Netflix 'Stranger Things' Season 5 Theories: Will Paul Reiser's Dr Owens return?

With Eleven taking on Vecna and the Mindflayer in the fifth and final season, there's a window of opportunity for the good doctor to return
Paul Reiser as Dr Samuel Owens in 'Stranger Things' Season 4 (Netflix)
Paul Reiser as Dr Samuel Owens in 'Stranger Things' Season 4 (Netflix)

Contains spoilers from 'Stranger Things' Season 4

Paul Reiser has been making headlines for the last month. First, he reprised his role as Dr Owens in 'Stranger Things' Season 4. He then made another pivotal appearance in the ongoing 'The Boys' Season 3 as The Legend. However, his fate is left uncertain following the events of the Volume 2 finale. While he was last shown to be alive after General Sullivan attacked the top-secret facility, his character was cut out rather abruptly.

Safe to say that he had survived, while the show focused on the death of his colleague and one of the key antagonists from Season1, Dr Brenner (Matthew Modine). In his attempt to save Eleven from the attack on the lab, he gets out of the secret only to be shot to death. However, there is a poignant moment between the two where he says he was proud of his daughter. He knew he was a bad father to Vecna (then Henry/001), but he did, by his own logic, be a better person to Eleven, despite his rather villainy nature. He dies a mad scientist giving Matthew Modine's character a fitting farewell. 

RELATED ARTICLES

'Stranger Things' Season 5 theories: Will Dustin bite the dust in the EPIC final season?

Netflix 'Stranger Things' Season 5: Will Max acquire superpowers in the final installment?

Stranger Things' Season 5: Will Paul Reiser's Dr Owens return?

There is every possibility for the good doctor to return considering he knows more about Eleven's (Millie Bobby Brown) abilities after Dr Brenner. But there is also that chance that he might be locked away for good by Sullivan after the attack kills all the scientists. The series may have deliberately put Owens in the shadows. 'Stranger Things' has resurrected characters in the past, namely Brenner and Jim Hopper's David Harbor. So, it's not entirely surprising if Owens pops up with all that's happened in Season 4's massive finale.

With Eleven taking on Vecna and the Mindflayer in the fifth and final season, Hawkins's heroes will need all the support they can get, and that leaves the window for his potential return. For now, fans want to see more of The Legend as 'The Boys' Season 3 concludes on July 8 and will be keen to see more of the iconic character in the already confirmed Season 4.

'Stranger Things' Season 4 is streaming on Netflix.

GET THE BIGGEST ENTERTAINMENT STORIES
STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

MORE STORIES

Mariska Hargitay’s reported ‘SVU’ paycheck includes acting and producing, while her estimated wealth reflects a career spanning more than four decades.
2026-11-12T20:43:49.000Z
'Marshals' Season 2 introduces a Texas cowgirl who joins Kayce Dutton at East Camp to help establish an equine therapy program.
2026-11-12T20:24:16.000Z
‘School Spirits’ Season 4 brings back Jennifer Tilly as Deborah Hunter-Price and Milo Manheim as Wally Clark while expanding its cast with four new additions
2026-11-12T20:05:26.000Z
Paul Wesley and Sara Canning reunite for Netflix’s college sports romance ‘Icebreaker,’ years after starring together in ‘The Vampire Diaries.’
2026-11-12T19:40:49.000Z
Peacock’s ‘The Good Daughter’ finale answers questions about the school shooting, Huck’s past and the buried secrets dividing Sam and Charlie’s family.
2026-11-12T16:29:59.000Z
‘Chicago Fire’ star Taylor Kinney shares the date for the franchise’s next crossover, which will bring all three NBC dramas together
2026-11-12T08:52:55.000Z
James Reynolds reveals his Parkinson’s diagnosis and explains why ‘Days of Our Lives’ is bringing it into Abe Carver’s storyline
2026-11-12T08:23:38.000Z
Charlie Vickers and his ‘The Rings of Power’ co-stars hint at Sauron’s next move and the Season 3 moments that left even the cast struggling for words
2026-11-12T07:50:09.000Z
Nearly three decades after their 1997 horror film, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ryan Phillippe are sharing the screen again, this time in the ‘9-1-1’ franchise
2026-11-12T06:55:17.000Z
The Hulu spinoff follows nine MomTok creators in California, with Jen Affleck as the lone original star
2026-11-12T05:10:11.000Z