Stranger Things has one more episode left in the tank, which means, for the more die-hard fans among us, one more chance for the show to make some big sacrifices in its last season to stop Vecna ​​once and for all. The show is definitely teasing the potential for some major tragedies to happen, but fear not, aforementioned scared fans: you don’t have to spend your New Year’s Eve in terror. as Hawkins’ best will be deleted.

“Not at all Game of Thrones. We’re not in Westeros. I like it Game of Thronesbut it’s a very different kind of show than that,” Matt Duffer recently told The Hollywood Reporter bluntly about the deadly stakes that will come in the show’s finale. “There’s no Red Wedding situation going on.”

Instead, the showrunners wanted the show’s finale to focus on a sense of satisfaction, rather than necessarily shock value. “I think there are going to be things at the end that are very shocking, but we’re not trying to shock or upset anybody,” Duffer continued. “I hope that by the time people get to the end of the end that it just feels like there’s something inevitable about what’s going to happen, and that it doesn’t feel painful but feels satisfying. It’s up to us.”

But for all the talk about less pain and more resolution, that doesn’t necessarily mean there not would be anyone’s ultimate sacrifice on the show… and that it’s still not a prominent character. The Duffer brothers are painfully aware that poor Steve Harrington has been getting death flag after death flag that fans have seen as the show goes on, making him an oft-feared candidate to most likely die at the end of the series—but naturally they’re staying mum until the credits roll on whether he’ll make it out of the show in one piece.

“But as for Steve’s fate. I don’t know. I can’t say. It’s the next logical step. He keeps getting beat up more and more,” Matt Duffer joked. “The only way we can continue this is death.”

The final stage of the Stranger Things is on Netflix and theaters in limited capacity this Wednesday, December 31.

Want more io9 news? Check when to expect the latest wonders, Star Warsand Star Trek releases, what’s next for DC Universe in film and TVand everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.