Summary
- Eddie Munson was a beloved character in Stranger Things season 4, known for his humor, style, and hidden kindness. His tragic death is foreshadowed in a new prequel book, providing insight into his formative years and the events that led to his demise.
- Music was an important emotional outlet for Eddie, who saw it as a way to transcend his troubled past and become a hero. His love for music also connected him to his late mother, adding to the sadness of his sacrifice.
- Eddie’s character arc in season 4 was significant, showing his growth from a troubled rebel to a compassionate hero. Despite his extreme appearance, he had a heart of gold, and his death, although tragic, was fitting for his legendary story.
Fan favorite metalhead and dungeon master Eddie Munson gave his life for Dustin and his friends, and a new prequel foreshadows his tragic death in Stranger Things season 4. Along with the villainous Vecna, Eddie was the breakout character of season 4 thanks to his quirky sense of humor, sense of style, and rough exterior that hid a heart of gold. When he perished in the Upside Down distracting Vecna, Dustin was able to escape the demobats and return to his friends, but he grieved alongside fans for his brave and righteous friend.
There are many fan theories that discuss ways Stranger Things can bring Eddie back, but if he’s actually dead, fans can take solace in Strange Things: Flight of Icarus which follows Eddie during his formative years. It might not be the same as seeing Eddie in the flesh and throwing devil horns, but the novel explains things only die-hard fans know about Eddie, as well as how he started the Hellfire Club, how he became friends with Dustin and Mike. Most of all, it shows how his tastes in music led up that fateful night when Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” saved the day.
Eddie Munson’s Music Perfectly Matches His Stranger Things Season 4 Death
An excerpt of Stranger Things: Flight of Icarus from EW shows how much Eddie’s music perfectly explains the message behind his season 4 death; “This music takes you on an adventure, to another world where you’re, like, facing down demons.Traveling into the depths of hell. My mom’s music was plane tickets. I guess that makes my music a portal to another dimension.” Eddie clearly views music as an emotional outlet capable of transporting a person through a journey of transformation, which, given the tragic backstory of his life, makes a lot of sense.
Eddie came from a broken home and had a fractured childhood, which is why he’s so combative and rebellious when fans meet him in Stranger Things season 4. As he explains to Dustin and the gang, it’s important for him not to keep running, from persecution from the citizens of Hawkins for playing Dungeons & Dragons and being considered a devil worshiper, or from Vecna. Music gives Eddie the strength to become the righteous hero of his own story, capable of selfless sacrifice and altruism, even if his outward exterior suggests otherwise.
Stranger Things’ Prequel Is Already Making Eddie Munson’s Death Sadder
Not only does Eddie’s love of music help him tolerate a world of prejudice, but it also connects him to his mother. She inspired his love of music and by embracing it, he relates to her even after her death. This new piece of information from the Eddie prequel makes his death in Stranger Things even sadder when fans consider that he sacrificed himself in order to save his chosen family of Dustin, Mike, Lucas, Max, Will, and Eleven. Like the Greek myth of Icarus using homemade wings to escape his captors and ending up flying too close to the sun, Eddie’s heart was always in the right place.
One of the reasons that Eddie resonates so much with fans is because he had one of the most meaningful and important character arcs in the season. Even though he looked extreme and dabbled in illegal activities, he was compassionate and kind, and when he finally decided to stand up for something good, he became the hero of his own epic story. His death in Stranger Things might have been tragic, but after reading his origin story, it’s not hard to see why it happened in the legendary way that it did.
Source: EW