Hopper and Mike in Stranger Things Season 4 Stranger Things star David Harbour teases a “moving” ending for season 5 following some emotional set photos. After returning for season 4 in 2022, the hit Netflix sci-fi horror show is now gearing up for its final outing, which is expected to hit the streamer in 2025. Though the Stranger Things season 5 story has remained shrouded in mystery, photos from the Netflix show’s set were shared online last week, showing Hopper and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) sharing a heartfelt moment on a park bench.

In a recent interview with Screen Rant to promote his new DC animated Max series, Creature Commandos, Harbour comments on Stranger Things season 5, promising that it will be a “satisfying” sendoff. The actor also specifically addresses the recent filming that’s been taking place, stressing just how “moving” it’s been for him. Check out his full comment below:

It’s good, it’s been a very long push. We’ve been shooting for a long time, and it’s big, really big. And we’re getting to the end, so we’re getting into a lot of that meaty end stuff, which ties up a lot of these relationships. It really gives this very rich, satisfying meal, which I won’t tell you whether it’s happy or sad, [or] what it is at the end of it, but it definitely will be satisfying.

Some of the stuff I shot, even this last week, has been some of the most moving stuff of the show , and there’s been a lot of moving stuff in this show. But I had a scene the other day that I was just like, ‘Wow, this really resonates on such a deep level.’

It resonates because we’ve been working together for 10 years, all of us and we know each other so well. We know each other’s strengths, weaknesses, what we love about each other, what we can’t stand about each other, and these things are beautifully. We’re in a place where we’re comfortable enough to be able to allow each other this humanity, and it’s special. It’s very special.

What Harbour’s Comments Mean For Stranger Things Season 5

Audiences Could Lose A Major Character

Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, and Noah Schnapp as Mike, Eleven, and Will standing together in Stranger Things season 4. Finn Wolfhard as Milke and Noah Schnapp as Will sitting on an old couch in Stranger Things Eleven crying after reading Hopper's letter in Stranger Things season 3 David Harbour as Jim Hopper pointing a gun in Stranger Things season 2 Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers at work in Stranger Things Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, and Noah Schnapp as Mike, Eleven, and Will standing together in Stranger Things season 4. Finn Wolfhard as Milke and Noah Schnapp as Will sitting on an old couch in Stranger Things Eleven crying after reading Hopper's letter in Stranger Things season 3 David Harbour as Jim Hopper pointing a gun in Stranger Things season 2 Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers at work in Stranger Things

In addition to moments of action and terror, the hit Netflix show has also had a fair share of emotional moments that tug on the heartstrings. The most recent one is, of course, Eddie Munson’s (Joseph Quinn) sacrifice in the Stranger Things season 4 finale. Though not visible in the set photos, the description accompanying some of the set photos of Hopper and Mike claim that the pair are sitting in front of a memorial in Hawkins dedicated to fallen citizens, teasing more character deaths to come.

Season 4 ends with Vecna successfully making Hawkins ground zero for an Upside Down incursion into the real world, and it seems likely that some kind of final battle will ensue to banish this dark dimension and the monsters within it. It’s possible that Hopper and Mike are mourning a more general loss of life from this final conflict, but they could also be mourning a core member of the Stranger Things cast of characters. It’s possible that a main character will die, and Harbour’s latest comments certainly support this.

Our Take On Harbour’s Stranger Things Season 5 Tease

The Stakes Will Be Higher Than Ever

Jim Hopper wearing his uniform and looking annoyed in Stranger Things season 2, episode 8

Thus far, Stranger Things has been reluctant to kill off main characters, with Hopper himself seemingly dying in season 3 before coming back in season 4. With Vecna seemingly still alive, along with the Mind Flayer and the other monsters of the Upside Down, the forces of antagonism will be especially strong in season 5, and it would make sense that not all the heroes survive the coming confrontation.

Following season 4 finale, the fate of Sadie Sink’s Max Mayfield still hangs in the balance.

As Harbour himself alludes to, audiences have now spent almost 10 years with these characters, and watching any of them die will be a very emotional experience. It seems unlikely that the show will end on a downbeat note given its general tone thus far, but a major character death has the potential to cast a shadow over the entire season. Many questions remain about what’s to come in Stranger Things season 5, but viewers should evidently expect the final episodes to elicit some strong feelings.