(Credits: Netflix)

If it weren’t for the epic characters with whom we had the fortune to grow up, Stranger Things on Netflix probably wouldn’t be as iconic.

Many characters have come and gone in the run of this hit sci-fi series on Netflix over a decade. And in the fifth and final season, the deciding chapter of Hawkins’ fate, we’re about to greet a few more alongside our all-time mainstays.

The final season of Stranger Things picks up in the fall of 1987 amid an ongoing quarantine, following Vecna’s carnage last season, which left Hawkins scarred in ways unimaginable. But before our heroes reunite for the ultimate cause, it’s time to meet and greet the old and new cast who are about to make the last ride a proper blast.

Familiar faces will appear on the frontline for one last battle alongside a series of new names. So, for those curious, keep reading on to see who awaits you on the other side.

Every character from Stranger Things season five

The Nerds

Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven

Everyone has met Eleven, but she’s unlike anyone. Raised by Dr Brenner, whom she calls Papa, as part of a clandestine government experiment at Hawkins National Laboratory, Eleven has psionic abilities. She fled from the facility in chapter one, becoming the aide Mike and his friends didn’t know they needed in their search for Will.

While viewers, like the Hawkins crew, had only scratched the surface of the Upside Down in the first season, with every new instalment, Eleven came to learn more and more about her past. She also chose her family, eventually with police chief Jim Hopper. However, after Vecna opened the Rifts in season four, it’s up to her to save her friends, family, and the place she calls home.

Eleven is in a warrior state when we see her in the fifth season. “All she is thinking about is protecting her friends. Her friends are her chosen family, so she will do whatever it takes to protect them,” Millie Bobby Brown says to Tudum.

Noah Schnapp as Will Byers

Will was the one whose disappearance led to the strangest discoveries in the Upside Down when he was dragged into the shadow realm on November 6th. Although he was rescued at the end of the instalment, his unexplainable connection with the Upside Down continues after it’s discovered that he’s connected to the Mind Flayer. While the ties were cut, he could still sense it in seasons three and four when Billy was possessed and the Rifts were cracked open.

In the upcoming finale, Will, alongside the Byers family, returns to Hawkins as they prepare for one last battle. “We kind of hit the ground running right away this season, which is really exciting and not how we’ve started any other season. Everyone is all in one place, and we all have the same objective,” Noah Schnapp says.

Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler

Mike is the leader of the Party, which includes Dustin, Will, Lucas, and, later, Max. After meeting Eleven in the first season, they eventually began dating. Mostly, you can always find Mike right there where his friends are, fighting every kind of monster plaguing the Upside Down. So, in the forthcoming final season, “Mike is back in leadership mode and he’s taken it more upon himself to help plan out these missions, and he and the whole gang are devoted to finding Vecna and ending this,” Finn Wolfhard says.

Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson

Dustin is undoubtedly the nerd of the Hawkins gang, and his science skills are a benchmark on their own. While he has always been the life of the party, season four was actually quite hard on him, especially with Eddie’s death. So, when we meet Dustin in the final season, he’s still mourning for his friend.

“Dustin is in a bit of a funk. We’re all dealing with the day-to-day issues of what it is to try to keep everybody safe and figure out where Vecna is, while having a lot of unpacked baggage from the events in the previous season,” Gaten Matarazzo says.

Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair

Lucas may have had his doubts about Eleven at the start of Stranger Things, but it didn’t take him long to become one of her best friends. Like Dustin, the fourth season was a test for Lucas as well, whose girlfriend was nearly murdered by Vecna. She was left comatose in the last instalment, and everyone hoped she’d eventually wake up.

In the fifth season, Caleb McLaughlin says, “We’re still trying to figure it out, and we may not be able to, so you feel that burden on Lucas as well as everyone else. Everyone is on edge, and we’re all just trying to keep hope alive.”

Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield

Unlike the rest of the gang, who were here from the start, Max came to Hawkins in the second season. She was caught up in the Upside Down hijinks soon enough, and by the third season, she lost her stepbrother, Billy, to the Mind Flayer, while being attacked herself in the fourth instalment. It was purely an edge-of-the-seat scene where Vecna nearly killed Max, opening Rifts throughout the town. But she has a lot more on the plate in the fifth season.

