By all accounts, Alexei should be a bad guy. The Russian scientist is trying to open the gate to the Upside Down, after all. However, the Slurpee-loving fellow turns out to be instrumental in helping Joyce and Hopper figure out what the Russians are up to and telling them how to stop the Gate from being opened. Along the way, Alexei finds joy in all-American pastimes like going to the carnival — unfortunately, that's where he meets his end. After winning an oversize Woody the Woodpecker, a Russian operative shoots Alexei for betraying his country, and he dies with his translator Murray by his side.