9 'Stranger Things' Characters With the Most Satisfying Endings, Ranked

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The kids gathered together playing Dungeons & Dragons in the finale of Stranger Things.

Christine is a freelance writer for Collider with two decades of experience covering all types of TV shows and movies spanning every genre. With a particular affinity for dramas, true crime, sitcoms, and thrillers, if it's a top TV show, Christine has likely watched it and is eager to share her thoughts. When she's not furiously writing away, you can find her enjoying the next binge obsession with a glass of wine in front of the TV.

Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for the Stranger Things series finale.Stranger Things has officially come to an end, the story wrapping up with a bow as Hawkins, and the world, are saved from Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) and his plans to create a new world with the Mind Flayer. With the town back to normal and everyone moving on with their lives, it was a bittersweet ending. Characters like Mike (Finn Wolfhard) sadly didn't get the happy ending they wanted. But his ending was still satisfying in a way.

All the young adults moved on to determine what they'd be doing with their lives. Robin (Maya Hawke) is pursuing a college degree, for example, while Nancy (Natalia Dyer) decides to drop out and take an entry-level job at a local newspaper to get some real-world experience. Both Karen (Cara Buono) and Ted Wheeler (Joe Chrest) survived their attacks while all the kids have successfully graduated from high school and are pursuing the next steps in their lives. The joy continues, however, with Holly (Nell Fisher) and her friends, some new, now taking over the Wheeler basement for Dungeons & Dragons nights. Overall, everyone got a fitting end, but some were the most satisfying.

9 Jim Hopper

Hopper with a beard and baseball cap smiling in Stranger Things.

Chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) loses yet another daughter when Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) decides to sacrifice herself for the safety of the group and other potential victims of the Hawkins Lab project. (Whether or not she actually did, or it was an illusion is debatable). This seems like Hopper got the worst possible ending, but it was also quite satisfying. That's because this time, he had the tools to overcome his grief, and even used them to help Mike do the same.

Along with proposing to Joyce (Winona Ryder) in the finale, one of the best episodes of Stranger Things Season 5, Hopper also has plans to leave Hawkins. What's most interesting is that he mentions that Montauk is looking for a new police chief, an Easter Egg for those who know that Stranger Things was inspired by the Montauk Project, a conspiracy theory that alleges the government conducted controversial research there, including time travel, teleportation, and mind control. While this could open the door to Hopper being thrust into yet another challenging situation, the mention was really just to pay homage to the real-life conspiracy that inspired the show in the first place.

8 Max Mayfield

The fact that Max (Sadie Sink) is alive at all is nothing short of a miracle, and that alone ranks her as having among the most satisfying endings. But she also appears to be fully recuperated and still in a loving relationship with Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin). While not much else is known about what happens to Max after graduation, it's clear she and Lucas are in a state of relationship bliss.

Max might have lost people she loved, including her stepbrother Billy (Dacre Montgomery) and her best friend Eleven. But she has come out stronger on the other side. She realizes she can get through just about anything, and she doesn't need a Kate Bush song, one of the best songs featured in the show, to do it. So, seeing Max thrive despite all the shame and guilt she lived with is wonderful to see.

7 Derek Turnbow

Closeup of Derek smirking and looking to the side.

Derek (Jake Connelly) is the stand-out new character in the final season, fans falling in love with his precocious attitude and sometimes brash, even rude, style. He's either "dips–t Derek" or "delightful Derek," depending on the situation. Once he got wind of what was going on, he was instantly willing and able to help, and boy, did he ever. Not only was Derek integral to the plans in saving the kids, but also taking down Vecna.

What fans love about Derek's ending is that it's a positive one. While he still has the same attitude, he grows closer with Holly and they become genuine friends. He is accepted for who he is and becomes part of a group of kids who would never otherwise have hung out with one another. Fans love that Derek is learning to play Dungeons & Dragons, and undoubtedly will be going on new adventures with this group.

6 Will Byers

Will Byers looking emotional while playing DnD in the epilogue of Stranger Things

Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) has a satisfying ending in so many ways. First, he manages to tap into Henry and finally learns that Henry was just an innocent kid like he was when he was first overtaken by the Mind Flayer. While Henry went in the complete opposite direction, surrendering to the Mind Flayer and becoming one with it, Will had the strength to fight back, revealed in one of the biggest WTF moments in Season 5. And he continued to do that, proving he was anything but weak. In fact, Will tapping into the hive mind helps Eleven finally defeat Henry.

As the kids got older throughout the series and the boys gained an interest in girls, Will was dealing with complicated feelings about his sexuality. He was constantly asking them to play D&D, but they were starting to grow out of the game. Finally, after graduation, they decide to play what is likely their last campaign before moving on with their adult lives. Will finally got what he wanted, which was to go back to the simple way things were, and the thing that bonded the boys in the first place. In Mike's account of their character endings, Will moves away and starts a new life where he's able to meet others and even explore romantic partnerships. His ending could not have gone any better.

