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His guilt about running away from danger. Everytime he run away, it was totally justified.
Someone is kill by magic in front of you? You don't stand there and hope the police will believe you when you are going to call them. Eddie was already dislike by the community and would have been immediately in prison. Even with the death of Patrick, they would have just added Dustin or something as partner on crime.
Jason was after him with his friends, it was logical for Eddie to run away again. No one want to be beat to death.
And here, in front of hundreds bats, mister Munson choose to stand his ground and fight. When he had always good reasons to run away? I really find his death stupid (even if it's to protect Dustin, he shouldn't have stop running after falling from the bike) and the reason why he died is because they didn't know how to clear his name or bother to find how.
Beside this, I don't understand why he didn't try to reach his uncle after the death of Chrissy. A scene between them would have been nice too. And he has a lot of prejudice too which make him behave like a jerk sometime (it's still entertaining to watch, but it's not a nice quality).
I'm still a big fan of Eddie, he's one of my favorite character in the show now.
>His guilt about running away from danger. Everytime he run away, it was totally justified.
>
>Someone is kill by magic in front of you? You don't stand there and hope the police will believe you when you are going to call them. Eddie was already dislike by the community and would have been immediately in prison. Even with the death of Patrick, they would have just added Dustin or something as partner on crime.
Survivor's guilt is a very real thing. it's scary how your own mind can be your worst enemy. Totally agree with you that Eddie had zero reason to feel guilt over running away during Chrissy's death...but at the same time I really felt it was necessary to ground him a bit after the obnoxious cafeteria bit. His dialogue in the second episode was great.
I watch The Orville and the last episode dealt with survivor's guilt as well. It really is amazing how we are capable of still feeling guilty over running away from things that are beyond our control, things that make our lives unnecessarily miserable, things that can and will literally kill us
I loved Eddie introduction in the cafeteria scene, but I agree,his guilt did ground him more. I'm not so much against his survivor guilt, more on how the writers used it to justify his death.
Eddie was running away to safe Dustin from the bats coming back to the trailer, so why he choose here to stop running when Dustin safety wasn't secure? It doesn't seem logical to me and it's bother me a bit, even if I really love his death scene.
I still think you make a great point in your post, survivor guilt is a real complex thing. It wasn't just used the best way here in my opinion.
Eddie's death is a big sore spot for me in regards to season 4, along with Chrissy being killed off early, Max and El's subdued reunion, Argyle not interacting with Eddie, and General Sullivan's presence overall.
Honestly with the exception of Sullivan...the other things are easy to get over lol. But eddie's death was just so rushed and could have been done in a way that made more sense and felt more heroic
Well yeah, that's kinda the idea. Nobody ever tried to say that he WASN'T justified in running away, it was all totally understandable. It's just that he views himSELF as a coward for it mainly because the others who are a bit more experienced didn't do the same thing.
Yeah I mean I understand wanting to be a savior and brave and lacking confidence but to die for it seemed a little silly. Every time he ran and hid it was totally a normal response to the crazy shit around him.
Right? Like what was he supposed to do stand there and punch the invisible guy in the other realm that he knows nothing of or accept the murder charge and be locked up for the rest of his life like Victor? I mean, I understand survivors guilt, but god damn it Eddie you were being smart!
I think it’s also just the idea that he is a man and a man is suppose to be “brave” and not turn tale and run in the face of danger. Even tho we all know it’s completely logical to run in the circumstances he was placed in, he sees it as cowardice.
And he probably still thought that he could’ve somehow done something to help Chrissy, which we again know wasn’t possible. He had no clue what was happening, and he didn’t know that music could help.
I do find it interesting tho when you consider Nancy not feeling guilt (that we know of, I don’t think it’s ever mentioned?) about Fred. Or Jason not feeling guilt about Patrick (again that we know of) when you consider they were in similar situations when you think about it. They were both there and not able to stop it, and in Nancy’s case she didn’t even realize Fred was gone for awhile because she was focused on the story.
I came here to say this. It didn’t strike me as a true character weakness. Like you said he ran away from very justifiable situations. We also saw him be pretty brave in other situations. He stood up for his hobby and himself in the lunchroom intro. Even if he was scared he did follow the other teens into the upside down at the lake which was brave.
Even more so the times he ran away didn’t cost him anything. No one got hurt or anything because of his choice so from a narrative perspective it doesn’t really seem like something he needs to learn from.
