Why Eddie Munson from Stranger Things became the internet’s favourite doomed hero

Stranger Things isn’t just a TV show—it’s an emotion to many who have ardently followed this show since its launch back in 2016. It takes you back to the 1980s. The show is laced with a masterful blend of analog nostalgia and portrayals of small-town Indiana.

Stranger Things offers you surreal horror and a fictional dimension called the Upside Down. Even though the palette is retro, the show uses themes that are timeless. It is an emotional rollercoaster mixed with a dash of the unbelievable: outcasts searching for family, the trauma associated with adolescence, and the unavoidable cost of fighting monsters.

Note: This piece contains spoilers. Reader's discretion advised

Who is Eddie?

Eddie Munson from Stranger Things (Image via Netflix Tudum)

For four seasons, the show has introduced us to characters who have to balance their way into survival. In the world of Stranger Things, danger does not lurk far. Finally, after three seasons full of fights and fear, we were introduced to Eddie Munson. His is a name that has been etched into internet folklore. Eddie was not a part of the original gang. He makes a wild entry as an outsider, as the leader of Hawkins High’s Hellfire Club. Donning the leather jacket, unruly hair, and unapologetic weirdness, Eddie became a character that lived everywhere from memes to memories. Although initially many thought that Eddie would be a side character—an add-on that would later be discarded. But just as we thought of it, the writers were planning their 'A' game.

He becomes so much more. His arc shone brightly even amidst the danger and thrill-laced intense plot. His story resonates and cuts the deepest, not only because it takes us by shock, but because it ends exactly as the signs foretold: with his tragedy.

Eddie's character may seem freakish to many, and his appearance may raise eyebrows. But underneath all this discomforting criticism, Eddie shows many admirable qualities like kindness and emotional depth.

Why is Eddie a doomed character?

(Contains spoilers: reader's discretion advised)

In many tragedies and movies, we find protagonists or main characters falling prey to their own fate. But Stranger Things' Eddie, on the other hand, was a doomed character right from the start. His was a character laced with many challenges. His very introduction portrays him as an outsider— too proud and too misunderstood to exist comfortably in the town of Hawkins. From the very start, he is falsely accused of the cruel death of Chrissy Cunningham. Stranger Things' Chrissy Cunningham was a cheerleader who was herself battling with her own demons.

Eddie's existence becomes risky as the village soon turns hostile and turns into a mob. Eddie has no option but to go on hiding. While he had an option to run away, Eddie chose to stay and help those who misunderstood him.

What else could be more tragic? This is the classic, tragic arc where a pariah tries his best to prove he’s not the bad guy. The writer uses a masterful foreshadowing technique to foretell his fate through every decision he makes. He cares deeply for Dustin, risking his safety in the Upside Down. His death isn’t just a plot point—it’s a thematic mirror to how society punishes those it fails to understand.

What made Stranger Things' Eddie internet's favourite doomed character?

(Contains spoilers: reader's discretion adviced)

1.Joseph Quinn's iconic performance as Eddie

One of the reasons why Eddie's character is so memorable is Joseph Quinn’s magnetic performance. With his acting skills, Eddie's chaotic energy was brought out and his vulnerability was contoured. Joseph Quinn has been a celebrated actor who has later featured in A Quiet Place: Day One. With his role in Stranger Things, Eddie Munson appears both exaggerated and authentic. A character who is loud but never empty.

This is precisely why the internet took time to appreciate him in memes and memories.

2. Eddie subverts common expectations

Stranger Things (Image from Netflix Tudum)

As a tragic character, Eddie also subverts expectations. The 1980s was a period of panic amongst the masses around metalheads and D&D players. Some even labelled them as devil worshippers. Looking back at that time, Stranger Things doesn’t just acknowledge that stigma—it challenges the narrative and builds it into Eddie’s arc. Eddie dismantles this all the while adhering to the metalhead trope. He’s not evil, as many misunderstood him to be, but he’s kind, sympathetic, and earnest.

Contrary to expectations, Eddie is not violent either! He is gentle and caring. Let us just say that in a world where strangeness of any kind often makes people feel isolated, the internet loves him not despite his strangeness, but because of it.

3. Eddie is the outsider who lives within

Eddie also pays a heartfelt salute to the outsider in all of us. It is precisely why we adore him as a character. He is not part of the gang per se; he is isolated; he is a new entrant. His character may resonate with that kid who got bullied in school or the adult who felt isolated standing in a room full of people. He is an extension of all those people who never felt “normal.”

Viewers have their individual opinions, and on this consensus too, many may differ. After all, that is all reviews are all about: viewers expressing their opinion of it. But when his character met his ultimate doom, the internet did not just mourn him—it saw a part of themselves in him. To Eddie fans on the internet, he is that Tumblr user who faced too much, every Redditor who tried every day to fit in.

4. Eddie's tragedy drew emotions

As appreciated as Eddie's character is on the internet, his arc was one laced with doom. Eddie dies tragically and brutally. An end many wept through for days together. He dies with a smile.

It all happened fast. Eddie the outsider tried saving his friends by luring a swarm of Demobats away. As 'Master of Puppets' played on his electric guitar, his fate was sealed. He was soon swarmed by the Demobats and died protecting his friends.

5.Eddie became a part of popculture

As viewers wiped their eyes, the love for this character also surpassed theater and Netflix screens. Fans didn’t just grieve his death—they raged against it with emotional memes and pop cultural tributes.

Fan fiction tried every way to rewrite the ending, aiming for a reality where Stranger Things still had their favorite metalhead going on with his pal Dustin.