5 Jonathan Byers

Jonathan smiling operating a camera at graduation in Stranger Things.

Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton) began as the quiet school outcast, a young higher schooler who kept to himself and spent most of his free time hanging out with his younger middle schooler brother. He slowly came into his own, especially as he teamed up with Nancy and the two started a romantic relationship. While his love story with Nancy ended, this was better for both of them. What's most satisfying about Jonathan is that he finally pursues what he wanted to do all along, which was go to NYU.

Seeing Jonathan speak so passionately about the movie he's making, a commentary about capitalism, is so lovely. It's finally apparent that he's a quirky, eccentric, creative mind, which now makes him stand out in the best way possible as an adult. His truce with Steve (Joe Keery) is also sweet: the two are never going to be best friends, and Jonathan even makes it clear that he doesn't even like Steve. But the fact that they can appreciate one another and their differences is a lesson for everyone else.

4 Dustin Henderson

Dustin talking into the mic wearing a "Hellfire Lives" shirt at graduation in Stranger Things.

Not only does Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) move on to higher education after being named class valedictorian, he also remains close with Steve and the pair go on adventures together during his off times. Most importantly, Dustin gets his moment to shine, to speak out against the establishment and call out the school for pushing social norms. His valedictorian speech is perfectly Dustin, especially when he rips off his gown and button-down shirt to reveal a "Hellfire Club Lives" T-shirt. Fans will have picked up on the Easter egg as he does exactly what his fallen friend Eddie (Joseph Quinn) said he wanted to do on graduation day: ream out the principal, flip him the bird, grab his diploma, and run. This was Dustin's way of honoring the friend who sacrificed his life to save them.

Mostly, fans are happy that Dustin didn't have to go through the trauma of losing another friend, made his mother proud, and was on to big things. What's most important is that Dustin is out of his funk and sincerely happy for the first time in a long time.

3 Steve Harrington

Steve coaching a kids' baseball team in Stranger Things.

Since Season 2, Steve has been pretty much lost. After having graduated from high school, he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. Working at an ice cream shop in the mall and getting paid minimum wage wasn't the end game for him, but Steve wasn't sure what to pursue. He got too distracted with their fight against Vecna to focus on himself until lockdown when he worked with Robin at the radio station. After the final battle, it was time for Steve to buckle down and figure things out. And that, he did.

Steve apparently became a teacher and coach, teaching classes like sex ed and coaching the kids' baseball team. It's the perfect job for him since fans instantly pegged Steve as the "dad" of the group, the protector. He might not have been the best student himself, but Steve has wisdom and confidence to impart on the younger generation, and it's so nice to see him in a career he loves.

2 Eleven

Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven outdoors looking to the distance in the series finale of 'Stranger Things'.

Jane's ending was left ambiguous. If we believe what was presented, she stood in front of the entrance to the Upside Down as it was blown up, vanishing among all the debris and ending her life to sacrifice herself for the sake of others. But if you believe Mike's interpretation of the story, that's not what happened at all. While Kali (Linnea Berthelsen) was indeed dying, she had just enough strength left to create one last illusion, away from the safety of Dr. Kay's (Linda Hamilton) high-frequency suppression devices.

According to Mike, the Eleven they saw wasn't the real Eleven at all, but an illusion Kali created to convince them and the military that she was dead. In reality, she escaped and is now somewhere unknown, finally living in peace, freedom, and happiness for the first time ever. Mike's story is more than likely his own creative mind trying to help him process things. This is hinted by the fact that Kali seemed to be already dead when Hopper was there and the dream sequence shows Eleven at a place with only two, not three, waterfalls. Nonetheless, Jane has the best ending because she has helped the others move on in a way they need to and ended her suffering, one way or another.

1 Joyce Byers

The story since the 10/10 pilot episode has always been about the kids, but it's easy to forget that there's an adult who has been at the center of it from the very beginning, feeling some of the most intense emotions. Joyce lost her son, couldn't convince anyone that the body in the morgue wasn't him, got him back, but realized his mind was overtaken by some creature. She lost her boyfriend Bob (Sean Astin) and almost lost Hopper countless times.

The ending for Joyce, however, was the absolute best. Not only was she able to come face to face with Vecna, she was given the opportunity to deliver the final blows that ended him for good. Her line, "you f–ked with the wrong family" was absolutely perfect. That's because you get the sense that she isn't just talking about her, Will, and Jonathan, but also all the others who have since become family. Hopper proposing to Joyce with plans to start life anew now that both her boys had moved on was icing on the sweet cake.