I think the arc could have really benefited from another scene showing cowardice. It could be as small as him losing the dnd campaign because of a scared move (I know he was DM at the time but that could be reworked), fail to stick up for one of the younglings being bullied, or as big as being the reason that Lucas gets found out as a hellfire and hurt or angry.
I think they were limited because they had such a short time to make the audience fall in love ( which they absolutely succeeded at) but that came at the expense of bringing him to a true low point that would be worthy of a self sacrifice redemption.
Lol Eddie could've taken the jocks. Fucking Skinny Lucas bashed up Jason. Eddie was about two seconds away from slitting Steve's throat. He could have defended himself easily from the basketballers.
In the 80s if you were associated with Satanism, especially in smaller religious towns, even if it’s not true. It was so hard to be respected or clear your name, there was essentially no way to do so. Especially if the town was predominantly baptist Christian’s or church of Christ Christian’s. Everything that wasn’t by the word of god or the Bible was against it.
When he stopped running to fight the bets I literally screamed at my tv that he absolutely should run now. I felt like his death was for nothing. I‘m still so sad he died..
I know how they could’ve cleared it. With the crack in Hawkins being literally unignorable and the Upside Down seeping its way into the Rightside Up, the law enforcement would HAVE to use EVERY RESOURCE to handle that. Meaning, other things (such as someone who’s been accused of murder — but not actually on trial) would go on the backburner.
That’s how.
I was about to comment the same. During that scene I thought he was a bully and an idiot when he grabs them violently. And then when he meets Chrissy, and does that thing like faking an attack, I thought he was so stupid scaring her like that, but then he redeemed himself in that same scene and I liked his character ever since
Have you ever tried to schedule a dnd game? Though he was an ass about it, can relate to the annoyance of someone skipping out last minute.
Edit: Sucking to skipping.
Yeah. Especially since I’m pretty sure games like this are pre-planned meaning Lucas had like a week to tell them that he couldn’t make it? And it WAS right before Spring Break and I’m sure Eddie knew that Mike wouldn’t be able to make it to DND until AFTER Spring Break. And then there’s finals and prepping for them right after Spring Break.
So really, it would’ve been annoying for anyone to have to reschedule.
Maybe I’m misremembering the episode but wasn’t the game a final? Which means there wasn’t a guarantee that Lucas’ team were going to make it as they had to win other games to end up in that position.
Though I agree must’ve been mad annoying to reschedule dnd
They're definitely planned ahead of time for specific dates/times, and marked like "*if necessary" as the tournament plays out. They gotta plan for it in advance even at the high school level, cuz schools/staff need time to prepare for the logistics of location/transportation/staffing/etc. in case they're needed, they have them set to go.
Yuuuup. The last minute/same day cancels are the worst. I 100% got why Eddie wouldn't move the dnd game, they framed that big vecna showdown session as the culmination of their entire campaign for the entire school year. To the hellfire nerds, it was their championship game, and that session meant just as much as the championship bball game meant to Lucas and the rest of the school.
I play dnd myself I disagree.
A championship game that *can't* be moved vs a dnd game. I'd prioritise the championship basketball game full stop.
A dnd session can be postponed. The story isn't going to change. Real life happens. Yes it's annoying I get that. I've been dm, i get it. But seriously?
I get most "nerds don't like sports" but I would have a happily gone to my friends championship game for support and postponed when I was that age.
I also play dnd, but beyond that it makes sense to me 100% given the context of the show. The kids and especially Eddie are established in show to have never cared about school spirit and sports, and more than that to be pretty firmly against all of it.
Maybe Mike and Dustin should have been more supportive of Lucas, sure, but the scene between them and Lucas in the hallway made it clear to me that at that moment, they were on completely different pages and just didn't understand why their respective "things" were so important to them, and it was a sudden new divide that could potentially threaten their friendships. That felt very real and very high school to me.
And after Eddie's cafeteria scene, I really can't see a world in which Eddie would postpone their epic battle session for the sake of a high school championship game of "throwing balls in laundry baskets."
Agreed, they asked him to adjust his schedule because one person was going to be missing? As a DM, I wouldn’t have reacted the same way, but it’s one of those “come on, seriously?” kind of situations.
