Warning: Spoilers ahead for Stranger Things season 5, Volume 2!

Stranger Things season 5, Volume 2, continued to spare major characters, keeping all of them alive while heading into the series finale. There haven’t even been many concerningly close calls, but this may not hint at any happy endings for the citizens of Hawkins.

Known for its twists and unexpected deaths, Volumes 1 and 2 of the Netflix series are more likely to simply be the calm before the storm. The confirmed run time for the Stranger Things finale is 2 hours and 8 minutes, leaving plenty of room for things to happen. With the fate of the world at stake, Stranger Things season 5 is still getting warmed up.

There Are Still No Major Character Deaths In Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 2

Image via Netflix

Viewers were anxiously preparing for some heartbreaking deaths in the release of Volume 2, but they may have to wait until the finale. Things have been surprisingly calm on this front throughout season 5, and the characters with the highest chances of dying are actually coming out alive. Vecna made his grand return in Volume 1, and Max just woke up from her “coma” and reunited with Lucas in Episode 7.

The closest we’ve come to having a major character death is Nancy and Jonathan’s close call when they were trapped in a room that was filling with an unknown white liquid. It looked like the couple wouldn’t be able to make it out, but the only thing that ended up dying was their relationship.

Will had a few bouts of unconsciousness after exerting too much power, but it never seemed like he was in dire condition. Hopper raised concern when he strapped a pack of grenades to his chest in Volume 1, fully prepared to sacrifice himself. He ultimately walked away fine, though.

Not only are we missing any deaths of the main characters, but we also haven’t seen any trace of the Mind Flayer. The deadly creature may be saving its strength for the final battle in the upcoming series finale. Could it be the key to ending this character trend?

What No Deaths In Volumes 1 & 2 Mean for Stranger Things’ Series Finale

Image via Netflix

With only one Stranger Things episode left that has the characters heading into one final battle, there’s sure to be some casualties. And with Matt Duffer telling TODAY that viewers should “brace themselves” ahead of the final episode, things aren’t looking good.

Volume 2 ends with the major characters driving off to face Vecna. Having all of them together for the biggest moment of the entire series isn’t a good sign, and it raises the odds that at least one of them will die.

Regardless of the upcoming face-off with the villain, it’s likely that the show will end with the death of the fan-favorite character that started this entire series. Kali was right about Eleven’s future, and for the experiments to end, the two of them will have to sacrifice themselves. It’s seemingly the only way to permanently end the supernatural phenomena terrorizing Hawkins, but only Stranger Things season 5’s final episode will tell.