The Stranger Things 4 Finale Almost Killed Off A Totally Different Character
Contains spoilers for the "Stranger Things" Season 4 finale
If there's one thing "Stranger Things" fans can count on, it's that not every character is going to survive. Some deaths might be heartbreaking, (RIP, Barb), while others might not, (Sorry, Billy), but one thing's for sure: characters will die.
The Season 4 finale was no exception. The climactic showdown between the widely dispersed Hawkins gang and this season's Big Bad, Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), claims plenty of victims. First, Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine) is gunned down while helping Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) escape from the military. Then, the vengeful jock Jason (Mason Dye) gets split in half when a vent to the Upside Down opens, a death that was foreshadowed in the "Stranger Things" Season 4 premiere. Finally, there's fan favorite Eddie (Joe Quinn), who sacrifices himself by playing a gnarly cover of Metallica's "Master of Puppets," attracting a swarm of mutated bats to himself so that Nancy, Steve (Joe Keery), and Robin (Maya Hawke) can deal with Vecna. Oh, and let's not forget Max (Sadie Sink), whom Vecna technically kills but whom Eleven saves at the last minute.
That's a lot of mayhem, but according to the Duffer Brothers, the ending of "Stranger Things" Season 4 could have had an even higher body count.
Enzo, aka Dimitri, was originally slated for the chopping block
Collider asked the Duffer Brothers whether Season 4 of "Stranger Things" originally had a different ending. Matt Duffer replied that the only major plot point that didn't make it to the screen was the death of Enzo (Tom Wlaschiha), aka Dimitri, the Soviet prison guard who eventually helps Hopper (David Harbour) escape from the Kamchatka. Duffer didn't elaborate on how Enzo was originally going to kick the bucket, but it presumably would have come at the hands of a demogorgon test subject in the Russian prison.
It makes sense why the Duffers decided to let Enzo live. In his final moments of Season 4, after helping Joyce (Winona Ryder), Hopper, and Murray (Brett Gelman) break out of the Russian prison, he then has to help them break back into the prison so they can attack the hive mind that connects all the monsters in the Upside Down. Sure, it might have been impactful if Enzo had to give up his life to help the others get the job done. However, the Season 4 finale already has two other heroic deaths, from Dr. Brenner and Eddie. Having a third self-sacrifice might have diluted all three.
Time will tell if the Duffers have any plans to bring Enzo back for Season 5. That probably won't premiere until 2024, but the writing starts next month (via Netflix Life).