Stranger Things creators reveal Eddie’s alternative ending – and it's still not good

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The Duffer brothers admit Eddie was always "doomed"

Eddie in Stranger Things
(Image credit: Netflix)

**Warning: This article features major Stranger Things season 4, Volume 2 spoilers** 

Eddie Munson can’t seem to catch a break. The beloved character sacrificed himself in the Stranger Things season 4 finale to buy Steve, Nancy, and Robin more time to defeat Vecna. He was swarmed by demobats in the Upside Down, before tragically dying in Dustin’s arms. And now the Duffer Brothers have admitted even if he’d survived, there wouldn’t be much waiting for him.

"In a way, we saw Eddie as a bit of a doomed character,” Matt Duffer said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "Even imagining the flip side of that where he does survive the battle is not a great life awaiting Eddie back in the right side up either. He was always really designed from the get-go as a doomed character."

The creators said Eddie’s story could only conclude with his death as he was always going to be "a tragic character". Ross added: "There was never any other arc for him and there was no 'how do you survive this?'

"At the very end, you see people still drawing devil horns on his head – no one in Hawkins is going to accept a supernatural explanation for this. He would have wound up in jail and this fantasy that he would have been able to walk and graduate sadly was not ever a realistic outcome for him."

Joseph Quinn, who plays Eddie, has said he’d love to return to the role in some form in Stranger Things season 5. However, he admitted that he’s not sure the Duffer brothers have any more plans for his character. 

We’ve broken down all the other major moments in the Stranger Things season 4, Volume 2 ending, including who died in Stranger Things season 4, Volume 2, and all of the Stranger Things season 4, Volume 2 Easter eggs we spotted.

Fay Watson
Fay Watson
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I've also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.