The highly anticipated second volume of Stranger Things season 5 has now landed on Netflix, bringing with it a climactic wave of action, emotion, and inevitable casualties. Released on 26 December 2025, these pivotal episodes bridge the gap to the series finale, delivering heart-pounding drama and resolving several character arcs.
Main Cast Survival: The Core Group Lives to Fight Another Day
Fans can breathe a sigh of relief as the latest instalments confirm that none of the show's central protagonists are killed off. This means viewers can binge the three new episodes knowing that the beloved ensemble will return for the grand finale. The surviving main roster includes Steve Harrington, Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers, Robin Buckley, Will Byers, Eleven, Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, Max Mayfield, Dustin Henderson, Erica Sinclair, Holly Wheeler, Derek, Vickie, Kali, Jim Hopper, Joyce Byers, Murray Bauman, Mr. Clarke, Karen Wheeler, Dr. Kay, Lieutenant Akers, and the villainous Henry Creel.
Secondary Casualties and Flashback Fatalities
While the core group remains intact, the narrative does not shy away from death. The fifth episode features revealing flashbacks to Kali's past, where Dr. Kay's soldiers hunted her down, explicitly killing her friend Axel with a gunshot to the head. It is strongly suggested that her other companions from season two – Mick, Funshine, and Dottie – met the same grim fate.
In these same flashbacks, a vengeful Kali breaks free and turns the tables, killing two unnamed lab scientists. This continues the season's trend where fatalities are largely confined to secondary or unnamed characters.
Further deaths occur in the sixth episode when Henry's Demodogs attack Dr. Kay's military henchmen at the hospital where Max is being treated. The soldiers are swiftly overpowered and killed by the creatures. Another fatal flashback shows a young Henry in the mine shaft, where he kills a scientist by bludgeoning him with a rock after a struggle for a gun.
Close Calls and Narrow Escapes
Volume 2 is also packed with near-death experiences that raise the stakes for the final showdown. Jonathan and Nancy are knocked unconscious and trapped in a melting room after Nancy fires at the atomic matter, requiring a last-minute rescue by Dustin and Steve.
Eleven, Hopper, and Kali almost get sucked into a violent vortex within the Upside Down, saved only by Eleven's immense powers. Steve himself narrowly avoids a multi-storey fall, and Will becomes ensnared in Henry's mind prison, needing Eleven's intervention to break free.
Max faces a brutal strangulation in the mental prison until Will intervenes, allowing her and Holly to escape. The group at the hospital, including Lucas, Max, Vickie, and Robin, survive a Demodog onslaught thanks to Karen Wheeler's quick thinking. Holly Wheeler herself endures multiple perils, from nearly falling down a mine shaft to fending off attacks from other children under Henry's control.
While Derek's family—his mum, dad, and sister Tina—are shown dead in one of Vecna's visions, this is presented as a threatened future rather than a current reality, used to manipulate Derek into compliance.
With Stranger Things season 5 parts 1 and 2 now streaming on Netflix, the stage is set for an epic conclusion where the surviving heroes will make their final stand against the forces of the Upside Down.
