Murray's Stranger Things 4 Ending Finally Replaces Beloved Dead Character

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WARNING! This post contains SPOILERS for Stranger Things season 4!

Murray’s ambiguous ending in Stranger Things season 4 replaces his friendship with season 3’s beloved character Dr. Alexei. While Murray could’ve been written out after Stranger Things season 2, the show brought him back in season 3 due to his ability to fluently speak Russian. This sparked his continued grouping with Joyce and Hopper as well as lovable friendships with Stranger Things’ allied Russian characters.

One of the best dynamics in Stranger Things season 3 was between Murray Bauman and Dr. Alexei, with the two sharing a similar sense of humor and enjoying the ability to converse when Joyce and Hopper couldn’t understand them. However, just as Murray was showing Alexei the American way of life by eating corndogs at a 4th of July carnival, the Russian scientistwas killed by the Terminator-wannabe Grigori. Alexei’s death might be the most upsetting loss of Stranger Things season 3, but season 4 has now introduced his replacement.

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Stranger Things' season 4 finale sees Murray, Joyce, Hopper, Dmitri “Enzo” Antonov, and Yuri work together to break back into the Russian prison and kill its Upside Down monsters. Since Murray had previously lost his close Russian ally, having the characters leave together suggests Enzo will now replace Alexei as Murray’s Russian friend. Stranger Things season 4 leaves Murray’s ending ambiguous, with only Hopper and Joyce reuniting with the kids in Hawkins. With no confirmation as to what happened to Dmitri in the end, it seems Tom Wlaschiha’s character returned to America with Murray, as staying in Russia would have meant death. Following the death