Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 4, volume 2.
We knew going in that not everyone would be making it out of the second part of season four alive. Unfortunately, the Stranger Things character who ended up sacrificing it all for the sake of the world was someone no one could’ve seen coming.
Spoilers to follow.
As the team prepared to square off against the Vecna, Dustin and Eddie were charged with keeping the Demobats busy, or rather, buying as much time as possible so Steve, Nancy, and Robin could infiltrate the Vecna’s lair and kill his physical body.
The two D&D comrades did just that, starting with Eddie breaking into an epic rendition of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” to attract the Demobats. (That’s right, Kate Bush is going to have to share the spotlight from here on out.) I mean, this is already as badass as it can possibly get, right? What could possibly one-up Eddie playing an electric guitar on top of a caravan in the Upside Down while his friends confront Vecna’s minions?
Well, it seems that there’s a hero in all of us, even the charismatic D&D dungeon master who’d grown convinced that he was a coward. When things go awry and he and Dustin have to return to their own world, Eddie decides to stop running for once and face the swarm of Demobats head-on, which results in an epic, albeit foolhardy, standoff that leaves him mortally wounded. When Dustin catches up to him, it’s already too late, and Eddie dies in his arms.
Addressing that terrible and heart-breaking fate, Joseph Quinn has recently talked to RadioTimes and revealed that he feels lucky to have been a part of that world, even if for a brief run.
“I’m delighted that people have responded in the way that they have done to Eddie, so if they’re missing him, then that’s a lovely thing. It feels very gratifying. […] I think there’s a great beginning, there’s a great middle, and a great end for the character. And as an actor, you want characters with those kinds of arcs. So whilst it would have been great to come back for another season and get together with all those lovely people again, I think it was a brilliantly realized ending for a brilliantly written character.”
I think it’s going to take people a while to lick the emotional wounds the season four finale has left in its wake. And Eddie, despite being a newcomer in this established ensemble, might be responsible for a huge chunk of that. Hawkins might not see the eccentric geek as a hero, but the Stranger Things community will always do — as they do with Barb, Alexei, and Bob.
