'Stranger Things' Season 4 Episode 6: Does Steve die after being dragged into Upside Down?

Although his fate isn't explicitly revelead, Steve's death was one of the talking points ahead of the season — something that may have come true
Joe Keery as Steve and Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin in 'Stranger Things' Season 4 (Netflix)
Joe Keery as Steve and Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin in 'Stranger Things' Season 4 (Netflix)

Contains spoilers for 'Stranger Things' Season 4 Episode 6 'The Dive'

One of the behind-the-scenes during ahead of 'Stranger Things' Season 4 featured a bloodied and bandaged Joe Keery. His character, Steve Harrington — a fan favorite since Season 1 was one of the characters speculated to die in the new installment, and by the looks of it, he might have taken one for the team, even if it came at the cost of his life. Steve goes down, literally, after finding out the location of the Upside Down portal that the gang believes is Vecna's lair.

Titled 'The Dive', Episode 6 alternates between Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) figuring out how to get her powers back, while the rest of the gang attempt to stop Vecna before he can kill Max (Sadie Sink). He already kills Lucas's (Caleb McLaughlin) basketball teammate, Patrick and while Max barely makes it out, the wizard has her in his sights. However, Steve might be the one to make the supreme sacrifice.

RELATED ARTICLES

'Stranger Things' Season 4: First 8 minutes leaves fans with 'goosebumps and mixed emotions'

'Stranger Things' Season 4: Observations from the first 8 minutes of the blockbuster Netfix show

The final few minutes of the episode see the gang find Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) after he escapes Jason Carver (Mason Dye) who's out for revenge. But with Patrick dying, the attention shifts to the dead teen, while Eddie makes his getaway and later reunites with Dustin and Co. Together, they find the location of the portal after the compass Dustin uses goes haywire. They deduce the electromagnetic field is causing the fluctuation and that the opening is at the bottom of Lover's Lake. Steve goes for recon and is met with success, but is unaware of one of the monsters following him up.

Just as he reveals the location to Nancy and Robin, he gets sucked back in and thrown into the Upside Down. Bat-like demons attack him even as the rest of the team on the boat dive in and follow to rescue Steve. With one more episode to go before we wait for Volume 2, it appears that Steve just might have kicked the bucket. Only time will tell if the rest of the team makes it out alive.

'Stranger Things' Season 4 is streaming on Netflix.

GET THE BIGGEST ENTERTAINMENT STORIES
STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

MORE STORIES

‘Tulsa King’ Season 4, starring Sylvester Stallone, streams every Friday on Paramount+
2026-10-17T10:36:40.000Z
Pavi and her long-lost twin Nisha hunt for their origins as the Havens cheer the last Avatar’s death
2026-10-17T08:37:00.000Z
Season 2 of the HBO Stephen King prequel jumps back to 1935 and a gang of bank robbers
2026-10-17T06:52:24.000Z
‘Fire Country’ season 5 episode 2 reveals Jake’s fate after the shooting as the team uncovers the attacker’s motive
2026-10-17T06:41:28.000Z
Wes ends ‘Sheriff Country’ Season 2 Episode 2 in the hands of Stoyanovs after exposing bakery bug
2026-10-17T05:35:47.000Z
Chad Lowe is the executive producer on ‘9-1-1: Nashville’ and has also directed many episodes
2026-10-17T05:07:28.000Z
Issa López returns as showrunner for a Jamaica Bay story with ties to ’Night Country’
2026-10-17T03:12:59.000Z
Oklahoma’s governor and Dwight’s love interest board a private jet in the first episode of Season 4
2026-10-16T09:30:07.000Z
'Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 23 Episode 1, titled 'Collide,' featured several surprises
2026-10-16T09:16:04.000Z
'Crystal Lake,' which serves as a prequel to 'Friday the 13th,' stars Linda Cardellini as Pamela
2026-10-16T07:12:15.000Z