‘Stranger Things’ Creators On Why Season 4 Didn’t Kill More Characters

It's not Westeros!

The Duffer Brothers Stranger Things 4 Netflix

Stranger Things creators, The Duffer Brothers have opened up on why more characters didn’t die in Season 4, comparing the decision to Game of Thrones.

Stranger Things is currently Netflix’s most popular English language series and is overall one of the streaming titan’s most valuable IPs. The fourth season was finally released after several delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic and was arguably its best yet. Despite some otherwise sad deaths and shocking moments, however, it wasn’t quite the bloodbath that some people were expecting and/or hoping for.

SPOILERS FOR STRANGER THINGS SEASON 4 TO FOLLOW!

The season ends with the death of Eddie Munson, Max in a coma, and Vecna’s plan to tear open a portal to Hawkins succeeding. Yet some were expecting more of the characters to meet their end in season four. Since the show started there are some seeming guarantees of survival. If the character was part of the original cast they’re probably going to survive. Everyone else on the other hand seems to be fair game. Some, however, have wondered why the show hasn’t killed off more main characters.

During a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, The Duffer Brothers addressed this and how killing off major characters would cause a fundamental shift with the series to where it wouldn’t be the same anymore:

“What did Millie call us? She said we were ‘sensitive Sallies.’ She’s hilarious. Believe us, we’ve explored all options in the writing room. Just as a complete hypothetical, if you kill Mike, it’s like…That’s depressing. … We aren’t ‘Game of Thrones.’ This is Hawkins, it’s not Westeros. The show becomes not ‘Stranger Things’ anymore, because you do have to treat it realistically, right?”

Game of Thrones was a series that was famous or infamous for killing off major characters. The series saw it’s lead Ned Stark played by Sean Bean killed off at the end of the first season, showing that no one was safe. Later seasons would ramp up the body count and continue to subvert expectations with a grounded, realistic story until it ended in 2019. Clearly, this is a direction that The Duffer Brothers are trying to avoid with Stranger Things.

Here is the synopsis for the fourth season of Stranger Things:

“It’s been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time – and navigating the complexities of high school hasn’t made things any easier. In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down.”

Created by the Duffer Brothers, the Netflix series stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson, Cara Buono, Brett Gelman, Jamie Campbell Bower, Eduardo Franco, and Joseph Quinn.

All four seasons are avalible to stream on Netflix. Stay tuned for all the latest news on Stranger Things and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.

Source: Happy Sad Confused

Trey Griffeth

Trey Griffeth

Lover of video games, comics, and movies! Writer of all things that involve them!