Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 2: Who Dies — And Who Barely Escapes Alive
The wait is over: Stranger Things Season 5 Vol. 2 finally reveals the casualties and the close calls as the Hawkins crew races a ticking clock, unearths the town’s darkest secrets, and charges into a brutal endgame. Here’s who dies—and who barely makes it out alive.
Stranger Things 5 Vol. 2 is finally out, and yes, I went straight to the question everyone is asking: who actually dies? Short version: your core favorites make it through. The show still spills some blood around the edges and tosses in a bunch of convincing near-deaths to keep you sweating.
For context: this is the final chapter from creators Matt and Ross Duffer. The Hawkins crew is racing the clock, digging up the town's ugliest secrets, and trying to shut down Vecna before he punches a hole in the world. So, stakes = high, body count = not as brutal as you might expect.
Who actually dies in Vol. 2
- Kali's friends: During a crackdown led by Dr. Kay's soldiers, Kali is forced to watch as her friends are gunned down. In a flashback, Axel is shot in the head. The season also quietly implies that the rest of Kali's Season 2 crew probably met a grim end off-screen.
- The scientist in the mine: While Holly and Max walk through Henry's mind, they find a memory set in a cave. A terrified scientist, briefcase in one hand and a gun on a young Henry with the other, fires and wounds Henry's hand. They struggle for the weapon, and Henry kills the man by smashing his head with a rock.
- Dr. Kay's scientists: During Kali's prison break, she kills two unnamed scientists on her way out.
- Dr. Kay's soldiers: A pair of military grunts open fire on Demodogs, which backfires immediately when the creatures turn and kill them.
- Demodogs: Three of them get taken out after a sudden loud noise pulls them toward a dryer, and an oxygen tank goes boom. Yes, the laundry-room logic actually works.
Close calls (but they live)
Plenty of main players flirt with death and still punch their return ticket: Jonathan, Nancy, Kali, Eleven, Hopper, Steve, Will, Max, Lucas, Vickie, Robin, and Holly all have moments that will make you stop breathing for a second. Derek's family is also put in harm's way in visions where Henry/Vecna threatens to kill them if Derek does not cooperate, but in the real world they stay alive.