Who Lives and Who Dies in Stranger Things Season 5 Vol. 1? Hopper, Steve, and Dustin’s Fates Sealed

Stranger Things is back with Season 5, and the first drop is four episodes worth of chaos, monster fights, and a couple of big reveals. The question everyone had going in: who bites it in Volume 1? Short answer: nobody you were bracing for.

Do Steve, Dustin, or Hopper die in Vol. 1?

No. Despite a big clash with Vecna, the first four episodes wrap with zero major deaths. Steve, Dustin, and Hopper all make it out alive. Nancy, Will, and Mike are also still standing by the end of Episode 4.

Where Vol. 1 drops us

We open on Hawkins in quarantine, which is exactly as fun as it sounds. The gang is trying to map the Upside Down to get a handle on what they are walking into. In the middle of that, Hopper gets stranded on the other side, which sparks a rescue run. He even delivers one of those big, heroic speeches that usually telegraph a farewell… but it is a fake-out. He lives to swing that axe another day.

Vecna is not subtle about it

Vecna goes on the offensive against Hawkins and unleashes an army of Demogorgons to block the group from rescuing targeted kids. That turns into a large-scale fight and the season’s first real statement game from the villain.

The Will twist

This is the curveball: Will starts showing powers that mirror Eleven’s. By the end of Episode 4, he taps into those abilities and stops the Demogorgons. The final shot is Will with the classic nosebleed, which tells you exactly what kind of power he just pushed through.

Who is still breathing after Episode 4

• Hopper: alive (and very much in the fight)
• Steve Harrington: alive
• Dustin: alive
• Nancy: alive
• Will: alive, now powered up
• Mike: alive

So, what now?

Vol. 1 ends without a major death, but the story is nowhere near done. There is another full volume and a finale episode still to come, which is plenty of runway for things to get ugly. For now, the first four episodes of Stranger Things Season 5 are streaming on Netflix.