If Vecna is the ultimate bad guy within the Upside Down, perhaps this season won't end with his death, but with that of a main character, leaving the audience and Hawkins at its lowest point yet - which it has seemed impossible to get worse, many times before.
We have spent nearly four complete seasons with a lot of terrible things happening to the main cast of Stranger Things, and yet, each and every one of them is still alive.
The time has come for a main character to die in the second volume of the show.
It would make sense for Eleven to die during a fight with Vecna, as she has been through more physical and mental torment than any other. If the kids and parents can defeat Vecna, but one of them falls, imagine the impact that would have on the last season. When Hopper was lost in the explosion that closed the gate, it seemed like we got it at the end of season three, but he ended up in a Russian prison. A group of friends grieving together, trying to move on as the show ends in a hopefully satisfying conclusion would tie the final season together.
Characters go on journeys in stories, and there are choices made that support an explanation for why or how a character would die, but justify the reason to do it. It is possible that a death could be sacrificed in the finale of this season, trapping them in the Upside Down. As an original creation from the Duffer Brothers, it has a decade of 1980s pop culture references to work from, but an original story that can adapt and craft as it goes. It is highly unlikely that she will be the one to die from the main cast. Steve went from popular jerk to brave fighter and now is a role model.
If a main character were to die this season, the impact on the last season could be massive. Now that the show is nearing the end of its last season, it is time for some really high stakes. It will not only feel earned, but worth the journey if it happens. Thematically, an entire season dedicated to destroying Vecna in honor of Steve seems like a worthy story, and conclusion to this show. In season three, Hopper was an obvious one, but the show wasn't ready to say goodbye. Will's time in the Upside Down lasted one season, but his mind lingered far beyond that. The heroic death ofBoromir in The Fellowship of the Ring was due to corruption from the ring.
The thing about ensemble shows is that they can use their larger casts in a variety of ways, and that includes killing some off. You would think that Will and Eleven would have died after all they have gone through, but they are still fighting. It seems like the logical choice that one person has earned his death. We have seen secondary characters come and go during this time, but Stranger Things is due for something big. Billy sacrificed himself to allow the kids to destroy the Mind Flayer. The kids have shown bravery, gumption, and desire to fight.