David Harbour's Instagram Updates Could Confirm Hopper's Stranger Things Fate

Warning: Stranger Things 3 Spoilers Ahead…

The new season of Stranger Things was finally released last week, which means most fans of the series already know Chief Jim Hopper's supposed fate. The character played by David Harbour is believed to be dead by his family and friends in Hawkins, but many people aren't buying that he's really gone. First and foremost, we didn't see a body, which is pretty much the number one rule of television deaths. Second, the season's post-credit scene saw a Russian soldier being told to feed a prisoner to their Demogorgon, but is ordered to spare "the American." Thanks to some eagle-eyed fans online, it appears Harbour is sending a subtle hint that Hop is said American.

Uproxx recently reported that Harbour has changed his profile picture to various numbers since Stranger Things 3 dropped. So far, they're shaping up to be the phone number of Murray Bauman, the paranoid private investigator/conspiracy theorist played by Brett Gelman. We already know that if you call 618-625-8313 (currently, Harbour's profile is on the second six), you hear a message from Murray telling Joyce (Winona Ryder) to call him. If anyone wouldn't be convinced of Hop's death, it would definitely be the guy who is obsessed with the truth. We know from the season that Hop knows Murray's number, so maybe Harbour is hinting that his character is currently trying to contact him.

Here's the message from Murray in full:

"Hi, you have reached the residence of Murray Bauman. Mom, if this is you, please hang up and call me between the hours of 5 and 6 pm as previously discussed, okay? If this is Joyce, Joyce, thank you for calling, I have been trying to reach ya. I have an update. It's about, well, its probably best if we speak in person. It's not good or bad, but it's something. If this is anyone but my mother or Joyce, well, you think you're real clever, getting my number, don't ya? Well, here's some breaking news for you: You're not clever. You're not special. You are just simply one of the many, many nimwits to have called here, and the closest you will ever get to me is this prerecorded message so at the beep, do me a favor and hang up and never call here again. You are a parasite! Thank you and good day."

What does Murray have to talk to Joyce about? Hop being stuck in a Russian prison would certainly be good news since it'd be confirmation that he's alive, but it also could be considered bad news, because how could they possibly set him free from a Russian prison? If only Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) still had her powers! Although, the Duffer Brothers may have chosen to take her powers so she wouldn't know instantly that Hop was alive. If she were able to find him, there wouldn't be a cliffhanger for us to spend the next year+ obsessing over.

Do you think Hopper is really dead? Tell us in the comments!

Stranger Things 3 is now streaming on Netflix