(Credits: Netflix)

You know what hurts the most about Stranger Things? It is not the monsters. It is not even Vecna. It is the fact that this show keeps breaking our hearts when we least expect it.

One second, you are laughing at Dustin being Dustin, and the next, you are sitting there with tears streaming down your face because someone you love didn’t make it out of the Upside Down. Sadly, that’s the cycle of Hawkins: joy, fear, heartbreak, repeat.

And the thing is, it never feels cheap. Every single loss, every goodbye, every near-death moment lands because these characters feel like family now. You have grown up with them, you have rooted for them, and then suddenly the rug gets pulled.

So let’s talk about it. Seven moments from Stranger Things that completely wrecked us, the kind of scenes we are still not over, no matter how many times we rewatch.

Seven moments in Stranger Things that broke us emotionally

Eddie Munson’s Death (Season 4, Vol. 2)

Eddie Munson: a character who only appeared for one season but gained more love than some who have been there since season one. He came in as the misunderstood outcast, the guy everyone blamed, and left as one of the bravest heroes in Hawkins. Apart from his quirky character and team spirit, what he gave us was a legendary guitar solo. We know for a fact that every single Stranger Things fan was full of adrenaline when Eddie blasted the Master of Puppets solo in the Upside Down.

But it is what came after that broke us. The Demobats swarmed, Dustin screamed, and Eddie looked up with that bloody smile, whispering, “I didn’t run this time.” We all know that line wasn’t just dialogue. It was Eddie’s whole journey. He finally proved he wasn’t the coward people thought he was. Except he never got to hear it from the world, never got to see his name cleared. We lost him right when we started to love him most, and that’s what still stings.

Max’s Almost-Death & ‘Running Up That Hill’ (Season 4)

Max Mayfield, a character whose lore will be told long after the show ends. Max’s character was a season late to enter the show, but when she did, she did that with swagger. However, in season four, Max was an Upside Down version of seasons two and three. Max was highly affected by the death of Billy and everything that changed after his death.

Reading her letter to Billy was already painful, but then Vecna came for her, dragging her into that nightmare world. And just when it felt hopeless, Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill kicked in. Watching her fight through memories of her friends and claw her way back to life was pure magic. For a second, we believed love and music really could save someone.

But season four’s finale shattered us again. Vecna snapped her bones, blinded her, and left her dying in Lucas’ arms. His sobs and his begging for her to stay felt too real. She was gone for a full minute before El pulled her back. Though alive, but broken. The hope from that song turned into something darker, leaving us terrified that Max may never truly come back.

Bob Newby’s Death (Season 2)

Bob Newby was a pure comfort character. He was goofy, he was kind, and he was steady. The man who brought light into Joyce’s storm. He loved her from the bottom of his heart and was really good to her sons. Which is why his death hit like a sucker punch. He helped everyone escape Hawkins Lab, stayed calm, and for a second, it looked like he would make it out alive.

But then came the Demodogs. The way he was torn apart while Joyce screamed his name is seared into fans’ brains. It was gruesome, yes, but it was the emotional fallout that killed us. Joyce losing the one good thing she’d found after so much heartbreak? The unfairness of it still lingers. Bob wasn’t flashy. He wasn’t a fighter. But he was good, and Stranger Things reminded us that sometimes good doesn’t survive.

Eleven’s Humiliation at Rink-O-Mania (Season 4)

This moment was not about death, but it cut just as deep. When Eleven moved to Lenora with the Byers family, it wasn’t just her powers that she lost, but also the loss of Hopper, which kept her up at night. On top of that, watching her get bullied by Angela and her friends at the roller rink was brutal. She stood there, powerless and humiliated in front of everyone while we screamed at the screen for someone to help.

Mind you, it wasn’t just a harmless schoolyard prank. It was practically salt in the wound. Eleven had saved the world not once, not twice, but thrice. Yet here she was, treated like nothing. For fans, it was painful because it reminded us how fragile she still is without her powers. That moment when she looked broken, when she tried to fight back but couldn’t, was almost harder to watch than any monster attack. It was a reminder that sometimes the cruellest villains aren’t from the Upside Down; they are right there in plain sight.

Billy’s Redemption and Death (Season 3 Finale)

Billy was the character you loved to hate. We had a human villain who was cruel, angry, and broken. He was racist and controlling, and though it was charming, he flirted with older women. But in the season three finale, he became something else entirely. Standing between Eleven and the Mind Flayer, he found a shred of humanity that had been buried under pain. And the way he was killed, it is hard to get over that also, because we know his past a bit.

His apology to Max, his final act of defiance, was heartbreaking because it showed us the person he could have been. The way Max screamed as she watched him die… that’s the sound that stays with you. Billy went out as a hero, but it was too late for him to fix the years of damage. Which is why it hurts so much. Redemption doesn’t always save you.

Will Crying in the Car (Season 4)

As said before, it’s not the monsters in Stranger Things that hurt the most. It is the quiet, human moments in the show that killed the audience from the inside. One of them always will be Will sitting in the back of that car, trying to hide his tears while Mike looks out the window. It is honestly one of the rawest scenes Stranger Things has ever given us. He is talking about “El needing Mike”, but you know it is not really about El. It is about him, his feelings, and the heartbreak of not being able to say them out loud.

And what makes this scene super emotional is the fact that if someone has suffered the most in the show, that’s Will. From the beginning, he was the first one to be captured. The one who was constantly under the radar when something happened. Hence, that little crack in his voice and the way he turns his head in the car so nobody sees him breaking seem brutal. Jonathan, noticing and silently reaching out to comfort him later? That’s brotherhood, but also a reminder that Will has been carrying so much alone. No Demogorgon, no Vecna, but just a boy crushed by love he can’t share.

Alexei’s Death (Season 3)

No one expected to fall in love with a Russian scientist who loves Slurpees and watches Looney Tunes. And yet we all fell in love with the innocence of Alexei. Not a significant character in the show, but he brought humour, innocence, and this weird, unexpected warmth into the chaos.

And just like that, he was gone. One bullet, one moment, and fans were left stunned. Everybody thought that he would be there and would join the core squad for future endeavours. Or if not that, just a simple escape was expected. But the poor guy wasn’t spared. In fact, the carnival lights around him made it feel almost cruel. We experienced joy and tragedy colliding in one scene. For a character we knew so briefly, his death left an outsized hole. Maybe because he represented something rare in Stranger Things: a small pocket of happiness in a world that keeps taking happiness away.