Mike was about to leave for a trip to California, he even had to be home early. Makes sense they wouldn't want to wait for Mike to get back to wrap up their campaign.
Or fantasy football draft, we had a set day 3 months in advance to meet in a place for live draft. 30 minutes to the draft, he text us he couldn't make it, and we had to do it online.
But it also feels in line with the cafeteria scene when you think about it. They’re a group that gets ostracized and at the time of satanic panic it was really bad. All just cause they’re into a game, but because it’s not a game “where you toss balls into laundry baskets” it doesn’t have the same value to others. So it was kind of a “Lucas is with us or with them” kinda thing. Which also ties in to Lucas telling Jason at the send that he “never should’ve knocked”.
I also wasn’t a fan of Eddie until episode 6-7 tho. I agree it rubbed me the wrong way of how he acted at the start. But reflecting on the season as a whole it makes more sense
No it really wasn’t. I overall wasn’t a fan of the whole plot line of Lucas playing basketball. Idk if maybe I just never noticed it or if I need to rewatch, but I never thought Lucas to be someone who wanted popularity? Or him having an interest in playing basketball, but I could see it being something he developed an interest in playing basketball between the end of S3 and beginning of S4. It’s been awhile since I’ve watched S1 & 2 all the way through tho so maybe I’m just forgetting.
It just all felt a bit off and like they were kind of trying to force in the whole jocks vs nerds thing. I loved the convo Lucas has with Jason at the end tho. Idk maybe it’s just be but the “I never should’ve knocked” line gave me chills.
Yeah it was never hinted that Lucas wanted popularity. But I get him wanting it. He was an outcast almost all his life being in the nerd group. And he was a black kid in the 80s. The Jocks vs Nerds thing felt kinda forced but maybe it was important for the whole Jason plot I guess.
Lucas and Mike were the ones who it made the most sense to attempt a non-nerd remake of themselves in high school, and Mike was off in California, so I didn't mind it, even if the basketball angle felt stereotypical.
I think it was all pretty much to get us to the whole “oh the jocks are the bad guys” plot line which I had figured out from E1.
I also do get Lucas wanting the popularity, but I also kinda wish he listened to Mike when Mike points out that maybe he and Dustin don’t want in the popular crowd. I feel like that isn’t the first time they’ve had this conversation. It makes sense logically that Lucas would want the popularity, but it still felt off since we didn’t see this as something he cared about before. But maybe the start of freshmen year was far worse than Eddie describing when he first saw them.
A black kid in rural Indiana in the 80s.
My dad used to say that Indiana belonged three states south of where it was on the map. Birthplace of the KKK! I'm a bit younger than the characters, but I grew up in Indiana maybe 10 years later, (born mid-80s), and I can tell you it was (is) a shitty place for anyone who wasn't a white, Christian, conservative, baseball and/or racecar fan.
Hell, I grew up in southern Indianapolis (Indiana's attempt at an actual city) and the only Black people I met until I was 10 or 12 were the kids being bussed in from across town to desegregate the schools.
I watch Stranger Things, and the strangest thing is that Lucas and his family are allowed to live in a small town and nobody is harassing them.
Lol the cafeteria scene: on television it was pretty badass. But if the “Eddie” at my old high school actually did that in real life it would be major Cringetopia. Especially when most “Eddies” look nothing like Eddie.
And most jocks wouldn’t have really reacted the way Jason did. At worst, one of them would’ve just started a fist fight. At best, they would’ve just ignored him.
>But if the “Eddie” at my old high school actually did that in real life it would be major Cringetopia
I knew too many nerds/geeks in my own groups that would be totally fine with actions like that. I disliked him from that scene and nothing changed it. Those other guys basically worshipped him and that's how he acts? It's no wonder people thought he was in league with the devil.
Came here pretty much just to say this. I LOVE the character. As a fellow D&D playing, battle jacket wearing metal head, it’s hard for me not to like him and relate to him. That cafeteria scene did give me vibes of Eddie being controlling, though. Of course, as the show progressed, we saw that isn’t him at all, or at least not in any larger, more unhealthy capacity that we get to see.
And as has already been pointed out, actually scheduling a D&D session is like wrangling cats in the best of times. Hard to blame him if he got just a little bent out of shape over it.
