crawling out of the deep dark cave I reside in to post this. I’m sorry, and pls don’t come for me but here we go…
reasons I think that Steve Harrington is going to die in Stranger Things Season 5:
first and foremost, his character arc is complete. Steve has gone from being the douchebag preppy jock to the lovable babysitting hero. he’s overcome the stereotypes thrown onto his character in the beginning of the series, has matured, has found platonic love in Robin, has grown to be happy for her even as he longs for love with Nancy. his second to last scene in Season 4 was him smiling as Robin spoke with Vicky, happy for her even though he himself just witnessed Nancy with Jonathan.
people might say the same stands for Nancy and Jonathan but it doesn’t - their arcs aren’t complete. Nancy and Jonathan stand on uneven ground via their relationship which leads me into reason number two.
there is a love triangle between Nancy, Steve and Jonathan, held up by Nancy. multiple actors have stated that each character has an ending in this upcoming season, which leads me to believe that she’ll end up with one of them and the other will die. one of the three has to go, and I do not believe it will be Nancy as she holds up the love triangle, and there would not be the same impact if they were to kill Jonathan as if they were to kill Steve.
which is point three. it would leave the greatest emotional impact (in my opinion) for the fanbase to lose Steve. he’s an extremely beloved character, and this is the last season, and even thinking about his death scene makes me want to cry and I have no idea what they have up their sleeves. it would be a character death that would be talked about forever. a huge emotional impact is important for the show to stay on people’s minds given that there will be spinoffs - and sadly, there is no reason not to kill him, given that this particular story is coming to an end and the chances of Joe Keery doing a spinoff with his music career soaring are close to zero.
point four. interactions with other characters.
1, Eddie in the woods first confirming that Dustin worships Steve and then, “I couldn’t accept the fact that Steve Harrington was actually a good dude. Rich parents, popular, chicks love him - not a douche? No way, man. That like, flies in the face of all the laws of the universe.” he basically summed it all up, right there in one scene, Steve’s entire arc - reminding the audience who Steve was in the beginning and who he is now.
2, Steve’s dream that he shares with Nancy - his Winnebago and his six little nuggets. I believe these kids represent Dustin, Mike, Will, Max, El and Lucas. he’ll be able to say that he’s already lived his dream, because he had them. there’s no way that number is a coincidence. (I can already feel the tears from this okay).
3. their (him and Nancy’s) conversation in the woods. he confirms it himself, “if I get a big enough thump on my head I can change, I can learn, I can crawl forward” then “I guess what I’m trying to say in a really stupid, roundabout way, is thank you.” .. “for giving my head the biggest thump of it’s life, two years ago. needed it. it’s changed my life. and now I’m crawling forward, slowly.” (anyone connect that to the first episode title? hm… but anyway) this is just another confirmation of the completion of his arc, acknowledging his change of character over the seasons.
and of course, let’s not forget Dustin’s “if you die, I die.” line from season three. of all of the characters in the show I think it’s also likely that Dustin may die, but even if he doesn’t, Steve would now do anything to save him and (I could go on, and on, and on about this, but nonetheless) that leads me to my final point.
what better ending to his hero arc is there than to die a heroic death saving the people he’s come to love so much? saving Dustin, or Robin, or Nancy, or any of the kids - he would do that. the Steve Harrington that the fans love would happily put himself in between the rest of the characters and danger and has done so many times.
as for the other main characters, I do have reasons to believe that some of them will live - for example,
just like Nancy holding up the love triangle of Jonathan/Steve/Nancy, I believe that El holds up the love triangle of El/Mike/Will and will receive a happy ending. I think that Mike or Will could die, but after everything that Will has gone through I would hope they’d give him a happy ending as well, possibly with another love interest (which has been rumored) which would do away with the love triangle and the need to knock one out. the other characters are similar - they hold up other characters. the Sinclairs, I believe, are safe. I think that Lucas and Max will be a triumphant endgame couple. after last season, if Max was going to die, she would’ve (please don’t get me started on my Max theory - our girl is going to be fighting with the whole squad from inside Vecna’s mind). Erica would not leave as big of an emotional impact and is also very young. I think that in the end the Hopper/Byers will stay standing as a family, on the foundation of Joyce and Hopper. I hope for their happy ending. as for Robin I don’t think they would’ve made such a big deal of her Vicky crush if she wasn’t going to have a happy ending there - and with a love interest for Robin, her character is no longer held up by Steve’s. as I said before, Dustin I’m not so sure about, for all I know he could die with Steve, he also does not hold up another character and would leave a large emotional impact -
but one thing is certain (to me) - Steve Harrington is going to die.
I think he will have a million dollar death scene that people talk about for ages. I hope he’ll win awards for it. I will bawl my eyes out. but alas, I believe he’s going to die. part of me hopes I’m wrong, but I thought I’d post my theory anyway.
I’m not any happier about it than you are. I just needed to vent. let me know what you think! what are your theories?
