Millie Bobby Brown Asks Duffer Brothers for More Deaths

The 4th season of Stranger Things hit the screens in May 2022, but Millie Bobby Brown had something to say about it

We’ve already reviewed the show’s finale and how it left us, as usual, on a cliffhanger. Season 4 was delivered in two instances: Volume 1, featuring the first seven episodes of S4, and Volume 2, featuring the final two episodes and Season is set to air in 2024, 

Millie Bobby Brown is the actress behind Eleven, the closest thing to a Stranger Things protagonist and a big part of its marketing team. Bobby Brown has been on the show since Season 1, Episode 1, and has grown along with it, and so have her opinions on how the show should be directed.

Season 4 was teased as darker and more horror-centric by the Duffer Brothers (Matt and Ross Duffer, the creators of Stranger Things and their new production company: Upside Down Pictures), as the kids (who evidently aren’t kids anymore) have all grown up, and so have their issues. And, while Volume 2 was heartbreaking to watch, not many major characters died. Sure, a couple of side characters here and there, but it’s evident that unless we’re talking about an innocent character who did nothing wrong, the Duffer Brothers are a bit iffy on killing characters.

The Duffer Brothers © Shutterstock

In response to the writer’s decision not to kill off any main characters, Millie Bobby Brown called the Duffer Brothers “sensitive Sallies.” The cast is now too big for her liking, so much that they couldn’t even take group pictures at once.

On the other hand, many Stranger Things fans agree that you don’t always need to kill a bunch of characters for a work of fiction to stick.  Character deaths should fulfil a purpose; if they don’t, there’s no reason to include them. Matt Duffer also replied, saying that Stranger Things isn’t Game of Thrones, subtly reminding viewers how sometimes it can be much more satisfying to watch a character evolve from a low blow than outright die when their character arc is fulfilled in the eyes of the audience. He further insisted that they, and the other show writers, have considered the possibility of killing several characters, but it doesn’t seem to work for the show they are trying to create. 

Popular shows have incorporated the idea that showrunners should kill many beloved characters for shock value. Stranger Things has always been an original show, with tropes taken from retro fiction but always doing its own thing.

It has recently been revealed that they’ll be producing a Stranger Things spin-fro, a live-action series adaptation of the Japanese manga Death Note, and a Stranger Things stage play.​​