Stranger Things Really Didn't Need To Explain Sara Hopper's Death

Warning: Spoilers for Stranger Things season 4, volume 1!

Stranger Things season 4, volume 1 provided more details into the death of Jim Hopper's (David Harbour) daughter, Sara, but the explanation wasn't needed. Ellie Graham first portrayed Sara Hopper in Stranger Things season 1 when the series provided insight into Hopper's earlier life. Not only did he have a daughter, but he was married to a woman named Diane. However, his family life was clouded in tragedy following Sara's cancer diagnosis.

Stranger Things never revealed the specifics of Sara's illness, but the show implied that her health rapidly deteriorated. After living in Hawkins, the Hopper family relocated to New York. Flashbacks briefly showed Sara's cancer worsen before she tragically passed away at just 7-years-old. Following her death, Hopper and Diane divorced, with the former moving back to Hawkins, where he later became the chief of police. Sara's death left Hopper in a deep state of grief, revealing that he turned to alcohol to deal with his loneliness leading up to the events of Stranger Things season 1. In season 2, Hopper became El's guardian, which was later made official with faked documents listing "Jane Hopper" as El's name.

El's presence continues to give Hopper another chance at being a dad, but that never implied he would ever forget Sara, and rightfully so. Still, Stranger Things oddly felt the need to further explain Sara's death, which essentially made the scenario worse. While any death surrounding a child would have been tragic, the series used season 4's "Chapter Five: The Nina Project" to paint a clearer picture of Hopper's loss and guilt. Hopper shared with Dmitri (Tom Wlaschiha) that he was drafted for Vietnam and put in a unit that unknowingly mixed the chemicals for Agent Orange. He then revealed that kids of the Vietnam veterans who had contact with the chemicals used for the herbicidal warfare went on to develop congenital disabilities and other illnesses, connecting Sara's cancer death to Hopper's past in Vietnam. With that, Stranger Things tried to intensify Hopper's guilt.

Why Stranger Things Revealed More About Sara Hopper's Death

The trauma Hopper faced and continues to struggle with, has been evident since Stranger Things season 1, so it seems odd that the show needed to explain the exact cause of Sara's illness. It's as if the severity of cancer wasn't enough, making the series feel a need to assign a living culprit. This way, the guilt felt by Hopper could be intensified through the link between his time in Vietnam and his willingness to still have a child despite the risks. The reasoning seemingly stems from the show finding another way to push Hopper's story forward with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).

Hopper and Eleven's father-daughter dynamic was a major theme of Stranger Things season 3. Through season 4, volume 1, the pair hasn't had any scenes together, considering Eleven still thinks Hopper died in the facility under the Starcourt Mall. While stuck in the Russian prison, Hopper has been beating himself up on an emotional level by questioning his life choices. He now feels that Eleven could be at risk, and he won't be there to save her after not being able to save Sara. However, the details surrounding Sara's death shouldn't change how Hopper is perceived.

Hopper will always carry guilt and trauma around, but Stranger Things doesn't need to keep reminding viewers of his past with Sara; it's imprinted into his character's penchant for protecting others, specifically Eleven. By giving Eleven the blue hairband previously used by Sara, he wasn't replacing his daughter; he was symbolically promising to carry Sara's memory with him through his bond with El. Looking back, Hopper couldn't have known exactly what would happen to Sara from his time in Vietnam. There was also no doubt that he deeply loved his daughter and would have done anything to trade places with her if he could. Giving him a deeper sense of responsibility regarding her death is unnecessary because it's evident that there were never bad intentions involved. Specifics surrounding Sara's death don't change his Hopper should be viewed through the rest of the series.

More: Jim Hopper's Backstory: Everything Stranger Things Has Revealed

Stranger Things season 4, volume 2 releases July 1, 2022 on Netflix.

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