Stranger Things: The 7 Characters Who Will Be In The Most Danger In Season 4 Vol.2

WARNING: SPOILERS for Stranger Things season 4, vol. 1.

By now, most die-hard fans would have binge watched the seven episodes that make up the first volume of Stranger Things 4. The show left us with some big reveals, cliffhangers, and endangered characters to dwell on before the final two episodes, including a a super-sized season finale arrives in July.

Here are the characters who will probably be in the most danger when Stranger Things 4 vol. 2 drops on Netflix.

1. Nancy Wheeler

As Stranger Things 4 drew to a close, Nancy seems to be the character in the most immediate and obvious danger. Just as she is about to escape the Upside Down, Nancy enters a trance courtesy of the season's main villain, Vecna, who seizes on her lingering trauma around the death of her best friend, Barb, back in season one. This trance is known to occur as Vecna is about to go in for the kill.

However, thanks to the knowledge the group gathered from Max's experience with Vecna, they know that potential victims can be drawn back to the real world with music, preferably a favourite song. Nancy has also seen evidence leading to Vecna's prior identity as Henry Creel/One, and some fans believe it would be pointless to have Nancy discover this information and not survive long enough to reveal it to the group. So, while Nancy will still be in danger come Vol.2 due to being marked by Vecna as a potential victim, she will most likely survive episode seven's cliffhanger.

2. Steve Harrington

Another character left in a dangerous position at the end of Vol.1 is Steve Harrington, Nancy's former Boyfriend, turned the group's favourite babysitter. Having allowed his friends to climb out before him, Steve remains in the Upside Down when Nancy falls under Vecna's spell, last seen trying desperately to wake her from her trance. There is also some concern about the full extent of the injuries Steve suffered when attacked by the Demo-bats.

As fans of Stranger Things will likely be aware, Steve was not originally intended to last beyond the show's first season. However, Steve's actor, Joe Keery, was so popular with the cast and crew that he was written into the show's second season, teaming up with Dustin. Much of Steve's story arc over the course of the series has seen him striving to be a better person than he was in season one. Thanks to a conversation between Steve and Eddie Munson in which Eddie declares Steve a good person, some fans fear that the character has reached the end of his arc, and is being set up to go out in a heroic sacrifice, possibly protecting Nancy while she is stuck in her trance.

3. Max Mayfield

In one of the most memorable, dramatic scenes of Stranger Things 4, the group are able to save Max from Vecna by drawing her back to the real world with her favourite song, the Kate Bush classic 'Running Up That Hill'. Since then, Max has been listening to the song on loop to keep her grounded in the real world and out of Vecna's evil clutches.

Unfortunately, Max herself points out a major flaw in this plan: That if she over listens to the song and grows tired of it, it may longer work as a guard against Vecna. Some fans fear that this moment was foreshadowing, and Max is still not safe. Others believe that there could be a potentially tragic clue hiding in Max’s letter to Billy. Ie, when she relives the moment of Billy’s death, she imagines pushing him out of the way, so they could have had a chance of a better sibling relationship in the future. A new theory suggests that Max may sacrifice herself to save another sibling pair. Given Max's previous romantic relationship with Lucas, and the fact that they are the only major older brother-younger sister duo on the show, the obvious choice for such a scenario would be Lucas and Erica.

4. Eddie Munson

Poor Eddie Munson, a newcomer to the world of Stranger Things, has not had an easy run so far. After witnessing the murder of cheerleader Chrissy at the hands of Vecna, Eddie becomes the number one suspect of the murder, due to his outsider status, and the town's growing 'Satanic Panic' regarding Dungeons & Dragons, a game Eddie loves. Thankfully, our heroes found him before the angry mob, and are now trying to clear his name.

In a dramatic D&D campain during the first episode of Stranger Things 4, Eddie repeatedly reminds the members of the Hellfire Club not to be heroes unless they have to. Some fans fear that this foreshadows a time where Eddie will make the choice to be a hero, and that the decision could cost him his life. However, there is some hope that Eddie will live to fight another day. In a recent interview, the character's portrayer, Joseph Quinn, claimed that he wanted to see Eddie interact with Jonathan Byers in the upcoming season five.

5. One of the Parents of the Hawkins crew

Minus Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper, and of course, Karen Wheeler's close call with the Mind Flayer-possessed Billy Hargrove in season three, the parents of the Stranger Things kids have, for the most part, managed to avoid becoming involved with Upside Down related events. This changes in season 4, when the Parents discover their kids are being targeted by the town as potential Satan worshippers following the Vecna murders. With an angry mob now hunting the members of the Hellfire Club, the Parents now fear for the safety of their children.

Some fans fear that one of the parents may be targeted by Vecna as a way to rattle the kids. Or, someone may be caught in the crossfire of a confrontation between the kids and the mob. While this would be a particularly dark twist, the show has proven that it is willing to go dark when need be.

6. Martin Brenner

In Stranger Things 4, Eleven is forced to put herself back at the mercy of her former tormentor, Martin ‘Papa’ Brenner, in order to relieve a series of traumatic memories that will hopefully help her regain her powers. During a relived memory in episode seven, the friendly Hawkins Lab orderly who had been helping Eleven reveals that ‘Papa’ was going to allow the other test subjects to kill Eleven.

Shortly after, Eleven discovers she has bigger problems when the friendly Orderly slaughters the other children at the lab, after being revealed as One/Henry Creel. When Eleven wakes in Vol.2, hopefully with her powers restored, she probably won’t be pleased. To add to her problem, Brenner is unlikely to allow her to simply leave. To reach her friends in Hawkins, Eleven may have to end ‘Papa’ once and for all.

7. Sam Owens

After only a brief cameo in season three, Paul Reiser returns to series regular status as Dr. Sam Owens in Stranger Things 4. After rescuing Eleven from a stay in Juvenile Hall, Owens convinces her to come with him and regain her powers, believing that the world needs her. While he willingly delivers Eleven to Brenner and The Nina Project, he is clearly uncomfortable with the increasingly serious toll the experiments are taking on Eleven's health. While Brenner is definitely one of the bad guys, most fans want to believe that Owens genuinely only wants Eleven's powers back for the good of the world.

Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, most viewers doubt that Brenner will allow the newly re-empowered Eleven to leave without a fight. If Owens is genuine in his desire for Eleven to save the world, some fans fear he will make a heroic sacrifice to buy Eleven the time to escape and reach her friends in Hawkins.

Hopefully the body count does not climb too high when Stranger Things 4 vol.2 drops on Netflix on July 1.