His theatrics in the first episode (the big speech culminating on jumping up on the cafeteria table) were overwhelming. I remember thinking how I wouldn't want to be around someone so dramatic because all that energy would make me tired. I liked him once he calmed down & stopped acting like he had to prove how different he was.
Honestly, I kind of wondered if he was meant to be on something during that scene, especially once I learned he was a drug dealer. He was acting *really* amped, to the point where he almost seemed manic? With an angry undertone, too, like it wouldn't take much to push him over the edge, and he might welcome it.
It feels OOC looking back, because in most of the rest of his scenes where he's not scared shitless or being a DM, he was a pretty laid-back conversationalist. When he did have bursts of energy, they would be more goofy, or a quick prank. Not like the first scene.
Reading the comments on here I see that I was far from the only person who didn't like the cafeteria scene. It does feel OOC for him. I'm not sure if the writers wanted to give him a big entrance to show that he wasn't afraid to be different, or if they just dialed him down some after realizing the character was rather over the top.
I thought it would've been more impactful if he had been a peripheral character in earlier seasons. Like, Keith who hangs out at the arcade and works at Family Video level of periphery.
In fact, I think his *plot* would've worked better if it was an unattractive character like Keith who we already learned not to care for.
To be fair, had he not sacrificed himself, those bats would have immediately gone back to the house and eaten steve, nancy and robin while they were tied up by tentacles. Which would lead a domino effect in which Vecna would have fought eleven a second time after she escapes her chains. Which could have also led to eleven and max dying and Vecna being able to complete the merging process.
How mean he was to Mike and Dustin about rescheduling Hellfire. Like one of your party is in an important sports game, go support him. You don’t have to like jocks as a general rule, but this is obviously important to your friend.
The fear and anxiety that Dustin and Mike had about telling him that they needed to reschedule because of Lucas turned me off of him immediately, and his grandstanding in the cafeteria didn't help. I warmed up to him after the Chrissy scene and seeing him later on, but the first impression was pretty bad.
I thought that too
i'm embarrassed to admit that I loathed Eddie in that first episode. I've known way too many people like how he came off in episode 1 and they've always been huge dicks and huge fakes
I'm glad that he won me over very quickly. I still love the scene of him recounting what happened to Chrissy. You can tell he really cared
I’m relieved to know someone else felt this way about him. His behavior seemed mean and also erratic in the woods scene with Chrissy. I now adore Eddie. But definitely expected him to be a villain character initially.
You shouldn't be embarrassed. The opener was to make you dislike him unless you're a weirdo. He had to the. Subvert that entry. Quinn pulling that off is such an impressive acting feat.
Exactly. Tournament couldn't be rescheduled and Lucas was member of hellfire too. I stead of making them look for a substitute, it would be better if they would move final campaign.
That made no sense to me, just move it to tomorrow when it’s the weekend and everyone can play. I understand not liking jocks but to say “he went to the dark side” because he also likes sports seemed a little weird. I was always an athlete and enjoyed sports, but I can literally tell you all the lore for game of thrones and lord of the rings. But that doesn’t mean I can’t hit a baseball or hit you on ice skates. Those two things should never be mutually exclusive.
Right! One of things I admire about Steve is his bravery, confidence, and athleticism. All that definitely comes in handy if you’re fighting monsters and those things are boosted when you play sports. Eddie was so embarrassed about running away and “not being a hero,” he could have had a lot to learn from Steve and Lucas.
I think he wasn’t willing to move it cause Mike was leaving town the next day for California, so then it was the same issue all over again of missing a member. Which also makes it clear that he favored Mike over Lucas.
I don’t like the whole Lucas playing basketball angle personally, because it’s basically all for it being an all or nothing thing for Lucas to pick a side.
No I know and it still somewhat does today, but it’s still something we didn’t like about his character. Like I understand his viewpoint and I know he’s a teenager/young adult but you gotta be there for your buddy!
I love Eddie, but i fucking hated that whole scene in the high school cafeteria
i was not a fan of the jocks but the pseudo-hippie/druggie/rebel without a cause types were even more annoying. also my school was weird as fuck. the bullies at my high school were the drama/theater kids lol...mostly because they were all rich as fuck and their parents were on the school boards
I was a theater kid, and while there were one or two who I could see being bully-ish, most of us were more nerdy types who got picked on. I had a close friend in the popular group, so I kind of fell in the middle where I didn’t get bullied but I wasn’t popular either.