“We left off season four in a tough place for Max. Her final moments were her in a hospital bed. Eleven was searching for her in the void and couldn’t find her, so Max is definitely not the way she once was. There’s still a small glimmer of hope, though, and her friends are hanging on to that,” Sadie Sink says.

Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair

Remember Lucas’s sharp-tongued younger sister, Erica, who schooled Murray in Stranger Things? Well, she was promoted to a member of the Hellfire Club last season, officially joining the anti-Vecna gang. Now, she’s all set to return to stop Hawkins from falling apart.

The Teens

Joe Keery as Steve Harrington

Steve Harrington is the most beloved babysitter of the Hawkins gang, whose love life’s ups and downs have nothing on the Upside Down. His friendship with Dustin and eventually Robin Buckley had become the heart of the show. Like everyone else, he’s all prepped for the final battle, but before that, he also must deal with grieving Dustin.

Steve’s “relationship with Dustin is at the forefront in this last conflict – they team up and have some fun, messy action scenes together. But in true Stranger Things fashion, it’s really about the group. This season, more than any other, is about everyone operating as a unit, and I really liked that,” Joe Keery explains.

Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler

Nancy Wheeler is probably the most badass Stranger Things teen ever. She went head-to-head with the Demogorgon in the first season, unveiled the truth about Barb’s disappearance in the one following, defeated the Mind Flayer in the third instalment and saw eye-to-eye with Vecna in the fourth. So, in the fifth season, she’ll double up her defence system because it’s not just her, but the entire Hawkins on high alert.

“We find Nancy, and really everyone, together in this situation of Hawkins [after the] gates opening. They’ve all managed to somehow come through it and come up with some sort of plan. They’re out there, and they’re going after Vecna. They’re actively trying to find him,” Natalia Dyer says.

Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers

Jonathan Byers’s involvement in this entire Upside Down saga was written in the stars, starting with the search for his younger brother, followed by his team-up with Nancy to find Barb. While fighting the Demogorgon, Nancy and Jonathan eventually fell in love. Their adventures led them to the answers surrounding Barb’s death in the second season, they brought the Mind Flayer down in the third, and even stood up to Vecna in the fourth. But knowing Hawkins is in grave danger in the fifth and final season, Jonathan is surely stepping up with the rest of the gang.

Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley

Robin Buckley wasn’t here since the first season, but when Stranger Things introduced her in the third one, everyone wished she were in Hawkins from the start. When we first meet her, she’s working at the Scoops Ahoy ice cream shop along with Steve, but finds herself quickly drawn to the investigation of a clandestine Russian lab under the Starcourt Mall. After fleeing from the clasp of the Russian operatives, she confided in Steve about her crush, which ultimately solidified their bond.

While Robin, Jonathan, Steve, and Nancy stood their ground against Vecna throughout season four, in the end, Vecna did escape into hiding, unleashing Upside Down wrath on Hawkins. Hence, in the final ride, Robin is buckling up for the last fight. “Robin’s a soldier in this final battle,” Maya Hawke says. “She’s not on any personal mission; she’s on this community mission. She’s part of a solution, and I think that’s beautiful and what I hope to be.”

Amybeth McNulty as Vickie

Vickie is a relatively recently introduced character who arrived in Hawkins just last season as a member of the Hawkins High marching band. While she has been oblivious to the otherworldly happenings of the town, following the opening of the Rifts, she becomes a volunteer, helping the homeless with sandwiches.

The Adults

David Harbour as Jim Hopper

Jim Hopper has come a long way from the first season of Stranger Things. The first time he appears on screen, he’s a hardened police chief who’s mourning his daughter’s death. But if it were not for him and Joyce teaming up, we would probably still be unaware of the secret experiments at Hawkins lab, Eleven, and the shadow dimension called the Upside Down. Every season has been eventful for Hawkins, including the second when he sheltered Eleven. In the third season, he, alongside Joyce, also discovers the Russian operation under Starcourt Mall, which nearly ends in his sacrifice. But season four thankfully confirmed his survival. He was captured by the Russians and eventually rescued by Murray and Joyce.

