Stranger Things: Who Is The American?
2. Chief Jim Hopper
When fan favorite and dad-bod extraordinaire Jim Hopper met his heartbreaking fate by sacrificing himself so Joyce could close the gate, fans were crushed and it made his demise so hard to accept. This was especially true since all this happened after he killed the Russian Terminator and agreed to go on a date with Joyce. (Let’s be honest the writing was on the wall after that)
Some speculate that Hopper could have survived the explosion, possibly by jumping into the Upside Down, and was then captured by the Russians. Hopper was already on the Russian's radar as they were chasing him throughout the season and even would refer to him simply as "the American." As hard as it was to accept Hopper’s demise, it would be just as hard if not more to accept this sort of comeback.
At the same time, Hopper was/is so beloved and his “death” was so emotional, it’s pretty safe to say fans would just look past this Han Solo-like brush with death because they’d be too thrilled, this writer included.
Also, to be perfectly fair, Hopper has survived the Upside Down before.