Many of you are familiar with our metal head Eddie Munson in Netflix’s original Stranger Things season 4. Be it his hair, his smile, or how he plays his guitar, he is difficult to forget once noticed. He even died a hero’s death, which is probably the best way to die, considering the other deaths in the series.
Well, don’t worry; if you are unaware of how he died, we cover it in this article. It would be best if you stuck to this article till the end. Let’s learn about him first.
Who was Eddie Munson?
Eddie was a man born in the mid-sixties. He lived with his maternal uncle, Wayne Munson, in Hawkins’ Forest Hills Trailer Park. He was a full metal head and was an electric guitar player in a rock band, Corroded Coffin, since his mid-schooling at Hawkins Mid School.
Later in high school, he led the school’s Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) club, named the Hellfire Club. This club generally consisted of outcast students of the high school who were frequently bullied by their favorite basketball teams. Further, the club was disliked by the town and students alike as they believed it was connected to the worship of Satan.
Eddie was held back in High School due to poor grades and rebellious streaks when he should have graduated in 1984. This might be because he had to get Dustin and other D&D members in the latter year.
There are significant things that Eddie’s life happenings bring into the plot. His relationship with drugs and Chrissy took him to a massive turn in his life. What had happened? How was Chrissy related to his life, and what had happened to her? Let’s find out.
Eddie and Chrissy’s connection
Eddie and Chrissy have known each other since they were in Hawkins Middle School. Somewhere between that time in the school, both had participated in the talented hosted by the school. They have been fond of each other’s talent since that time. Eddie loved Chrissy’s cheerleading, and Chrissy was impressed by Eddie’s rock band.
Both of them never held hostility with the other, yet they glided apart as they began attending Hawkin’s High School. Chrissy was dating the captain of the Hawkins basketball team, Jason Carver, and Eddie was leading Hellfire Club then.
In between all these things, Chrissy was suffering from the emotional abuse of her mother, thus, she was struggling to hide her depression. She used to take the support of drugs to avoid her life’s problems. The one from whom Chrissy frequently buys drugs is none other than Eddie. It’s quite a pity that these middle school friends share a connection later in high school due to drugs!
This later connection between Eddie and Chrissy led to a series of unfortunate events in Eddie’s life. All it began when he witnessed the death of Chrissy. What? Chrissy died, but how did that affect Eddie’s life?
Was Eddie involved in Chrissy’s death?
That day on March 21, 1986, Chrissy was not feeling good. She had left the school and wandered around the forest when Eddie found her in the woods. She was confused and talking about losing her mind, to which Eddie sarcastically admitted that he had lost his mind more often.
Both of them talked about their mid-school days, and after a few conversations, Chrissy asked for something more potent than marijuana. Thus they moved toward his trailer to find her a special K. But then Eddie and Hellfire Club met for their campaign, and Erica was also present.
They all played the D&D game, and Erica and Dustin won. Meanwhile, during the match, Eddie mentioned the Vecna as the game master, and all of them enjoyed the game. After the match, all headed to the party except Eddie and Chrissy, who came to visit his trailer.
He introduced her to his family and his living, and also, he was searching for her a Special K or ketamine. When he returned to her, she was no longer conscious. She was under the Vecna’s curse. He tried to wake her up constantly but failed. She just levitated and got slammed to the ceiling. Then her limbs twisted and snapped. Her jaw got bent, and her eyes burst out. She eventually fell to the ground and died.
Chrissy lost her life in front of Eddie, but this doesn’t mean he killed her. She got killed due to Vecna’s curse. Well, this didn’t go well with Eddie. What happened next to him? You must read further to find out.
What happened to Eddie after Chrissy’s death?
Eddie was wholly devastated after he witnessed the death of Chrissy in a paranormal way just in front of his eyes. As the dead body was found on his trailer and involved in the Hellfire Club, he became the prime suspect of the police, the whole town, and specifically of Chrissy’s boyfriend, Jason. He decided to run and hide from the situation.
Max, Dustin, Steve, and Robin searched for Eddie out of curiosity about his disappearance and found him hiding under a trap in a dock house of Reefer Rick’s home. Eddie was in real trauma then; he held the bottle of beer to Steve’s neck when he was exposed.
Then Dustin succeeded in calming him down, explaining to him that most of them present in the room were on his side. He let Steve go and fell out of despair, grieving about the death of Chrissy. Then the group asked him to explain Chrissy’s death which he did in extreme terror.
He was comforted by the group, and they were also able to explain to him the existence of an upside-down dimension. The pro-D&D players Dustin and Eddie then connected the links and concluded that Vecna was responsible for Chrissy’s death.
Max, Dustin, Robin, Steve, and other members took care of Eddie for a few days. They used to bring him food and update him on the news that he was being hunted madly in the Hawkins. Eddie was being paranoid as time passed.
On the fifth day after the death of Chrissy, her boyfriend Jason, who was searching for Eddie at sky-high levels, finally located his hiding place. Eddie saw him coming, and horrified, he called Dustin to go and help him through a walkie-talkie. Scared, Eddie then sailed into the boat inside the duck house without a second thought.
Jason and Pattrick saw him, and they jumped into the water and swam to follow Eddie. When they were about to reach him, Patrick suddenly came to Vecna’s curse and was drawn into the water. Then he was lifted into the air, and in no time, he was dead.
