the first four episodes really took a turn and satisfied some
fans, but overall confused most. Or scared them, as everyone believes that their favorite
character is going to die. Audrey Sanchez ’28 shares this concern as she states, “I think that my
favorite character, Robin, played by Maya Hawke, is going to die.” While this may be a dark
POV, Sanchez isn’t alone in fearing for the life of her favorite character. Like previously
mentioned, many fans speculate that due to the good amount of lovable main characters,
chances are one or a few aren’t going to make it out of this story alive. Some of the top theories
of character deaths are 1. Eleven 2. Will Buyers 3. Steve Harrington. It doesn’t come as a
surprise that Eleven ranks as the number one most likely to die. She is the core of the story.
However, there is one character that, after season 5 episodes 1-4 dropped, became the core of
this season and very possibly the key to turning the upside down right side up (the name of the
finale episode). This character is Will Byers. With immense character development and
elaborated facets of his personality and personal journey, he is quickly becoming a huge part of
Stranger Things’ history and will be written down in the Stranger Things Hall of Fame as potentially the
most influential character in this entire show.

On a different note: this show often portrays light living even among the darkness, and what is
this light? Love. Love is the key to protecting the people you love and curing what many thought
couldn’t be healed. So, analyzing the top relationships—or potential relationships/fan ships yet
to be canon—for season 5, we have 1. Mike and El, 2. Jonathan and Nancy, 3. Lucas and Max,
4. Steve and Nancy?, and 5, Will and Mike? While the last two are not currently canon, it is
widely speculated that they are high possibilities, and fans should be ready to expect anything
from this new season. Of course, Steve and Nancy previously dated in season 1 and broke up
due to Steve’s immaturity and overall differences in personality, but many have mentioned that
he is a completely different person than he was and that Stancy (ship name for Steve and
Nancy) is inevitable. Erin Booker ‘29 states, “I support Nancy and Steve’s relationship because
Steve is a much more attractive candidate.” This is a very valid opinion with which the fanbase
widely agrees as well. We can only hope these characters make it through the awaiting
obstacles in the new season.

Overall, there is such a bittersweet anxious-excitement that radiates from the future of the
Stranger Things 5 finale. No matter how much everyone can predict, it doesn’t change the fact
that things are about to get a whole lot worse than we thought, but this is exactly why this show
is so successful, and you have to love the twists and turns. The whole world holds its breath for
the final chance to see stranger things hit the screens for the first time ever, and awaits the
inevitable love/fear relationship this show holds in the human heart. So sit back and wait for the
most beautifully destructive show to hit screens, only on Netflix.