Stranger Things 5 definitely lived up to the hype, but despite all the death and destruction in Hawkins, the Upside Down, and the Abyss, there were only a few characters who actually died in the series finale, "Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up."
Thankfully, Vecna and the Mind Flayer suffered a timely and horrific death, but a few of the other villains got let off the hook right at the end.
While you won't ever find me advocating for killing off the young characters of a show like this, especially not the most important character in the whole series, I do think the stakes should have been a little bit higher for some of these characters.
There were three characters who lived in the finale that probably should have died, while one character "died" in the finale when they probably should have clearly lived. Let's talk about those characters.
Dr. Kay
Should have: died
There's no conceivable way, with the atrocities we know she oversaw, that Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton) lived through the events of the finale. I know why she was picked to survive until the end, but I was really, really, really hoping Dr. Kay would be like, "Get her, boys!" when Eleven was standing the in the gate to the Upside Down in the Mac-Z. Then, she would try to personally grab Eleven before getting swept up in the destruction of the Upside Down, like Gollum falling with his precious into Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
That was the ending that Dr. Kay deserved, and it's a bummer that she probably got to live out her remaining days by torturing some other poor souls.
Lt. Colonel Sullivan
Should have: died
Lt. Colonel Sullivan (Sherman Augustus) has been a thorn in the side of our Hawkins heroes for two seasons, and he finally got part of the ending he deserved in Stranger Things. He was one of the victims of Vecna's appearance at the MAC-Z in "Chapter Four: Sorcerer," but he was not killed in the battle with Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower). Instead, we saw him alive, yet very injured, later in the series.
If there was any justice, Sullivan would have been taken out with Dr. Kay in the series finale. Maybe that was part of the plan, but it just feels wrong to leave Dr. Kay and Sullivan alive with everything they've done. In other words, they are like Papa, and they needed to go.
Murray Bauman
Should have: died
I know this is probably my hottest take, but I really thought Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman) was going to die in the Stranger Things 5 finale. And, he probably should have. There's no way those military dudes were that bad of a shot. I, for sure, thought Murray was going to get to the Hawkins Lab in the Upside Down and realize he'd been shot and then stay behind to make sure the bombs go off.
It would have made sense for that to happen! I love Mr. Bun-man, but he's the least connected character to everyone else in the series. Even if he survived the shootout at the gate, he, or Hopper (David Harbour), had every chance to die in the Upside Down when the military stormed the compound, and they didn't.
I love that Murray lived. I'm very pro-characters who I like living in my favorite movies and TV shows, but it feels like someone else from the winning team should have bitten the dust other than Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).
Eleven
Should have: lived
Speaking of Eleven, I loved the ending for her character, but I do wish, deep down, that the Duffer brothers and the creative team found a way to keep Eleven alive, for real, with no question marks.
I want to believe that her character lives. There are some hidden clues why it makes so much sense that Mike (Finn Wolfhard) was right and Eleven escaped at the end with the help of Kali (Linnea Berthelsen), but I would have loved a more concrete answer.
I don't need Eleven to be with Mike, Hopper, and the gang like everyone seems to be asking for, either. I would have liked some sign or clue — a well-placed Eggo, perhaps — that makes viewers feel less like they're taking a stance on something rather than just experiencing it.
Again, I do think Eleven is alive at the end of Stranger Things. I don't even mind keeping the door open three inches in the end, but I don't love that it's really tearing up some fans. That's hard for some people to sit with, so I understand the frustration.
All in all, I was really happy with almost all the key characters, especially the youngsters and Steve (Joe Keery), living through the finale.