‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Ending Explained: Who Died? Did [Spoiler] Return?

Season 5 of Stranger Things got off to a strong start with deaths, surprise character returns — and a new person developing telepathic powers.

The first part of the show’s final season premiered on Wednesday, November 26, with Hawkins in quarantine from the outside world after Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) officially broke the seal between the Upside Down and the real world.

It wasn’t initially clear where Vecna was now hiding since Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) appeared to lose access to most of her powers. Alongside Hopper (David Harbour), Eleven and the others made plans to search for Vecna in the Upside Down during the military’s routine burning sessions.

This time around, Eleven and Hopper ended up trapped in the alternate dimension. Back upstairs, the others figured out that Vecna was now targeting children, starting with Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Nancy’s (Natalia Dyer) sister, Holly.

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The search for Holly led them to a rescue mission to save as many kids as possible before Vecna — as Henry — took them with him into the Upside Down. Speaking of Holly, she disappeared at the end of the first episode but she was able to find an ally: Max (Sadie Sink).

Another big surprise came from Will (Noah Schnapp), who was once again plugged into the hive mind. He initially didn’t know what that meant but after some sage advice from Robyn (Maya Hawke), Will realized he was able to access everyone under Vecna’s control — starting with the Demogorgons. The first part ended with Will saving the day and unlocking his surprise powers.

Keep scrolling for a breakdown of where each character ended up — including if they are still alive or dead — in part 1 of season 5 of Stranger Things:

Joyce Byers

Part 1 confirmed that Joyce (Winona Ryder) is still dating Hopper, she is living with Mike’s family and she is very overprotective of Will. She aided the other members of the group in saving the kids but the military stepped in and their plan quickly fell apart. Joyce was in danger of getting killed by a Demogorgon when Will accessed his powers for the first time and saved her.

Jim Hopper

While in hiding, Hopper and Eleven prepared for one final battle with Vecna. They got their shot once they were both in the Upside Down but eventually they got caught by newcomer Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton). Initially Hopper planned a mission that would kill him but keep Eleven safe. He backtracked, however, when he discovered who Dr. Kay was keeping trapped in her secret lair.

But more on that later …

Mike Wheeler

The Wheeler family was the target of quite a few Vecna-related incidents in part 1. Holly was taken, Mike’s parents were brutally attacked and their plan to save the kids of Hawkins hit a snag. Right before Mike got attacked, Will came to his rescue.

Eleven

Before the events of part 1, Eleven had to be in hiding from the military. She was determined to help take down Vecna though — even if she seemingly no longer had her powers. Eleven found a way into the Upside Down and was working with Hopper to take down Dr. Kay when they discovered someone was held hostage by the new villain: Kali (Linnea Berthelsen). For those that need a refresher, Kali was introduced in the controversial backdoor pilot for a Stranger Things spinoff that followed more characters with the same powers as Eleven.

Dustin Henderson

The fan-favorite character was struggling in part 1 as he tried to keep Eddie’s (Joe Quinn) memory alive — at the expense of his own well-being. Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) did help the group and is still in the Upside Down.

Lucas Sinclair

In addition to still having hope that Max is alive somewhere, Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) helped the group with their plan and even got his sister, Erica (Priah Ferguson), involved in their out-of-the-box plans.

Nancy Wheeler

Part 1 showed Nancy (Natalia Dyer) leading the group in taking down Vecna, trying to track down Holly and save Hawkins. Her personal life, however, left a lot to be desired as Nancy seemed to be over both Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) and Steve’s (Joe Keery) antics.

Jonathan Byers

Speaking of Jonathan, he mainly tried to one-up Steve and helped on missions. He is currently in the Upside Down and has a ring that he may or may not use to propose to Nancy.

Will Byers

Once again plugged into all things Vecna, Will spent the first part terrified of having a connection to the big bad. But while coming to terms with his sexuality (courtesy of new friend Robyn), Will came into his own. He leaned into the connection he had with Vecna, which led to the discovery that Will has the same powers as Eleven.

Max Mayfield

After she was believed to be dead, Max resurfaced in a guarded off area of the Upside Down. She has been hiding out from Vecna in a place he refused to visit but now she teamed up with Holly to think of an escape plan.

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Steve Harrington

As usual, Steve has been pining over Nancy, being best friends with Robyn and coming in handy on life or death missions. He is also currently in the Upside Down trying to track down Vecna before all of Hawkins is destroyed.

Robin Buckley

While Robin’s personal life is thriving, she had to put that on the back burner to save the world. Robin spent most of part 1 helping save the kids and bonded with Will about feeling out of place in Hawkins while individually keeping their respective sexualities a secret.

Erica Sinclair

Lucas’ sister had a bigger role to play as she helped with some of their biggest kidnapping concepts and missions to kill Vecna.

Henry Creel and One and Vecna

Bower had his plate full with scenes as Henry, who appeared as a man luring the kids to their doom. He also dressed up as the freaky Vecna, who entered the real world at the end of the first part to tell Will about his plan. As of the first finale, Vecna is still at large.