Along with July 2022 came the end of the penultimate season of Stranger Things, and in that fourth season, many great stranger things characters like Max and Dustin were front and center for all the fantastic and emotional moments.
However, other characters seemed to be sidelined in favor of other plotlines. For Season 5 to be as amazing as Season 4, the main cast members who didn't get as many highlights should probably get a little more development. Otherwise, several main characters will have unsatisfying endings in the show's final season.
suzie
Dustin's girlfriend Suzie has been (and should continue to be) a smaller part of the story for the past two seasons. However, a satisfying ending for Dustin would likely involve him joining the team in some capacity in Season 5.
Suzie is a fun and smart character who could offer a lot by being a little more frequent. She shouldn't be so prominent as to take screen time away from other important members, but adding her to one of the squads for season 5 might help raise the stakes a bit. Including Suzie would also mean not having to add any new characters in the final season.
Luke
Lucas and Max were certainly great as a duo in Stranger Things season 4 , but Lucas himself could still use more time to develop outside of his relationship with Max.
Season 5 will be a great opportunity for Lucas to spend more time with the original gang. He never had great moments with Will and Mike in the season, and even his interactions with Dustin and Steve were overshadowed by his relationship with Max. It seems inevitable that he'll be reunited with Max at some point in season 5, but before that, he should reestablish some old friendships.
Eleven
Eleven has remained one of the show's main characters, but she's going to need a slightly bigger role this season if she's going to finally take down Vecna once and for all.
Throughout much of Stranger Things 4, El was relegated to a psychic training arc with Papa that went a long way in establishing a lot about the season's backstory. However, those episodes didn't help El grow as much as a person or his relationships as much as fans initially hoped.
Steve
Steve's group got more of a focus throughout the season, but the character with some of the best development in the early seasons seemed to have his role relegated to unrequited love.
Romance for Steve would make a good subplot, but at this stage in the game, there should be more going on with one of the show's most beloved characters. Season 5 should give Steve a more heroic moment than he was given in Season 4, especially one that doesn't revolve around his love triangle with Nancy and Jonathan at all.
Nancy
Nancy was one of the main Stranger Things 4 MVPs, and unlike her friend Steve, they had great moments outside of the series' biggest love triangle.
The Nancy/Jonathan/Steve saga certainly needs to be addressed and resolved, but each of the three will need great individual moments to shine as well. Nancy has become one of the main characters on the show, and she's going to need a proper ending that's worthy of that status, one that encompasses both the adventure and romance sides.
Hopper
Hopper's Russian side arc ended with a surprisingly satisfying conclusion. However, now that he's reunited with his adopted daughter and his friends, Hopper will have to take a more active role in the fight.
Throughout the entire season, Hopper never actively fought Vecna or the larger forces in the Upside Down. This season, it's not Hopper's screen time that needs to be adjusted: it's his relevance to the main story. For one of the show's main leads among the adults to really shine, Hopper will need to be upgraded from Demogorgon slayer to something bigger.
Vecna/Henry/One
Henry is by far the best antagonist on the show, and it looks like he'll still be around for the show's final season. If he does it right, he will be remembered as the main villain of the entire series at the end.
Henry's psychic powers are sure to be a big part of season 4, but this time around, it might serve the show well for even having short scenes that are entirely through the Vecna lens. His character could even be the one to shed light on the origins of the Upside Down - a mystery fans have wondered about since the show's first season.
Will
Will's final moments in season 4 sparked a lot of fan theories revolving around him in season 5. If Will is going to be used properly in season 5, his connection to the Upside Down is going to have to play a part.
Will has been a key figure in the story since season one, but in season 4 Will didn't get the same opportunities. He had some good moments with Mike and Jonathan, but that seemed to be laying the groundwork for bigger moments in Season 5. Ideally, Will is a key piece in stopping Vecna once and for all.
jonathan
Jonathan was one of the most important characters in the first few seasons of Stranger Things but was mostly relegated to a supporting character role in Season 4.
Aside from the obvious love triangle that unfolded in season 4, Jonathan will have to come to terms with his complex of leaving his family behind. Jonathan has more skill, potential, and empathy than he and the writers gave him credit for in season 4, and season 5 should give Jonathan a truly heroic moment to showcase that.
Miguel
Mike used to be one of the best teen show leads on Netflix, but season 4 reduced him to being the animator for Eleven at the end and doing almost nothing else for the entire season.
If Mike's character is going to have a satisfying conclusion, he's going to have to be more than just the "heart" of the team. Characters like Steve, Nancy, and Dustin have proven that you don't need superpowers to be useful to the team. With that in mind, Mike just shouting words of encouragement at El isn't going to cut it for the final moments of a main character in Season 5.
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