I’m going to be completely honest with you: as much as I adore the Duffer Brothers’ nostalgic, thrilling world of the Upside Down, the upcoming fifth and final season of Stranger Things has me filled with dread. It’s not the fear of Vecna finally winning or the worry that the show won’t stick the landing; no, my personal cliffhanger is the fate of Steve Harrington. Every season, I’m that person who waits until the show is fully released, ducks out of social media, and then immediately googles to see if Steve lives. I cannot, and will not, watch it without him. It might sound melodramatic, but the emotional investment I have in this character is too deep. Killing him off in the final stretch, especially given his journey, wouldn’t just be a tragic plot point—it would be a narrative crime that would actually stop me from finishing the series.
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The producers have toyed with our anxiety for too long, putting Steve in mortal peril again and again. It needs to stop, because Steve is more than just a character; he’s the heart and soul of the entire show.
Steve Harrington’s Redemption Arc Is One of the Best on Television
The biggest reason Steve’s survival is non-negotiable for me is simply the beautiful and complicated writing that led to the years of character development we’ve witnessed since Season 1. When we first met him, Steve was the quintessential 80s movie jock: cocky, shallow, and frankly, a bit of a jerk. He was the guy you loved to hate, defined primarily by his luscious hair and popularity. He felt like a necessary, if unlikable, archetype.
But then the show did something brilliant. Instead of keeping Steven Harrington as a one-dimensional antagonist, they put him through the wringer. They stripped away his relationship, his popularity, and his cool exterior, leaving a fundamentally good person struggling to find his place.
His transformation began in earnest when he teamed up with Dustin Henderson in Stranger Things Season 2. This unlikely pairing was a masterstroke of writing. Suddenly, the self-centered high schooler was a responsible older brother figure (or single mom, as the fandom likes to say), a defender of the innocent, and a self-sacrificing protector. The arc from “Homecoming King Steve” to the heroic “Mom Steve” is arguably the best, most organic redemption story in modern television history. It wasn’t rushed; it was earned, beat by beat, over four seasons. He stopped worrying about being cool and started worrying about keeping his found-family safe.
If you look at the ensemble, every character has a role to play, but Steve’s is unique. He’s the bridge between the generations. He’s the pillar for the kids—Dustin, Max, Lucas, Eleven, Mike, and Will—providing guidance, wisdom, and, most importantly, protection. He’s had jobs, he’s had heartbreaks, but he’s consistently shown up when it matters most, usually with a baseball bat full of nails and a complete disregard for his own safety if it means saving his “kids.”
Taking out a character whose entire journey has been one of selfless growth and hope just for the sake of shock factor in the final episodes would be a betrayal of the character’s arc. His death wouldn’t serve the story; it would cheapen the incredible effort put into making him such a great character of growth. He represents that people can change, that the jock can become the hero who accepts and loves everyone despite their insecurities, unpopularity, or sexuality, and that’s a message worth preserving until the final credits roll.
Stranger Things Needs Steve as a Source of Light, Not a Martyr for Darkness
Stranger Things is a dark show. It’s about monsters, trauma, and the constant threat of annihilation for Hawkins, Indiana. Because the stakes are so high, the show needs sources of genuine light and emotional grounding. The previous two seasons already killed off the new younger men, with Billy Hargrove and Eddie Munson meeting grisly fates. Steve Harrington, in his final form, however, is the one who has earned the love and respect he gets over the course of four seasons, whereas Billy and Eddie were used as sacrificial lambs. Steve brings levity, a much-needed sense of responsibility that contrasts with the kids’ recklessness, and a deeply emotional, empathetic core. Giving him a horrific end (as so many Stranger Things characters meet), or any end at all, would change the entire tone of the series, taking away a bright ray of light.
The temptation for the writers in a final season of a massively popular show like Stranger Things is to use a popular character’s death as a shortcut to establish the high stakes. However, it is a cliche trope and is often the easiest, least creative option when telling a long-form story. Giving Steve a heroic, self-sacrificing death would, of course, make us all weep, but it would also be a copout. His continued survival against all odds is actually the more powerful, harder-earned victory. He has survived so much—The Demogorgon, The Mind Flayer, Russian assassins, and a swarm of Demobats—that for him to actually make it to the end, to get that happy ending he so richly deserves, would be a much more satisfying payoff than his death.
What I want to see for Steve is not a glorious death, but a glorious future. The writers have planted so many seeds for his potential—a relationship with Nancy, a life outside of Hawkins, the dream of having six little Harringtons. To snatch that away feels cruelly manipulative. If he dies, his story ends in tragedy, taking away the hope he represents. If he lives, he gets to be a continuing testament to change and growth, a beacon of hope for the surviving members of the group. His continued presence allows the light to triumph over the darkness, which has been the theme of the entire series.
For me, if Steve Harrington does not make it out of the final battle, the final season of Stranger Things (maybe the entire series) will become unwatchable; a testament to cheap heartbreak over earned joy. I’m rooting for Steve’s life, and if the Duffer Brothers deliver anything less, I’ll be stepping off the emotional roller-coaster before the last turn.
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