With Stranger Things delivering an epic two-hour series finale, fans are eager to know who dies in the end. The emotional conclusion of the beloved show has left fans with questions regarding Eleven’s fate as well.
Every major character who dies in Stranger Things Season 5 finale
Here’s a list of all the major deaths in the series finale:
Kali
Kali Prasad, also known as Eight, does not make it in the final episode. When Kali and Eleven are accidentally pulled out of Vecna’s memoryscape by Hopper while trying to save Holly and the kids, they are interrupted by the army. Although Eleven manages to stay hidden, Lieutenant Akers takes Kali hostage. He then threatens to execute her if Hopper doesn’t reveal Eleven’s location.
Shortly after, Murray destroys the military helicopter and the Hedgehog to allow Eleven to use her powers and kill Akers and the other men. However, Kali was shot in the process and died in Eleven’s arms.
The Mind Flayer
The root of all evil in Hawkins, the Mind Flayer, is finally defeated by the gang in its home turf. The crew devises a plan to lure the alien entity near a cliff, where they can trap and ambush it with all their available firepower. Nancy poses as the bait while the others reach the cliff, ready to strike. The group manages to weaken the Mind Flayer and ultimately stop its heartbeat. This weakens Vecna and seals his fate as well.
Vecna
Henry Creel, also known as Vecna or One, also draws his final breath in the series finale. While the gang was busy trying to kill the Mind Flayer, Eleven was already engaged in a deadly battle with Vecna inside the giant alien’s heart. Just when things began to look bleak for El, Will stepped into the fight with his powers and took control of Vecna’s body.
In an epic moment, we see Eleven and Will give all they have to overpower Vecna and finally kill him by impaling him on a spiky body part of the Mind Flayer. Once the group reunites in the Mind Flayer’s heart, Joyce notices Vecna still drawing breath. In a fit of rage, she delivers the final blow while a montage of all the suffering he has caused in the town flashes on screen.
Does Eleven die in Stranger Things Season 5?
Eleven’s fate is left ambiguous in the Stranger Things finale. Initially, we saw El sacrifice herself in the collapse of the Upside Down. Meanwhile, Mike, Hopper, and the others looked on helplessly. However, during his final D&D campaign with Dustin, Will, Max, and Lucas, Mike delivers a twist ending. He shares his theory of how El had survived.
Mike said that El has escaped with the help of a dying Kali. This creates an illusion of her disappearing with the Upside Down, while keeping her real body invisible. El then moved to a remote and serene village where she got her happily ever after. Whether this theory is real or not is left for the audience’s interpretation, as the Party emotionally agrees that they believe it to be true.
Creator Ross Duffer addressed the ambiguous ending (via Variety). He said, “It was finding a way to come up with an ending where it was not that simple, but also bittersweet, and that there was hope there.”
