‘Stranger Things’ Creators Defend Not Killing Characters Like ‘Game of Thrones’: Hawkins Is Not Westeros

Zack Sharf
·2 min read
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SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched Episodes 8 and 9 of “Stranger Things 4,” now streaming on Netflix.

It seemed for a moment, ahead of the launch of “Stranger Things 4” Vol. 2, that the long-running Netflix series might take a cue from “Game of Thrones” and kill off several main characters. Co-creator Ross Duffer told Variety that viewers should be “concerned about the characters” going into the final two episodes of the fourth season, while cast member Joseph Quinn described the season finale as absolute “carnage.”

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As fans who have watched the final two episodes of “Stranger Things 4” now know, a bloodbath it was not. There were deaths, including Matthew Modine’s Dr. Brenner, but only one could be considered a major loss for the series: Quinn’s Hellfire Club leader Eddie sacrificed himself in the Upside Down. As for Sadie Sink’s Max, she died, but was brought back to life by Eleven and ended the series injured and in a coma. It was shocking, but the show clearly isn’t done with Max yet.

In a recent interview on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, the Duffer brothers stood by their decision to not kill off many characters in the fourth season finale. The creators specifically addressed cast member Millie Bobby Brown, who said in May, ahead of “Stranger Things 4” launching, that the show should embrace the “Game of Thrones” playbook and have a bloodbath.

“It’s way too big,” Brown said. “Last night [at the premiere], we couldn’t even take one group picture because there were like 50 of us. I was like, you need to start killing people off. The Duffer brothers are two sensitive Sallies that don’t want to kill anyone off. We need to be ‘Game of Thrones.’ We need to have the mindset of ‘Game of Thrones.'”

As Matt Duffer explained, the creators just don’t agree.

“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,” Matt said. “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?”

“Stranger Things 4” is streaming on Netflix, along with the show’s first three seasons. The supernatural drama will return in the future for its fifth and final season.

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