This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things 4At first, Stranger Things may have killed Barb to make a point. This was going to be an intense show where anyone could die anytime. To keep the audience on their toes, a death for shock value was likely meant to keep everyone’s attention and give Nancy a reason to join the main storyline. But what was the point of killing Eddie Munson? Killing the beloved supporting character occurred far too late in the season to be taken as a catalyst for anyone’s actions regarding the final battle with Vecna. His death does not even happen immediately after getting Dustin to safety, suggesting he died in a heroic sacrifice.
Eddie Munson’s journey should not have ended in death. Instead, he should have gotten to graduate high school, just like he mentioned wishing to do quickly after his introduction. Sadly, Eddie never had the chance, dying in a moment that could be questioned as a sacrifice in general. Instead, it seems like he was killed for potential shock value or to show that someone who was not the main character did not survive the battle against Vecna. That is not a good enough reason to kill a character.
Another Beloved Supporting Character Death
Netflix
Barb, Bob, and Billy were all supporting characters on Stranger Things who suffered an awful fate. Each of them was brutally murdered by the villain of the season. But, while Barb’s death was a catalyst and one of the first significant events following Will’s disappearance, Bob and Billy each died at the end of seasons two and three, respectively. Eddie’s ending in Stranger Things 4 continues the series’ bad habits. The show is more than willing to send supporting characters to their deaths as a way to show that Hawkins and the Upside Down are dangerous places to be. However, Stranger Things has avoided killing any lead characters, removing the element of stakes for them. Will’s disappearance in season one and Max’s fate in season four are the closest the show has come to real consequences for the main characters.
Allowing Eddie to live would have been a good change of pace for the show. Not all the show’s supporting characters need to suffer a cruel fate to make a point about the dangers of the town. Also, having Eddie live would have broken the show’s cycle of getting the audience to love a supporting character just to kill them later.
Heroism Doesn’t Mean Sacrifice
Sometimes, shows determine that the equivalent of a redemption arc results in self-sacrifice. For example, Eddie does not require a redemption arc, but part of the reason he refuses to run comes from his previous actions following a trend of running away. Except, given Eddie’s circumstances, starting with Chrissy’s death, Eddie’s choices about running away make sense rather than suggesting he is a coward. Eddie is the only witness to Chrissy’s brutal and supernatural death. Having never seen anything like it, Eddie frantically rushes away from the scene. Later, people are under the wrong assumption that Eddie is dangerous or has hurt and killed Chrissy. Finally, having the entire town on his back causes Eddie to flee and hide, things that do not require him to make up for it later.
Eddie is a hero because of how he joined the Hawkins group and participated in dealing with Vecna and the Upside Down, even though it terrified him. Eddie joined in on what was happening even though he could have run from it earlier. However, Eddie did not need to do this to prove himself to be a hero. Although Eddie’s sacrifice is supposed to come off as noble and show character development toward not wanting to run away, even the reason for his death would have made rushing out justifiable.
It Didn’t Make Sense
Part of Eddie’s job during the showdown with Vecna was to distract the bats with Dustin. Eddie does that in part by playing Metallica’s “Master of Puppets.” However, they are forced to hide once the bats reach him and Dustin. With the numerous bats heading toward them, Eddie decides that Dustin does not need to face a cruel fate and forces him back into Hawkins before racing away and having the bats chase him through the Upside Down. However, part of Eddie’s job is still to distract the bats for as long as possible. So, it does not make much sense when he slows down and decides he has had enough of running away and wishes to fight them head-on. Eddie’s job is not to fight the bats to the death. It is simply to distract them long enough for Nancy, Steve, and Robin to reach and kill Vecna.
As Eddie dies, he checks with Dustin that he did not run away this time. While it is meant to be an emotional callback to Eddie’s actions, it is far more confusing. Why did Eddie have to die? He could have kept riding his bike for a while and had the bats rush after him. If Stranger Things 4 wanted Eddie’s death to come as a sacrifice to save Dustin or anyone else, there were other ways to do it to where the scene could have shown that Eddie’s quick-thinking decision had no space to save him. But, the way the scene plays out, it seems as if Eddie is fighting the bats directly for no logical reason.
