Well, Netflix premiered the final two episodes of “Stranger Things” Season 4 last Friday, and now fans know what awaits Hawkins in the show’s fifth and final season. And fans also know who lived and died after this season’s battle against Vecna. (spoiler alert for those who haven’t finished watching yet!). Unfortunately, Joseph Quinn‘s metalhead Eddie Munson, leader of the Hellfire Club, went down swinging against Vecna’s bats. Meanwhile, the less beloved Dr. Martin Brenner, played by Matthew Modine, met his fate against the government he served.
Those are two tragic deaths, although one hits harder than the other. But Matt and Ross Duffer had plans to kill off another character this season too. Don’t worry, it’s not anyone crucial like Joe Keery‘s Steve Harrington. Instead, the Duffer Bros. had Tom Wlaschiha‘s Enzo, the Russian security guard who helps David Harbour‘s Jim Hopper break out of high-security prison in Kamchatka. In an interview with Collider, Matt said, “In terms of who makes it, who lives or dies, I think there was a version where Dimitri, a.k.a. Enzo, didn’t make it.” Enzo becomes a confidante to Hopper and Winona Ryder‘s Joyce after Nikola Djuricko‘s pilot Yuri doublecrosses Enzo and foils Hopper’s escape plans, leaving Enzo locked up in prison alongside Hopper.
“[Enzo] ended up making it,” continued Matt, “but that’s [the most] radical of a departure from the original idea to what we ended up with.” By all accounts, Enzo is a minor character, so his originally planned death wouldn’t have been catastrophic. However, he is one of the new good guys this season, so it would still be considered a loss. And Enzo making it to the season’s end is an anomaly for the Duffers’ usual set plans for each season. “When we’re breaking a season, that is one of the first things we’re talking about is, ‘Where do we want this story to end up?’,” Matt said, “I don’t think we’ve deviated truly in any season for the finale, we’ve always stuck to it. I believe the case is the same here.”
So, Enzo should consider himself lucky that he made it to the end of season four. But will we ever see Enzo, or Yuri, again? There was no sign of them when Hopper and Joyce reunited with everyone back in Hawkin’s in this season’s final moments. But considering how high the stakes are for season 5, it’s possible Enzo could show up in Indiana after what he witnessed in Kamchatka. The Duffers won’t start filming the final season of “Stranger Things” for a while, though.
The entire season four of “Stranger Things” season four is available to watch on Netflix now.