Eddie managed to escape from there and went opposite Lover’s Lake. Terrified, Jason believed Eddie used his “satanic power” to kill his friend and run from there.
After witnessing Patrick lose his life by the curse of Vecna and Jason after him, Eddie climbed toward Skull Rock to hide. His friends had been there looking for him, and thus all of them reunited. He told them everything about Jason’s chase and Patrick’s death.
The gang confirmed the Vecna’s hand in all these deaths. Further they also predicted a gate to the Upside Down World, the place from where Vecna attacked Patrick, in Lover’s Lake. Thus Eddie, Steve, Robin, and Nancy boarded a gate to find a gate while Eddie and Dustin remained behind.
While reaching the lake, Steve dove at the bottom and found the gate, while he was returning to inform others, he was captured by the tentacles from the Upside Down World. Thus Nancy and then Robin followed him to save him. Well, they were able to save him from Vecna’s bat. Then they came out of the lake, understanding the severity of the situation to unite with Eddie.
Eddie was desperate that he began to curse. Soon, after all of them were alleviated, they decided to head to Wheeler’s home, but soon they stopped in the middle as Steve had to take a breather. Eddie and Steve had a few conversations before they reached Wheeler’s home. Then Nancy, Robin, and Eddie entered Nancy’s room to get the gun to realize they were in 1983 in the Upside Down version of their home.
Suddenly Steve realized that Lucas, Dustin, and Max were talking to Erica in the same home but in the real world. Eddie signaled “S.O.S” through the chandelier. Erica and the other boys got the signal, and Dustin went up to Nancy’s room. He suggested they use another gate to leave the Upside Down World in Eddie’s trailer.
They came up to the nearest gate in Eddie’s trailer. They were frightened by the Vecna’s fissures in the ceiling. Both younger and older groups harmonized together. The younger group created a safe landing pad to escape from Upside Down. Robin and Eddie entered the portal.
Nancy fell under Vecna’s curse as she was about to enter the portal. Steve tried to wake her up, but she went into the Vecna’s world, where she heard his plans for Hawkins after he killed the fourth victim. Then Nancy woke up from the curse and alerted the group of Vecna’s plan to destroy the town.
The group then discussed Nancy’s new findings, and they now had a new urge to save the town; hence they finalized the plans. They stole the trailer for transportation armed with different sorts of weapons. Lucas, Max, and Erica dropped at the Creel House with their schedule. Others drove to Munson’s trailer to enter Upside Down by the gate through which Chrissy had died.
How did Eddie die?
On reaching the gate created by Chrissy’s death, the group divided. Robin, Nancy, and Steve walked to the Creel House through the woods while Dustin and Eddie remained at the trailer to draw away the Demobats reaching the house.
Here came an excellent time for Eddie to show his unique talent. He just grabbed his electric guitar and grasped the attention of the bats by playing a solo of “Master Puppets” by Metallica. However, this repel didn’t last long, as bats came in swarms. Both the boys broke into the trailer, and the Demobats tried to break in there too. They found themselves safe for a while but soon, the Demobats made the way to the trailer.
The boys soon acknowledged that they had to leave Upside Down World to be alive; otherwise, those Demobats would kill them. Thus Dustin came out through the gate, but Eddie refused to follow him. He was sure that the bats would pass through the barricaded door and harm his friend; thus, he lured the bats away from the gate and Dustin by going to the opposite side on a bicycle.
He thought of running, but suddenly he remembered he was not an idol guy all his life, and this time, he wanted to make a change and stand up for himself. Instead, he drew a makeshift shied and spear and started to face the swarms of Demobats that surrounded and overpowered him. They pinned him to the ground and gnawed at his skin.
In this way, we just lost Eddie at the hand of Demobats. Dustin returned to see his friend after Eddie didn’t come from the Upside Down World. He was saddened to see Eddie dying. Dustin held his friend in his arm, who took his last breath there.
Why did they kill Eddie?
What would you call the death of Eddie? Did the makers kill him to take the character out of the story, or was it the demand of the story?
When we talk about Eddie, he is not a brave guy. After witnessing the death of his close friend, Chrissy, he was not courageous enough to face the situation and come in front. Instead, he ran and hid from the problem.
When there was a moment to escape from the Upside Down with Justin, he could have easily climbed the path without thinking twice about Dustin and his other friends, but instead, he chased the Demobats away from his friends to save them.
His death is not lesser than the sacrifice that he has made for his friends. Also, we can’t forget how bravely he has done that. He had lived his whole life running from the situations and not being brave, but he died bravely and selflessly.
What was Eddie’s last word?
After Dustin returns to the Upside Down World for his friend, he can witness his friend, Eddie losing his life due to the Swarms of Demobats. He assured his injured friend that he would be okay and that he would be going to the hospital. Eddie fell into his arms, and Eddie questioned, “I didn’t run this time, right?”
He made Dustin promise that he would take care of his sheep, which meant outcast students of Hawkins High School. Dustin replied he had to do that himself, but he later promised. Then Eddie talked about his graduating this year, and this was his year. He finally said, “I love you, man,” to Dustin with his last breath.
Wrap up
Eddie had run from dangerous situations; his life says it was after Chrissy’s death or after Patrick’s death. But in the end, he had a brave death and sacrificed his life for his friend’s safety. He and his sacrifice would be proudly remembered until after Stranger Things plays on the screen.
