Noah Schnapp, playing Will Byers, and Maya Hawke, playing Robin, in 'Stranger Things' season five. Netflix Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text Everything's about to turn Upside Down again, for the very last time. After nearly a decade streaming on Netflix, Stranger Things begins its endgame this week, with the Nov. 26 release of the first four episodes of its final season. The supernatural horrors lurking underneath Hawkins, Indiana are finally boiling over for one last climactic showdown, with nothing and no one promised to succeed against vicious villain Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) and his Demogorgon army. Ah, come on - success in some shape or form is guaranteed. But who will live? Who will die? Whose fate will fall somewhere in between? Below, we're rounding up the main characters of Stranger Things for our final predictions of where things will wind up. Related Stories General News BAFTA Breakthroughs Talk 'Atomic People,' 'Harvest,' 'Mr Loverman,' 'Grand Theft Hamlet' Movies Laura Carreira on Her Festival-Hit Debut 'On Falling' and Joining BAFTA's 2025 Breakthrough Class Hawkins and the Upside Down The Upside Down in season five. Courtesy of Netflix Let's begin with the setting of the show before delving into the cast. Throughout the Duffer Brothers' series, these two worlds have leaked into one another, offering champions and villains from both sides of the line. At the end of season four, however, the Upside Down came right side up into Hawkins, causing a huge disaster that's kept the town on lockdown heading into the final season. Our prediction: the Upside Down won't fully fall away, with one or more characters stuck there permanently to keep Hawkins and the rest of the world safe. But who will that be? The Byers Family Will (Noah Schnapp) facing off with Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) in the upcoming final season. Stranger Things began with young Will (Noah Schnapp) disappearing into the Upside Down, and it feels likely to end in a similar fashion, albeit as a choice, not a disappearance. Uniquely connected to the Vecna of it all, Will - who spent much of season four reckoning with his sexuality and, specifically, his feelings for best friend Mike (Finn Wolfhard) - could make an ultimate sacrifice to save the ones he loves. His brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) would achieve some growth in letting go of his over-protective instincts, and for mom Joyce (Winona Ryder), it would mark some measure of letting her son grow up as well. With Will left in the Upside Down, the door would also be open for the show to return at some future point. The Hoppers Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Hopper (David Harbour) previously in Stranger Things. Netflix Of course, Will ending the series back where he started is pretty damn depressing - so what if he's not alone? Perhaps he'll be joined by Eleven, played by Schnapp's real-life best friend Millie Bobby Brown, who also knows what it's like to live trapped in this dark realm. If nothing else, Will and Eleven rehabilitating the show's shadow world offers a glimmer of hope that even the darkest corners of the universe can experience some light. As for David Harbour's Hopper, the man was already presumed dead once; it's about time to give him a break, settling into a happy ending with Joyce on the other side of his season four prison stint. The Wheelers Mike (Finn Wolfhard) at the center of season five scheming. Netflix If Will and Eleven end the show on the other side of the doorway to the Upside Down, then what about Mike? In many ways, the show has been just as much about him growing out of childish things as anything else. Accepting that moving on in life often means seeing less of the ones you love would hammer the metaphor home, but there's no way the show ends without Mike being able to at least stay in touch with the two closest people in his life. As for Nancy (Natalia Dyer), her final fate could go in any number of directions, but here's the shot I'll take: she's the one who gets to deliver the final kill shot to Lord Vecna, having been the one who effectively rediscovered him in the first place. Steve and Dustin Steve (Joe Keery, left) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) with Maya Hawke and Sadie Sink previously. Courtesy of Netflix If there's anyone who feels particularly likely to die, it's Joe Keery's Steve, who wasn't supposed to survive the first season in the first place. Each season, Steve becomes increasingly more likable and grown up, putting himself in harms way time after reckless time. How exactly would Steve's death play out? (Watch my favorite Stranger Things fan video on the internet right now, it'll do a much better job than I can manage.) As for his best pal Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), the Duffers aren't so foolish as to touch a single hair on his be