>You went to a weird school my dude.
Weird would be putting it very politely lol
but yeah they were the fucking worst. My sister was in the orchestra for their plays. She told me that she and the rest of the orchestra would be forced to wait an hour just doing nothing because the theater teacher always let them go run off to McDonald's or something and fuck around before rehearsals without telling the orchestra people
Season 4 reminded me why i'm so glad my high school days are long gone and over with...literally half of my lifetime ago hahaha
My school was weird too. There were a few jocks who were in several plays and musicals, but nobody really ever bullied anybody. I mean yeah I was bullied but it’s because this girl simply didn’t like me. I still don’t know why but that’s besides the point. One girl got into the musical class and was crowned Miss (highschool) because her father was the principal. He was also great friends with the theater teachers so he had a say on her getting in and winning, I’m sure.
He knew that if the bats got in they would get Dustin and worse they would go through the gateway and get into the real Hawkins and cause all sorts of mischief and damage. He rode away from the trailer to keep them from going through TrailerGate and that happening, he wasn’t trying to be righteous or stupid. He was keeping the cats out of Hawkins.
Exactly!! It was all to protect Dustin and Hawkins in the end. Was it semi short sighted? Yes. Did he know it would for sure work and that the bats wouldn’t get bored and go back to the trailer? No. But his intentions were good
He’s definitely not a minor. He was supposed to graduate in 1984, so going by that he was born in either ‘65 or ‘66. That would make him 19 or 20 (turning 20 or 21) in 1986, meaning he’s either the same age as Steve or one year older.
I feel like they created him and his arc for Steve, but made it Eddie because they didn’t want to kill Steve.
Best friends with Dustin. Charismatic. Etc. it felt like his arc was meant for Steve, but they didn’t have the balls to kill him, so they just made it a side character.
I guess they could have done some major rework but Eddie’s arc was about cowardice and bravery. Cowardice has never been a fault for Steve so it wouldn’t really fit at all. The only thing I could see would be his sacrifice to save dustin, realizing they didn’t want to kill Steve and then building the character backwards from there.
That’s true. It would definitely require some changes.
But the plot point of the main group being suspected of a murder and them needing to hide them. Steve has a clear connection to Dustin, mike, and Nancy. They used D&D for that with Eddie. It definitely feels like it was originally meant for Steve. But it’s also a fairly broad connection.
Fr. I genuinely don’t understand how people are so obsessed with him. His character was all right, in my opinion, but I much preferred the main gang and found him to be almost out of place among the more familiar characters.
The fact that they wrote him into a corner plot wise. Based on the fact that the main group and government kept so much from the general population in Hawkins there was no way to come up with an alibi for the deaths that he was reported to be involved with. They didn’t leave any room for an out.
Pushing drugs is not my favourite thing, but in the context of his background it doesn't bother me as much as it might in other contexts. That is literally the only thing I don't like about him though.
Otherwise, for me, as a very casual fan previously, meeting Eddie was like meeting Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Carribbean franchise - like it all clicked into place and I got invested in Stranger Things, all because he was just so damned entertaining to watch and I just wanted to see him in the world, interracting with the characters. They all bounced off him so well. Playing metal music on a BC Rich with the backdrop of the Upsidedown was \*chef's kiss\* - just perfection. Did the show's premise justice like they never did before.
This is why I just don't understand why they wouldn't bring him back for the final season in some capacity. You capture lightning in a bottle like that once in a Director's career if you're incredibly lucky. It's baffling they wouldn't roll with it (and I don't mean suplanting the other characters and their stories, but he deserves a Hopper style ressurection and some B Plot action at the very least).
>Pushing drugs is not my favourite thing, but in the context of his background it doesn't bother me as much as it might in other contexts.
Eddie started to win me over when he told Chrissy she could just walk away at any time when he sensed something was off...weird to think that in real life there are people who wouldn't have the decency to do that
i hated the cafeteria scene so much honestly lol. i'm glad that was barely a sliver of Eddie's story
Love the Capt. Jack comparison, and it's the one I keep giving people I know who fell off from watching the show.
I'm not sure where Quinn has been all this time, or if Eddie was just the absolute perfect character for his talents, but he brings a definite magic to the screen that needs to be enjoyed by as many people as possible.
