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When wrapping up a show as widely watched and beloved asStranger Things, there are a lot of high expectations and even more questions going into the final season. Will Max (Sadie Sink) ever be revived from her comatose state? What were the Russians planning to do with the Demogorgan they were operating on? Especially considering the long wait between seasons,what year will Season 5 take place in? However, along with big, overarching plot elements, many fans are also concerned about the final fates of their favorite characters. While the focus of those discussions revolves around the kids or Joyce and Hopper, there’s another great character that deserves his own heroic ending as well.
Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman) first made his debut in Season 2 as an eccentric former reporter for theChicago-Sun Timeswho was hired by Barb Holland’s (Shannon Purser) parents following her disappearance. With Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Jonathan’s (Charlie Heaton) help, he was able to provide Barb’s family with closure, even if it wasn’t the exact truth. In later seasons, he was paired up with Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Hopper (David Harbour), first by investigating and invading the Soviet secret base under the Starcourt Mall in Season 3, and then by teaming with Joyce torescue Hopper from a Russian prison camp in Season 4. Murray has proved to be an entertaining and excellent addition toStranger Things, andhe deserves an ending befitting his character.
Murray’s Skills Have Provided Support Over the Seasons
Murray became invaluable in Season 3 when Hopper and Joyce took their hostage, Russian scientist Alexei (Alec Utgoff), to his house in order to translate. Murray is fluent in Russian and even though he most likely learned as a result of his conspiracy theory of a Soviet Union invasion on American soil, it proved to be an essential skill to communicate with Alexei and figure out what kind of experiments the Russians were doing regarding opening up the gates to the Upside Down. Not only was he able to translate what Alexei was saying, his Russian is so good he was able to convincingly chat with guards in the prison camp in Kamchatka. Additionally, Murray is a black belt in karate, which came in handy in subduingYuri (Nikola Djuricko) after he betrayed him and Joyce. It also helped him participate in theknock-out battle against the guards in the prison camp. Murray may make jokes, but when push comes to shove, he can take action as well.
He’s Provided Some Well-Needed Comic Relief
Along with speaking Russian and karate moves, Murray is also quite observant, particularly where unspoken attraction is concerned. In Season 2, he was able to deduce that Nancy and Jonathan were attracted to each other and encouraged them to act on their feelings. In Season 3, he gaveJoyce and Hopper a similar speech, albeit one out of frustration. Nonetheless, these moments have provided some much-needed levity as well as the push both couples needed to take next steps in their relationships. Because of his blunt nature, these scenes were pretty funny as well, providing some light in contrast to some of the serious and even gloomier storylines.
Will Murray Have a Heroic Sacrifice?
What does it mean to have a heroic ending? In some cases, it’s a heroic sacrifice. Last season, Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), after being traumatized and blamed for Chrissy’s death at Vecna’s hand and then blamed for it,went out in a blaze of glory, after shredding “Master of Puppets”. With Murray’s fighting skills, not to mention his sheer glee using the flamethrower last season, if push came to shove, he would go down fighting for the greater good. LikeEddie, he is a more comedic character,so there would be an extra emotional punch for the viewers who have come to love his vodka swilling and sardonic wit. Also, like Eddie, he had the traumatic experience of watching Alexei get assassinated by Grigori after he left the scientist briefly to get them both corn dogs. That said, heroics don’t necessarily mean death. Murray could put himself in harm’s way and survive by the skin of his teeth. Regardless, Gelman has imbued Murray with such charisma and made him so endlessly watchable, it would be great to see him have a heroic moment at the end of Season 5.
Murray Bauman was a breakout character that rose up from recurring to the main cast. He’s a delight to watch, whether its watching cartoons with kidnapped Russian scientists, giving couples hard love advice, or fighting prison guards. Considering thatSeason 5 is hinted to be the best season yet by cast members, surely that means all these beloved characters will have a time to shine. Murray should not be an exception and has proven that he’s an exceptional character who deserves a heroic ending.
Netflix
Netflix is one of the most popular and widely viewed streaming services in the world. Beginning with its mail order DVD service, Netflix has since grown into an entertainment juggernaut, with original shows and movies including Squid Game, Stranger Things, The Irishman, and The Killer.
