Summary
- Killing off Will Byers would be too tragic for the final season of Stranger Things and would feel like a personal attack on the character.
- Will deserves a chance to explore his sexuality and have a happy ending after all the hardships he has faced.
- The main characters have already experienced too much tragedy, and killing off Will would be too much for them to handle.
Killing off Will Byers in the final season of Stranger Things would be a way too tragic ending for the show. With the Netflix series coming to a close, there have been countless theories about how the show will go out with a bang. Given the stakes, a beloved character or two dying in the fight to take down Vecna is certainly not an implausible scenario.
Among the characters considered candidates for a shocking season 5 death is none other than Will Byers. As someone with a deep and personal connection to the Upside Down, Will could indeed make the ultimate sacrifice to save his friends and family in the show's closing chapter. But while Will's Stranger Things death would make for an unforgettable finale, such an event might actually be too much of a tragedy for the series.
10 Will Byers Survived Being Taken By The Mind Flayer, Give Him A Break
Will has been through a lot in Stranger Things, and it seems unfair for him to die when he's already faced more hardships than most. Will was abducted in the show's premiere season only to be possessed by the Mind Flayer in season 2. Not only would it feel redundant to mess with Will once again, but it would feel like the show is personally attacking the character. At some point, Will should be allowed to enjoy life after facing the Mind Flayer and spending years of his life fighting off the creatures from the Upside Down with his friends.
9 If Will Byers Is Coming To With His Sexuality, It Would Be Heartbreaking For Him Not To Explore
After years of subtle hints, Strange Things finally showed Will appearing to grapple with his sexuality. The most recent season of the show all but confirmed that Will is gay and has romantic feelings for his best friend, Mike Wheeler. However, it's a subject that the show has only begun to address, with Will alluding to it while talking to Mike in season 4. It would feel like a waste of an impactful storyline if Will died instead of growing up and getting to explore his romantic interests in adulthood.
8 Saving Will Byers In Stranger Things Seasons 1 & 2 Would Have Been Wasted
It's important to point out that saving Will was a focal point of not just season1, but also season 2. There's no point in putting a character through so much and having the other characters save them only to kill them off at the end of the series. If Stranger Things planned on killing Will, they might as well have killed him earlier on instead of dragging out his death for five seasons.
7 Joyce Byers Would Never Recover From Will's Death
Another devastating effect of Will's death would be his mother's reaction. Joyce Byers was a wreck when Will went missing, and she did everything in her power to get him back. She worked equally as hard to save him in season 2, and losing him for good would shatter her entirely. After everything she did for her son, Joyce would never recover if she had to watch him die at the end of the series. Joyce deserves a happy ending where she can rest knowing her son is finally safe.
6 The Party Have Had Too Much Tragedy
For characters who were only freshmen in high school in Stranger Things season 4, they've been through more than their fair share of heartbreak and sadness. Rather than deal with just one traumatic development, the kids in Stranger Things have been dealt multiple blows in the span of months. Losing Will, especially after tirelessly fighting for him, would be too much for them to handle. It would feel like the series was torturing them for no reason other than to shock viewers and give them an emotional finale. Instead, Stranger Things should finally reward the main characters after five seasons of carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.
5 Will Byers Is A Fan Favorite Character
Will's death would certainly be emotional as fans fell in love with him during the show's first season. However, Stranger Things shouldn't be chasing an emotional finale but a satisfying one for Will's fans. Killing him off is obviously no way to do that, especially when it would be much better for Will to finally get a chance at a normal life. Other characters have had an opportunity for that, even with all that's happened, but Will's hardships have made that difficult for him to manage.
4 Will Deserves A Future In The Rumored Time Jump
Nothing has been confirmed for what Stranger Things season 5 holds; however, there have been rumors floating around that the season will feature a time jump. It's unclear how far into the future the season will go or when the time jump will occur. But if one does happen in the series finale, it would make sense for the show to provide a glimpse into the characters' lives years or months after Vecna's defeat. It would be a shame for Will not to be a part of that. If anyone deserves to finally leave the past behind, it's Will.
3 All The Sacrifices Jonathan Made For Will Would Go To Waste
Along with Will's season 1 and season 2 saves going to waste, Jonathan Byer's many sacrifices would too. Since season 1, Jonathan's main priority has been protecting his younger brother. Jonathan has worked with Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington, and other Stranger Things characters in order to fight off the many Upside Down villains. However, everything began because Will went missing, and if Jonathan didn't love his brother, he would have never gotten involved. If Will were to die, then all of Jonathan's acts of love would feel pointless.
2 Will's Death Would Be A Little Too Predictable
Whether or not Stranger Things will kill off a main character in season 5 has been up for debate since the Duffer Brothers announced the series' end. There are plenty of characters who could be killed off, but killing off Will would feel too predictable. Since he's the one who went missing and got everyone into the mess with the Upside Down, killing him off seems like the most obvious choice. There's likely a connection between Will and Vecna, suggesting that the death of Vecna could be costly to Will as well. Because of this, killing Will seems predictable, which would make the series finale a bit underwhelming.
1 The Stranger Things Ending Would Feel More Complete If Will Survives
The plot of Stranger Things beginning with Will's abduction and ending with his death might allow the series to come full circle, but his survival would enable the series to accomplish this goal in another way. The moral of Stranger Things has always been about friends sticking together and doing what they have to to protect each other. Will's survival would complete this story by showing that the characters' hard work finally paid off. With Will free, all the characters would be free to go on with their lives, whereas his death might leave them in regret and tie them to the Upside Down forever. It would be in Stranger Things' best interest to give Will his long-awaited happy ending.