In Stranger Things 5, Eddie Munson returns to haunt the narrative. Dustin Henderson’s overwhelming grief and pain at the loss of him, and Steve Harrington’s more complex version of the same, color every interaction between the beloved Stranger Things duo in their final chapters. And this invocation of his ghostly presence allows Eddie’s arc in the series to finally find a more restful conclusion than the one it was initially given. While Eddie was a beloved character in Stranger Things 4, the shape of his story and the conclusions the show seemed to invite us to draw from it left many of his fans ultimately unsatisfied. In Stranger Things 5, the narrative revisits its thoughts on Eddie’s legacy, his bravery, and his death. And thankfully, it adjusts them in ways that make much more sense for the character. Would it have been better to bring Eddie Munson back to life on Stranger Things? Definitely. But is this more than I expected for Eddie? Also yes.
I won’t go into my full argument about why Eddie’s death on Stranger Things was neither noble nor necessary in this piece. If you want to revisit that particular discussion, you can head to my article about it here.
But I will return to the series’ concluding thoughts about Eddie in Stranger Things 4, which left a truly bad taste in my mouth. In the scene between Dustin and Wayne Munson, Dustin tells Wayne, “I wish everyone had gotten to know him. Really know him. Because they would have loved him… Even in the end, he never stopped being Eddie, despite everything. I never even saw him get mad. He could have run. He could have saved himself. But he fought. He fought and died to protect this town. This town that hated him. He isn’t just innocent… He’s a hero.” And this sentiment, taken together with the rest of Eddie’s scenes in the series, creates a kind of thesis for his whole arc, which roughly translates to: “Eddie had previously been a selfish coward, but when he finally turned to face danger and died for the town that hated him, he could, at last, be called a hero.”
As I’ve said before, this takeaway, as presented by Stranger Things 4, is total nonsense. The framing of Eddie’s death as a noble sacrifice that he willingly made to save Hawkins, a town that happily crucified him without a thought, does not remotely do the character justice. As an Othered individual who made space for those around him to be themselves in a suffocating, judgmental world, the idea that Eddie’s worth would be measured by a desire to die so that the town that stood for everything he most hated could survive is an insult at best.
It’s an insult to character. But more importantly, it’s an insult to the very real people who saw themselves represented in Eddie in our own world. A slap in the face to all the lost sheep who watched Stranger Things and loved the character that was brave in his rejection of norms and strong in his convictions to his true self… Only to see the story explain that his bravery only existed when falling on the sword to protect those who hated him.
In all honesty, I never thought I’d even remotely get over that conclusion. But perhaps, upon reflection, or perhaps bolstered by some of the real-world sentiments about Eddie, Stranger Things 5 manages to revisit the show’s conclusions about Eddie Munson and shift them to a more appropriate place. It’s a place that perhaps doesn’t feel good (only allowing Eddie to fully live his life would do that), but it is palatable and eases some of the anger in my chest. And like many good things on the show, it involves Steve and Dustin.
“He saved no one.” Steve Harrington tells an irate Dustin Henderson as they finally have their all-out fight about the ghost of Eddie between them in Stranger Things 5, Volume 2. “That night, I told you not to be heroes. I told both of you. What did Eddie do? He charged into a swarm of killer bats… Eddie wanted to play hero, and he made a dumb call, and he got himself killed.” Although Steve’s angry retort sounds harsh on the outset, his framing of Eddie’s death, both on the surface and deeper in its nuances, is miles better than the previous version Stranger Things offered us.
Honestly, even just on the face of it, as mean it might be in situ, the narrative telling us on-screen that Eddie’s death was not some mandatory act of nobility, but, in fact, needn’t have happened at all is already a major improvement on its previous take. Someone saying out loud that Eddie didn’t have to die, that he didn’t have to martyr himself for Hawkins to be important, is so much better than the notion that there was anything inherently heroic in his sacrifice.
Of course, the idea that Eddie was just dumb and only wanted to be a hero for heroism’s sake is all wrong. But, while that’s what Steve is saying with his words, it’s not really what he means. If we take a closer look at his outburst over Eddie in Stranger Things 5, Volume 2, Steve’s anger doesn’t really have to do with Eddie charging into a sea of demobats. No, the emotional eruption is about how “all of [Dustin’s] bullshit, pushing everyone away,” pushing Steve away for the last 18 months, was caused by Eddie’s death. His anger comes from the way Eddie’s choices shattered Dustin, and by proxy, Steve, who loves him.
