Does anyone die in Stranger Things season 5 volume 2? How ending sets up finale
Does Jonathan or Steve die, and what is Vecna's plan? We have the answers
Stranger Things season 5 volume 2 ends on a nail-biting cliffhanger, with the fate of Hawkins (and the whole world) at stake – but does anyone die in the new episodes?
The Duffer Brothers, the show’s creators, have insisted that Stranger Things isn’t Game of Thrones, and there’ll be no equivalent of ‘The Red Wedding’ in the fifth season.
Still, it’s a fair concern to have, considering how light season 5 has been on deaths. Karen Wheeler nearly lost her life to a demogorgon, but she just survived, and everyone else has repeatedly escaped grave danger.
So, who dies – if anyone – in Stranger Things season 5 volume 2, and how does its ending tee up the finale of one of Netflix’s best shows? We’ve got all of the answers.
Stranger Things season 5 volume 2 ending explained
Stranger Things season 5 volume 2 ends with Eleven, Mike, and the whole gang heading into the Upside Down to find Vecna, Holly, and the other kids in “the Abyss” (more on this shortly).
In the closing scenes of episode 7, ‘The Bridge’, Mr Clarke teams up with Erica to open the military base’s gates. This allows Murray to drive a lorry carrying everyone else through the gate into the Upside Down.
Dr. Kay catches a glimpse of Eleven standing on the lorry, but she doesn’t shoot her. Instead, she watches as the vehicle vanishes behind the vines and the group heads off to enact their plan to save the world.
Meanwhile, Vecna (still in his Mr Whatsit guise) gathers all 12 children in his memory house. With Holly barely conscious at the table, they all hold hands as Vecna places them into a trance.
Also, in the penultimate episode, Will comes out to all of his friends and family.
Does anyone die in volume 2?
None of the major characters die in Stranger Things season 5 volume 2, but there are deaths aplenty in the new episodes.
For example, in one of Vecna’s memories, we see a young Henry Creel murder a scientist in a mineshaft after he tries to shoot him. Interestingly, he was also carrying a mysterious suitcase, the contents of which remain unclear.
In one of the earlier scenes with Kali (aka Eight, Eleven’s sister), she explains how Dr. Kay sent soldiers to kill all of her friends before she became a prisoner.
Several soldiers die at the hands of the demodogs, and a few are shot dead by Nancy and Hopper as the group make their way towards the Upside Down gate in episode 8.
However, if you’re among the many fans wondering, “Does Jonathan die? Or does Nancy die? And what about Steve, does he die?”, you can relax… for now. They’re all alive and grouped together going into the finale.
Stranger Things season 5 volume 2 ending: What is the Abyss?
The Abyss is another dimension connected to Earth via the Upside Down.
Here’s the thing: as Dustin says in volume 2, everything we’ve believed we know about the Upside Down has been “dead wrong”.
The Upside Down isn’t an alternate dimension: it’s the wormhole that connects Hawkins (and the entire planet) to the Abyss, Vecna’s homeworld and where Eleven sent him from the lab’s rainbow room in the season 4 finale’s flashback.
Where does it get its name? Well, you could argue it’s a nod to James Cameron’s 1989 sci-fi classic, but it’s also named after the realm of chaos and evil in Dungeons and Dragons.
“Henry and his monsters have been using it to cross right back into Hawkins,” Dustin explains in episode 7.
So, when Eleven initially made contact with Vecna in the Abyss, it formed the Upside Down. However, unlike the Upside Down, Eleven can’t track Vecna in the Abyss.
What is Vecna’s plan and why does he need the kids?
Vecna wants to merge Hawkins with the Abyss, and he requires the kids – whom he describes as the “perfect vessels” – because they’re “weak” and easy to control.
When Vecna captured Will, it allowed him to amplify his own powers – so, if he has 12 kids, he could be stronger than we’ve ever seen him before.
Just as he’s been trying to weaken Hawkins (which he successfully did at the end of season 4), he’s also been building rifts in the Abyss. If he’s able to make them collide, they’ll become one world.
Stranger Things season 5 volume 2 ending: What is the plan to stop Vecna?
Stranger Things season 5 volume 2 ends with the crew betting the fate of the world on a risky plan: let Vecna draw Hawkins and the Abyss close enough together to allow them to destroy the Upside Down.
Given that the Abyss is high in the sky (at least 2,000 metres), it’s effectively unreachable. Hopper suggests flying a chopper, but everyone thinks it’s too dangerous and they could die before they even reach the Abyss.
It’s Steve who comes up with the masterplan. By allowing Vecna to slowly bring the worlds together, they could use the Upside Down’s radio tower to poke through one of the Abyss’ rifts and climb through.
“[Eleven] does her meditation thingy, enters Vecna’s sick mind, and ambushes him,” Steve suggests.
Nancy also pitches using the bath in the Hawkins Lab in the Upside Down for Eleven. Max volunteers to guide Eleven through Henry’s mind, knowing it better than anyone, while Kali joins her inside to help take their brother down. Will also offers to help Eleven fight Vecna.
If they pull all of this off, Dustin adds one extra objective to the mission. If they plant a bomb near the exotic matter that appears to control the stability of the wormhole, it’ll cause the bridge to collapse.
That means Vecna, the Mind Flayer, the Abyss, and the Upside Down will cease to exist. They just need to get out in time.
How does Max escape and what happens to Holly?
Holly deduces that there must be a way out of Vecna’s prison by finding a gap in Henry’s memories.
When Holly nearly falls down the mineshaft, they find a small hole between boulders that allows both Holly and Max to escape.
However, while Max wakes up in a hospital bed surrounded by her friends, Holly finds herself in the Abyss. She frees herself from Vecna’s vines and runs away, climbing through a gate into the Upside Down.
Unfortunately, as we’ve seen before, the gravity on the other side of the gate is much different. She enters a thousand-foot free-fall until Vecna stops her mid-air and snatches her back into the Abyss.
This allows Nancy and co. to work out where she is, though, and she would have faced a gruesome death-by-splat if she didn’t go back to the Abyss.
Stranger Things season 5 volume 2 ending: What is going on with Kali and Eleven?
Unbeknownst to Mike and the rest of the crew, Kali and Eleven appear to have agreed on a shocking sacrifice by the end of Stranger Things season 5 volume 2.
In Kali’s eyes, it doesn’t matter if they kill Vecna and destroy the Abyss. Eleven still has Vecna’s blood, and Dr. Kay will always try to find her and keep Dr Brenner’s experiments alive.
Kali tells Eleven that the only way to stop the cycle is if they stay on the bridge when the bomb goes off. They’ll die, but the world could be better for it.
As they sit across from each other in the lorry, they share a nod that indicates they’re on the same page.
Read more: How to watch Stranger Things season 5 finale in cinemas
