WHO WAS ACTUALLY USEFUL AND WHO WAS JUST DOING TIME?
After almost 10 years, monsters, bikes, crying kids, and government stupidity, Stranger Things finally ends. And let me be very clear: Season 5 doesn’t care about nostalgia, fan service, or your feelings.
This season asks one brutal question:
Who actually moved the story forward?
Not who was cute.
Not who made jokes.
Not who fans love on Twitter.
Season 5 of Stranger Things makes one thing painfully clear: the show is no longer interested in nostalgia, fan service, or balancing screen time to keep everyone happy. This final chapter is ruthless. It strips the series down to narrative function and asks a simple but brutal question — who actually matters when the world is ending? Across the last eight episodes, relevance isn’t measured by likability, jokes, or emotional attachment, but by who pushes the story forward and who merely exists within it. Hawkins is collapsing, Vecna is closing in, and the show abandons sentimentality in favor of consequence.
So let’s rank every main character based on REAL IMPORTANCE.
14) Jonathan Byers – “Brother, Please Sit Down”
Jonathan exists in Season 5 the same way a chair exists in the corner of a room.
Useful? Sometimes.
Necessary? Not at all.
At the very bottom of the relevance ladder sits Jonathan Byers, whose presence in Season 5 feels more obligatory than necessary. While he has a few emotionally meaningful moments, like supporting Will or briefly saving Steve, none of these actions alter the direction of the plot. He doesn’t unlock information, make key decisions, or influence the final confrontation in any meaningful way. The story would function almost identically without him, which is the harshest judgment a final season can pass on a character.
Yes, he hugs Will. Yes, he saves Steve once. Emotional? Sure.
But story-wise? Zero impact.
Remove Jonathan and the plot still reaches the same ending without breaking a sweat. He’s here because the show feels bad excluding him. That’s it.
Verdict: Decoration with feelings.
13) Nancy Wheeler – Former Boss Lady, Now Assistant Manager
Nancy used to be the investigator queen. Guns, plans, leadership.
Season 5 says: “Thanks, next.”
Nancy Wheeler fares only slightly better. She remains capable, brave, and proactive, but Season 5 no longer treats her as the investigative force she once was. Her actions help, but they don’t define the narrative, and her impact feels diluted in a season focused elsewhere.
She helps. She shoots. She plans a bit.
But the show no longer revolves around her brain. She’s competent, not crucial.
Verdict: Still smart, no longer central.
12) Lucas Sinclair – The Good Man Trapped in Someone Else’s Story
Lucas is brave. Loyal. Emotionally solid.
But everything he does is tied to Max.
He doesn’t change the story — he reacts to it.
Important heart, not important engine.
Lucas Sinclair brings emotional weight, particularly through his connection to Max, but his role remains reactive rather than decisive. He supports, protects, and stands firm, yet the story never hinges on his choices.
Verdict: Strong support character, not a driver.
11) Steve Harrington – The Most Loved, Least Dangerous Character
Steve is everywhere. Steve is charming. Steve is emotional comfort food.
But here’s the truth fans don’t like:
👉 Steve doesn’t steer the plot.
He protects. He helps. He survives. He’s the bodyguard, not the boss.
Steve Harrington, despite being constantly present and endlessly beloved, also falls into this category. He stabilizes the group, offers emotional grounding, and helps execute plans, but he never truly steers the endgame.
Verdict: MVP vibes, assistant role.
10) Joyce Byers – Mama Bear With a Kill Shot
Joyce reacts. Joyce protects. Joyce screams.
Classic Joyce.
Yes, she kills Vecna (symbolically huge).
But she never controls the narrative.
She responds to danger — she doesn’t define it.Joyce Byers, meanwhile, continues her role as the fiercely protective mother, reacting to danger and defending her children with relentless intensity. Her symbolic killing of Vecna is powerful, but even then, the narrative does not revolve around her agency — she responds to the story rather than shaping it.
Verdict: Emotional power, limited control.
9) Robin Buckley – Quietly Doing Everyone Else’s Homework
Robin doesn’t shout.
Robin doesn’t lead.
Robin solves problems.
Without her:
- Will doesn’t unlock powers
- Max isn’t found
- Holly stays lost
She’s not flashy, but she’s efficient.Robin Buckley quietly proves herself one of the most efficient characters in the final season. She connects dots, identifies truths others miss, and enables crucial breakthroughs, including Will’s first use of his powers and the realization that Max is trapped rather than comatose. Her importance lies in problem-solving, not control.