As for the final season, Hopper is grappling with the consequences of the Rifts’ opening in Hawkins. “Hopper’s been back from Russia, and for about a year, he’s been training for these Upside Down crawls, basically prepping for a final battle with Vecna. He doesn’t tell the people he loves exactly what he’s been planning, but he’s gearing up for something big in this quarantine environment,” David Harbour says.

Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers

Joyce is a single mom whose life spiralled into chaos when Will disappeared in the first season. She joined forces with Hopper to uncover the experiments taking place at the Hawkins lab and even cracked the code to communicate with Will in the shadow dimension using Christmas lights. In the second season, he began to date Bob, who was unfortunately killed during an escape operation from the lab.

By the time we meet her the third time around, she’s still traumatised. Yet, it doesn’t hold her back from investigating the secret Russian operation beneath Starcourt Mall. Although she does close the gate, when Hopper appears to die in the process, she moves out of Hawkins with her family and Eleven in the fourth season. After she learns that Hopper is alive, she goes to Russia with Murray to save him. But now that Hawkins is preparing for its biggest threat yet, Joyce is rolling up her sleeves for the final showdown.

Brett Gelman as Murray Bauman

Murray is an ex-investigative journalist who was originally hired by Barb’s parents following her disappearance. After Nancy and Jonathan bring him proof that Barb is actually dead, Murray helps them expose Hawkins’ lab without implicating them. In the third season, he joins Hopper and Joyce on their mission to uncover the Russian operation. But in the fourth, he steals the spotlight, shouldering the responsibility of rescuing Hopper with Joyce.

Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler

Family is everything for Karen. However, she has mostly been unaware of the supernatural happenings in Hawkins. Although she was swayed a little in the third season by Billy after meeting him at the Hawkins community pool, after seeing her family, she had a change of heart. The last we see of her is in the fourth season when she joins the other distressed parents at a town hall meeting after a row of teen murders. And as the Upside Down particles begin raining down on Hawkins, she stays right there, watching her beloved town undergoing a sinister makeover.

Sherman Augustus as Lt. Colonel Sullivan

Lt. Colonel Sullivan is a matter-of-fact man who is highly intelligent and somehow convinced that he knows the ways to stop the evil from taking over Hawkins. In the last season, he was investigating Chrissy and Fred’s deaths, which led him to believe that Eleven had gone out of control and was responsible for the carnage. He heads towards Nevada with his squad of US Army members to raid Dr Owen’s lab. Dr Brenner is instead caught in the crossfire, with Sullivan unable to prevent Eleven from escaping.

The Newbies

Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler

Holly is the youngest of the Wheeler family, who is struggling to keep up with school in season five. But she ultimately finds a home with an imaginary friend.

Jake Connelly as Derek Turnbow

Derek Turnbow is Holly’s classmate, but definitely not her friend. Disreputed for his foul mouth, he’s often caught talking back to elders and bullying those of his age.

Linda Hamilton as Dr Kay

Dr Kay is the new head scientist who has taken over the military occupation in Hawkins, mainly as the successor of Dr Brenner. She’s intelligent, intimidating, and not exactly a friend of the gang. She’s known for her brutal approach to achieving her goals, and her only target is Eleven.

Alex Breaux as Lt. Robert Akers

Lt. Robert Akers is one of Dr Kay’s henchmen from the military. However, his only goal is to hunt Eleven and work with Dr Kay in the lab.

The Monster

Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna

Stranger Things has not been short of monsters, but Vecna? He’s simply on another level. Born Henry Creel, he was the first child Dr Brenner took in. The fourth season flashbacks revealed how Eleven gutted him, inadvertently opening the first gate and banishing him to the Upside Down, where he became Vecna as the first resident of the shadow dimension.

Although Nancy, Robin, and Steve severely injured him in the fourth instalment of the Netflix series, they couldn’t stop his escape, which resulted in the opening of the Rifts throughout Hawkins. And now that his plan is all set, the real show is about to begin.