--- title: Alexei Is the True Hero of Stranger Things Season 3 description: With an adorable face that could melt your heart and one Slurpee sip, Alexei emerged as a true hero of Stranger Things season 3. canonical: https://time.com/5621877/stranger-things-3-alexei/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-07-08T13:54:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T22:41:06.000Z og:title: People Are Head Over Heels With the Real Hero of 'Stranger Things' og:description: He had us at one adorable Slurpee sip og:url: https://time.com/5621877/stranger-things-3-alexei/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a55b4cc96c95f6e/6989ff1b656a3f1c9cbd87ca/stranger-things-season-3-hopper.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: STRANGER THINGS og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: People Are Head Over Heels With the Real Hero of 'Stranger Things' twitter:description: He had us at one adorable Slurpee sip twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a55b4cc96c95f6e/6989ff1b656a3f1c9cbd87ca/stranger-things-season-3-hopper.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Internet Is Head Over Heels for a True Hero of _Stranger Things_ Season 3 > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:41 PM UTCPublished: Jul 8, 2019 1:54 PM UTC  STRANGER THINGS STRANGER THINGS Netflix by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:41 PM UTCPublished: Jul 8, 2019 1:54 PM UTC **Warning**: This post contains spoilers for [_Stranger Things_](https://time.com/5621012/stranger-things-3-suzie/). He had us at one Slurpee sip. We already told you Russian scientist [Alexei (Alec Utgoff](https://time.com/5614921/stranger-things-3-questions/)) was an amusing, delightful, valuable player, and now that people have devoured the show, the internet is in agreement: he’s a hero. People fell in love a few times over the weekend with quite a few characters, but Alexei stands out. While he was not long for this world, the man made his mark. This guy. After Joyce (Winona Ryder) and [Jim Hopper (David Harbour](https://time.com/5614771/stranger-things-3-hopper-death/)) captured him as their hostage, he made a swift ascent to beloved angel. From his love of Woody the Woodpecker to his particular fondness for a fruity drink, he was one endearing adult. Even by the indisputably high standards for cuteness on a show about pure children fighting a monster, he set off a powerful Great Guy Alert across Twitter and Reddit. A brief breakdown of his accomplishments: He cooperated with Joyce, Hopper and Murray (Brett Gelman), even going so far as to patiently communicate with Joyce about the top secret “machine.” Suffice it to say that comedy as pure as Alexei’s heart ensued. He drank a Slurpee like this. The engine of his intended getaway car exploded. And his demise was enough to give fans whiplash. And when he finally went down at the hands of Russian muscle at the Fun Fair, he was perhaps never happier. Just moments before he was killed, he had immediately endeared himself to the locals. He successfully proved one of the carnival games was not rigged at all, and he was flashing a million-watt smile carrying his stuffed prize en route to his new pal Murray. That’s how we’ll remember him. Joyful. There were demands to get the man his own Slurpee machine. Yes, in heaven, this gentleman should get whatever he wants. Pour one out for him today. Strawberry and cherry are both acceptable to him. In times like these, it’s best to look at the happy memories, which we shall cherish. Here’s a sampling of reactions to Alexei below. Long live [Alexei’s best moments](https://time.com/5614771/stranger-things-3-hopper-death/) in _Stranger Things_ season 3. > [](https://twitter.com/vstraighttohell/status/1147089730976092160) > [](https://twitter.com/robinscoopsahoy/status/1147728945468628997) > [](https://twitter.com/paulmorisette/status/1147993195344748544) > [](https://twitter.com/hollandxfinn/status/1148085893523263488) > [](https://twitter.com/robinshawkins/status/1147519159883972608) Through the chaos, he was cool, calm and collected. > [](https://twitter.com/BLEH%5F17/status/1147314752567169025) As the saying goes, only the good die young. That is the case with Alexei. > [](https://twitter.com/SoxJohnny210/status/1146980263819382786) > [](https://twitter.com/robinshawkins/status/1147519159883972608) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5621877/stranger-things-3-alexei/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5621877/stranger-things-3-alexei/"},"headline":"The Internet Is Head Over Heels for a True Hero of Stranger Things Season 3","datePublished":"2019-07-08T13:54:04.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T22:41:06.000Z","description":"He had us at one adorable Slurpee sip","url":"https://time.com/5621877/stranger-things-3-alexei/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","Stranger Things","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a55b4cc96c95f6e/6989ff1b656a3f1c9cbd87ca/stranger-things-season-3-hopper.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a55b4cc96c95f6e/6989ff1b656a3f1c9cbd87ca/stranger-things-season-3-hopper.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"STRANGER THINGS","caption":"Alexei on Stranger Things","creditText":"Netflix","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5621877/stranger-things-3-alexei/","name":"The Internet Is Head Over Heels for a True Hero of Stranger Things Season 3"}}]}] ```