Verdict: Underrated brain, not the final authority.
8) Mike Wheeler – The Emotional CEO
Mike doesn’t fight monsters.
Mike fights emotional collapse.
Season 5 makes it clear:
Mike’s job is to hold the group together.
Hope. Encouragement. Belief.
Without him, everything emotionally falls apart.Mike Wheeler occupies a different kind of relevance altogether. He isn’t the action hero or strategist, but the emotional glue holding everyone together. His belief in Will, encouragement of others, and ability to maintain hope give the group the emotional stability it needs to function at all.
Verdict: Not loud, but absolutely necessary.
7) Dustin Henderson – The Brain That Keeps the Machine Running
Dustin is logic.
Dustin is planning.
Dustin is execution.
When something needs to work, Dustin makes it work.
When grief hits, the story almost collapses — because he’s that important.Dustin Henderson, on the other hand, is pure execution. He thinks, plans, adjusts, and keeps the machine running, even while dealing with grief that threatens to derail everything. Without Dustin, the story simply stops working.
Verdict: The engine room of the team.
6) Jim Hopper – The Shield
Hopper doesn’t solve the Upside Down.
He protects the people who can.
Military? He handles it.
Danger? He walks into it.
Eleven? He covers her back.
Jim Hopper represents protection and sacrifice. He doesn’t resolve the Upside Down, but he creates the space for those who can. Whether outmaneuvering the military, shielding Eleven, or stepping into danger without hesitation, Hopper acts as the line between chaos and collapse.
Even when he screws up, the story needs him.
Verdict: The wall between chaos and collapse.
5) Max Mayfield – The Survivor Inside the Nightmare
Max barely moves, yet the plot orbits her.
She understands Vecna’s mind.
She guides others from inside hell.
She proves survival is possible.
She’s not action — she’s meaning.
Max Mayfield, despite limited physical presence, remains central by anchoring Vecna’s cruelty in personal consequence. Her understanding of the villain’s mind and her ability to guide others from within his grasp make her indispensable.
Verdict: Silent but lethal to the villain’s grip.
4) Holly Wheeler – The Shock Factor Nobody Saw Coming
Who thought Holly would matter?
Season 5 said: “Watch this.”
She:
- Raises the stakes
- Exposes Vecna’s past
- Represents innocent loss
- Forces urgency
She doesn’t lead the plot, but she forces it to move.
Holly Wheeler’s sudden importance is one of Season 5’s boldest moves, transforming a background character into a symbol of innocence at risk and a key to understanding Vecna’s past. Her presence raises the stakes and injects urgency into every episode she touches.
Verdict: Small character, massive impact.
3) Eleven – The Beginning and the End
Even when she’s quiet, the story waits for her.
Everything — themes, choices, sacrifices — funnels through Eleven.
She is the final gate.
The final decision.
The final cost.
At the core of the series’ conclusion stand Eleven and Will Byers. Eleven remains the backbone of the narrative, the unavoidable point through which every final decision must pass. Even when quieter, the story waits for her, because thematically and structurally, it always has.
Verdict: The soul of the series.
2) Will Byers – The Heart of Stranger Things
This show starts with Will.
It ends because of Will.
Powers. Trauma. Emotional truth.
He understands Vecna because he survived him first.
Season 5 finally admits it:
👉 Will isn’t the mystery — he’s the answer.
Will, however, emerges as the emotional and narrative heart of the final season. His trauma, connection to Vecna, and newly unlocked powers bridge the show’s beginning and its end. Every scene involving him carries weight, reinforcing that Stranger Things started with Will — and could only truly end with him.
Verdict: The emotional and narrative core.
1) Vecna / Henry Creel – The Axis of Everythin
Let’s stop pretending.
Season 5 doesn’t happen without Vecna.
Every plan reacts to him.
Every sacrifice exists because of him.
He is:
- Trauma
- Rage
- Power
- Consequence
Not just a villain — the theme itself.
Above everyone else stands Vecna, the axis around which the entire season turns. Every plan, sacrifice, and confrontation exists because of him. He is not merely the villain but the embodiment of the show’s themes: trauma, rage, abandonment, and unchecked power. Season 5 doesn’t soften him or redeem him; it allows him to fully define the tone, pacing, and meaning of the finale. In doing so, Stranger Things chooses purpose over popularity and consequence over comfort, delivering an ending that makes its priorities unmistakably clear.
Verdict: Final boss, final meaning, final shadow.
Stranger things is available on Netflix.
