Netflix’s Stranger Things fans are taking action by petitioning the series creators, the Duffer brothers, to bring back fan-favorite character Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn). When Stranger Things season 4 premiered on Netflix on May 27th, 2022, it didn’t take long for audiences to latch onto one of the show’s new characters, Eddie. He’s an adorably quirky misfit who doubles as his school’s drug dealer and the leader of its Dungeons & Dragons club, the Hellfire Club. While his unique style and love for heavy metal and D&D make him a bit of an outcast, those who get to know Eddie love him.
In fact, we find out that he’s taken Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) under his wing. As a high school senior, he befriends the two younger boys, ropes them into his D&D group, and makes their integration into high school easier. However, Eddie’s story takes a tragic turn when he is accused of a crime he didn’t commit. Satanic panic takes over, and Hawkins turns against Eddie, judging him based on his appearance and differences rather than actual facts.
Sadly, Stranger Things is pretty notorious for killing off lovable characters in the same season they are introduced. Hence, Eddie’s death in the season 4 finale might’ve been a bit predictable, but that didn’t make it any less devastating for fans. Fortunately, he did die a hero’s death, saving his friends and performing the guitar riff of his life before passing. Still, for those of us who have fallen in love with his character, it’s difficult to wrap our heads around never seeing him again.
Petition to bring back Eddie Munson
Eddie’s large fanbase is now taking action to bring him back by launching a petition on Charge.org. So far, the petition has over 56,000 signatures, and that number is still growing rapidly. Once the petition hits 75,000, it will be one of the top-signed petitions on the website. In the description, the creator of the petition states that Eddie was unfairly killed off in season 4. Hence, they are kindly asking the Duffer brothers to bring him back. Signatures quickly began pouring in after the petition was posted, as well as numerous comments giving lots of love to Eddie.
The number of signatures is a testament to just how big Eddie’s fanbase is. It also captures the frustration many viewers feel over his death. The question lingers: Did he really have to die? Steve (Joe Keery), Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Robin (Maya Hawke), and Dustin all navigated the Upside Down with him, yet all of them made it out unscathed. Not only that, but his death is unbelievably sad when viewers realize he never got to clear his name, prove who he really was to Hawkins, or graduate high school.
While Eddie’s death did feel very final, there have been multiple instances of Stranger Things bringing back characters thought to be dead. Both Hopper (David Harbour) and Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine) were perceived dead, only to return in season 4. Perhaps there is still hope to bring Eddie back, especially with 50,000+ fans rallying for him.
(via Change.org, featured image: Netflix)
