Does Hopper Make It Out Alive? Stranger Things Season Five Part One Explained

Stranger Things is down to its final stretch, which means everyone we care about has a target on their back. Two names in the crosshairs, as always: Jim Hopper and Steve Harrington. Volume 1 of Season 5 makes some choices that will keep you guessing… and maybe yelling at your TV.

Is Hopper actually safe this time?

Short answer: not really, but he is alive at the end of Volume 1. Hopper once again spends a good chunk of the season in real danger (because of course he does), yet when the first batch of episodes wraps, he is still standing. That does not mean he is out of the woods. With the series heading into its endgame, nobody is on stable ground, and Hopper’s fate is one of the big unanswered questions heading into Volume 2.

Here is why I do not think the show will kill him off: the series already played the ultimate Hopper heartbreak card. We all went through the Starcourt blowout where he was presumed dead, the letter to Eleven that wrecked everyone, and then the slow, brutal reveal that he was actually alive in a Russian prison, tortured and fighting to survive in Kamchatka. That was the show’s biggest fakeout and, honestly, one of its best payoffs. Doing the exact same trick again in the final season feels unlikely. Season 5 puts him through it, but narratively, Hopper has already checked the 'fake death' box.

The Steve Harrington panic index

Steve gets thrown into danger every five minutes, but as far as Season 5 Volume 1 is concerned, he is very much alive. That alone is a relief, because the fandom has been bracing for his funeral since the trailer dropped.

Here is the twisty behind-the-scenes wrinkle: Steve was never supposed to make it this far. The Duffers originally planned for him to be the one-note jerk boyfriend who dies early in Season 1. Then Joe Keery happened, charmed everyone on set, and the writers pivoted hard. They literally rewrote his path on the fly.

'When he comes back and fights the Demogorgon, that was supposed to be Jonathan's dad... You are learning what works and what does not work. The cast is impacting where you take the narrative, the other writers and directors ... it is this living thing.'

That bit of creative history is exactly why people are nervous now. Steve’s arc feels complete in a satisfying way, which makes him a prime candidate for a devastating final-season exit. Again, he is alive after Volume 1, but the show knows how to keep us sweating.

Release plan and where things stand

Netflix split the final season into two drops with a capper at the end: Volume 1 landed on November 26, 2025; Volume 2 arrives December 25, 2025; then a final standalone episode closes it all out on December 31, 2025.

• Name: Stranger Things
• Seasons: 5
• Creators: Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
• Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
• IMDb: 8.6/10
• Streaming: Netflix

Bottom line: Hopper makes it through Volume 1, but I would not call him bulletproof. Steve is still breathing too, which feels like a small miracle given his history and the show’s tendency to dangle him over a cliff for fun. Volume 2 has some big, painful choices to make, and both of these guys are right in the blast zone.

Have you watched Season 5 yet? Drop your theories below — who makes it to that final, final episode?

Stranger Things is currently streaming on Netflix.