Everyone knows Hawkins, Indiana is dangerous, but it seems to be extra dangerous for the kindhearted misfits. (Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Stranger Things Season 2.) After just a few episodes of making watching Mr. Mom and saying "easy peasy" seem like the most romantic things ever, Stranger Things killed off Bob. Sean Astin's slightly awkward, big-brained character was just too pure for this world, but that doesn't mean it was easy to watch him go. In fact, even the writers want more Bob, which begs the question, could Stranger Things' Bob survive?
OK, so probably not. Bob's Episode 8 death was gruesome. The camera doesn't exactly pan away when the demodogs eat poor Bob alive just moments after he saves everyone's lives by unlocking the doors of the Hawkins lab. The sweet character went out on a high note after having his superhero moment, and bringing him back to life would feel like a cheat. However, that doesn't mean the series has to say goodbye to Bob forever.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Matt and Ross Duffer revealed that they would love to find a way to bring good old Bob back. Matt told EW,
"I have some Bob ideas but I don't know what to do with him. I will say I would love to revisit the character of Bob in some way but I don't know how to even do that."
While a present day return for Bob is almost certainly off the table, there's plenty of room for the character to return in flashbacks. Since Joyce, Hopper, and Bob all went to school together, there's no reason a high school-era set episode couldn't shine the spotlight on Hawkins' A.V. Club founder one more time. Hey, who says weird stuff has only been happening in Hawkins since the '80s? Maybe something important went down when Bob, Hopper, and Joyce were teens too.
Just knowing that the Duffers love Bob as much as everyone else does is reassuring. It doesn't guarantee the character will miraculously return, but it does mean if there's a way to see Bob again, they'll probably make it happen. It seems the brothers already put off Bob's death once. They told EW that Joyce's boyfriend was originally set to die in episode four, but they loved Astin's performance so much they decided to keep him around a little while longer.
Ross explained to EW why Bob had to die, even though they really didn't want him to go. He said,
"Bob was always intended to die, but we fell in love with Sean and what he was doing with this character. He was supposed to die in like Episode 4 and we just kept keeping him alive because he was so great and what he added to the show. Once we got to eight, we were like, we either got to do this or not do this. But I think it was important in terms of the stakes of the show. This is not a kids' show and there are consequences and people do die. But we are sad to lose him because he really just blew us away."
They're no sadder than the fans who became attached to big-brained Bob during their Stranger Things Season 2 marathon. Astin imbued the character with so much gentleness and devotion, it was hard not to fall as hard as Joyce did. At least his exit won't leave fans begging for justice, like they did with Barb. There was nothing unceremonious about Bob's heroic end, and that fact is not lost on Astin.
The actor told EW that he just had one request for the Duffers, "I was like, "I don’t care if Bob dies, but if I could do something heroic, I would love that. Just anything heroic." No justice required for Bob.
Bob definitely had his big hero moment, but that doesn't mean Stranger Things fans are going to stop hoping that the Duffers figure out how to make their Bob plans happen, because there's no such thing as too much of this amazing character.
