Heads up: Major spoilers ahead for anyone who has not had the chance to finish Stranger Things season 4.
Volume 2 of Stranger Things season 4 dropped on July 1, 2022 and ripped our hearts out. While most of the main crew managed to make it out alive, Eddie, played by Joseph Quinn, did not. Eddie “The Freak” Munson was introduced this season but quickly won fans over with his Bambi eyes and genuine kindness. As the leader of the Dungeons & Dragons club called Hellfire, he was seen by the more mainstream residents of Hawkins as a satanic cult leader. But to Dustin, Eddie was like a big brother who stepped in when high school had not been too kind.
Early in the season, Chrissy, the first of Vecna’s victims, went to Eddie for drugs because she was terrified of the hallucinations she was experiencing. Eddie takes her back to his trailer, but Vecna finally claimed her. Horrified and unable to help, Eddie ran away, leaving Chrissy’s body to be found by his uncle. That decision haunted him for the rest of the season. When it was time for him to either run away or sacrifice himself to buy the rest of the crew a little more time, he made sure Dustin was safe and then hopped on a bike to draw the swarm of Demobats away from the trailer. He died in Dustin’s arms, smiling at the fact that this time he didn’t run away. Cue the audience’s tears.
In a recent interview, Joseph Quinn revealed that he must have like Eddie as much as the rest of us. Despite having a fantastic character ark that is now complete, Quinn thinks there is a little room for the metalhead in season 5. First of all, it would be nice to have his name cleared. The town still thinks he was a serial killer despite his bravery. But in a more direct way, there may be room for a cameo or two if the writers felt so inclined to do so. Quinn is quoted saying:
“Me and Joe Keery (Steve Harrington) were discussing ways in which I could kind of…maybe I’d be like a figment of Gaten’s imagination or something. Like if there could be some kind of room for something like that, something a bit supernatural. But my suspicion is that Eddie has done what he needed to do for the [Duffer] brothers.”
RadioTimes
Regardless, Eddie Munson will be missed by the Stranger Things characters and fans alike.