In fact, Steve is basically saying what all of Eddie’s fans have been saying since Stranger Things 4: that everything would have been much better if Eddie Munson had prioritized staying alive. That his life, his love, and his impact on everyone around him would have been much more worth it than his death. In the implications of Steve’s sentiments, we receive that Eddie touched Dustin so deeply and changed his life so thoroughly that without him, Dustin is falling apart. Eddie’s greatest achievement is not some selfless sacrifice for Hawkins, but the way his love touched Dustin.
Dustin’s words about Eddie in Stranger Things 5, Volume 2, long-bubbling in his chest, are an even more fitting summation of why Eddie is a hero on Stranger Things. Possibly, the best summation we’ve heard to date on the series. Although the sentiments are pointed to cut Steve, it doesn’t make them any less true. Dustin says that Eddie was “a real friend, who actually believed in me, who was actually kind to me. He wasn’t perfect, but at least he knew that… He was never fake. He didn’t care what other people thought about him. He was just himself. And you know what, he was the smartest, kindest person I’ve ever met.”
In Stranger Things 4, Eddie himself, with the backup singer of the narrative, was so focused on how he was a coward and not a hero that it was hard to hear anything else. But the idea of Eddie being the kindest person on Stranger Things is so apt and so obvious to anyone who really stopped to think about the character. Eddie was kind to Dustin. He was kind to Chrissy. He was not a fearsome tough guy; he was soft, he cried easily, and he wore his heart on his sleeve. And that is EXACTLY why Eddie was so great. None of these parts of him were cowardly, as the narrative previously suggested; “kind” is SUCH a better description and a much better frame for understanding everything Eddie did during his time on the show than “cowardly.”
Then, of course, there’s the crux of it, for Dustin, for viewers, for everyone. The true bravery of Eddie on Stranger Things, the true strength of him. Dustin says, “He was just himself.” And in being just himself, he made a space for Dustin, Mike, Lucas, and the rest to be just themselves, too. He bravely put himself out there despite any personal cost to show those whom he loved that it was okay to embrace who they were, too, society be damned.
More than anything, Eddie deserves to be honored for his bravery in making a safe space for those around him. And Stranger Things 5 finally makes some room for that on-screen, overtly praising Eddie for being “just himself,” and being “kind,” for believing in Dustin. And that is a heck of a lot better than the show trying to sell Eddie being a “hero” because he “fought and died to protect this town. This town that hated him.”
Ultimately, after the anger between Steve and Dustin subsides, Steve offers us a new conclusion about why Eddie is a hero and what his death really meant on Stranger Things. Steve gives us this new last thought about Eddie in Stranger Things 5, Volume 2. “Eddie… He saved your life. Our lives. And I know what he meant to you. I can’t even imagine how hard it’s been.” Eddie’s true legacy on Stranger Things is Dustin. Eddie taught Dustin the most important lessons of his life, a slew of sentiments that Dustin holds close to his chest now, that he’s learned to embrace, that he’ll no doubt teach others around him in need of guidance.
If Eddie died to save Dustin’s life, not to save Hawkins, not to help those that hated him, but to save Dustin, then I accept Eddie’s death as worth it on Stranger Things. And although we, as Eddie’s fans, already knew this to be a truer explanation of Eddie’s sacrifice, Stranger Things 5 finally seems to offer us that perspective as well. Finally, we hear that Eddie died so that Dustin can go on living another day. Dustin, whom Eddie taught that he doesn’t have to be scared to be who he is, Dustin, who finally realized doesn’t need to change because of Eddie, Dustin, whom Eddie loved and loved him back. That is a heroic sacrifice.
Do I think that Eddie deserved to have remained alive on Stranger Things, to triumph over those who hated him, reign victorious in the glory of living his unruly life, and deliver his sheepies to the promised land? Definitely, yes. Do I wish Eddie could have come back from the dead for another chance to do the very same? 100%, yes.
Does it ease something inside of me that the final mentions of Eddie’s sacrifice in Stranger Things 5 are no longer “he died protecting the people who hated him and that made him a hero” and instead, “he died protecting the person he most loved, who will carry on his legacy and ensure his kindness and strength be remembered for what they were…“ Also, yes. Stranger Things‘ treatment of Eddie Munson and his death will forever hurt my heart, but I’m glad, at least, that it finally seems to understand him.
(Bring Eddie back, you cowards.)
Stranger Things 5, Volume 1 and Volume 2 are now streaming on Netflix.
Rotem Rusak is the Editor-in-Chief at Nerdist. She’s spent way too long thinking about Stranger Things’ Steve, Dustin, and Eddie, but they are the best parts of the narrative.