Matt and Ross Duffer, the twin showrunners of Stranger Things, don’t particularly enjoy killing off their characters. But their Netflix series is an homage to ’80s horror and adventure flicks, and Vecna and the Mind Flayer—the show’s ultimate big bads—need to kill people in order for the threat to feel real. So, yes, the brothers do occasionally take a life. And, yes, the internet always has something to say about those character deaths.
It’s a responsibility they do not take lightly. “It’s important that every death resonates in a big way,” says Matt. “Which is why we’re very careful who we kill because it has these massive season-long ripple effects. Otherwise it just doesn’t feel like it has any weight to it.” Season 2 saw Nancy (Natalia Dyer) seeking justice for her friend Barb (Shannon Purser), an early victim of a monster called the Demogorgon. Much of Season 4 centered on Max (Sadie Sink) reckoning with the loss of her brother Billy (Dacre Montgomery). And, the brothers tease, Eddie’s (Joseph Quinn) sacrifice in the penultimate season will have a deep impact on Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) in Season 5.
Ahead of the megahit’s fifth and final season, TIME spent months inside the world of Stranger Things for a cover story. I shadowed the Duffer brothers as they directed an epic action scene on set in Atlanta in the spring of 2024 and then visited them in their Los Angeles edit bay for an extended interview the following summer. During our conversations about how they’re wrapping up their story we discussed, among other things, the character deaths that meant so much to the fans.
Questions about some of the dearly departed characters who have become internet obsessions—especially Barb—prompted knowing eye rolls from the twins. But as the series comes to an end, the duo offered rare insight into their writing process. They explained why they sometimes conjure up characters specifically to die…