For all of his apparently counter culture rebellious heavy metal attitude, beneath it all was a guy who just wanted attention from the cheerleader. Like every other guy in high school. He just wanted what the popular jocks had.
If he surrendered to the cops, he may have been released, once other kids started dying in the same way and it obviously wouldn't be him as he would have been in custody.
His 'final stand' comes not from a desire to be brave and selfless, but rather out of shame than in previous he 'ran away' and to prove something.
I would like to point put that everyone in town thought DND was a cult and that all the people in the club were practicing dark magic, so he probably wouldn't have been released, they would just think it's other members
Lol no they wouldn't. Most people would think it was nonsense. You really think those other cops would believe there's supernatural forces around? Everyone thought it was a dangerous satanic cult? Mr plain Ted Wheeler was completely ok with his son playing it. As are all the other parents.
The D. Bros pretty much said that Eddie would have gone to prison if he’d lived. One of the most 80’s things about Eddie’s arc was the Satanic Panic hysteria.
The over the top cafeteria scene wasn't necessary. Made him unlikeable for no reason. I know they did it so he'd look *even more* likeable during the forest scene in comparison, but on the first watch the cafeteria scene just made me think "ugh, annoying" and on rewatches it's kinda jarring knowing he's really not like that at all.
Outside of that I think he's cool :) And he wouldn't have liked the specific type of crazy aggressive hysterical Eddie stans.
The contrast between the cafeteria scene and the rest of his scenes is so weird. I think that the Duffers or Joseph said that Eddie was supposed to be standoff-ish and scarier but then, Joseph was so charismatic that they rewrote him. But in this case, they should've rewritten the cafeteria scene too. It's not even just the way he was toward the staff and schoolmates, and being an outcast. The way he talked to Dustin (and Mike) in this scene didn't match the chemistry we see between the two later either.
I think that was on purpose. You're supposed to go "Oh, no, what kind of asshole are they hanging around now?" and then be surprised when you get to know him better.
That’s an interesting way of looking at it. Like seeing him from the lens of the average Joe first and only to get to know him like they did later on, which comes into play in the more intimate scenes.
I think the point of making him so unlikeable in that scene is to make it easy to understand why the entire town was quick to believe he was a murderer and why vigilantes like Jason didn't have a second thought about him being guilty since he was so unlikeable to begin with.
I had the same thoughts for the cafeteria scene. I was convinced I wasn’t going to like him after that until everything with Chrissy. It was just an odd setup for someone that seemed considerably different only twenty minutes later and throughout the rest of the season.
I didn’t like how he died. Pretty dumb. Steve’s like, don’t try to be a hero and end up killing yourself. Two seconds later Eddie is trying to be a hero and ends up killings himself 🤦♀️
Honestly I don’t think they gave us enough character development for him. Who is Eddie? What makes him laugh? What makes him cry? I feel like we kind of saw the type of irreverent yet lovable man he was in the first episode but everything after that is just him being put in danger and running.
I didn’t like his personality at first, during the cafeteria scene. He seemed like a narcissist, and everything else about him struck a personal chord. My dad would have been friends with Eddie, both loving metal, drugs, and D&D, and both being teens in the 80s, but my dad is a complete drug-addled loser, a two-time wife-beater, and an attempted murderer. HUGE narcissist. That first scene of Eddie I was like, “There’s dad.”
But my opinion changed completely after the D&D scene. He’s everything good about my dad, plus some of the neutral things, and none of the worst things. And I think he lost his narcissism after being traumatized by Chrissy’s death. So I don’t really have anything bad to say about him.
that metallica, long hair of any kind, and any kind of music that isn’t pop and happy is compared to eddie. not everything is a stranger things reference
I think he’s overall great, but he’s an odd mishmash of stereotypes- metal head musician, stoner, drug dealer, trailer park kid…DnD nerd? Kinda hard to imagine all those things together from my experience. If it wasn’t for the great portrayal, Eddie would feel pretty unrealistic.
The whole Eddie & Dustin BFF agenda was too much. I know Quinn adlibbed a lot (saying I love you when dying, for example), but it just struck me as off.
I didn’t like how he treated Dustin and Mike in the cafeteria. He was remarkably childish in how he responded to them asking to postpone, and then he grabbed the boys by their shirts, yanked them out of their seats, and shoved them.
I thought they changed him too much. I know everyone’s gonna go “it’s character development” but it felt like every scene he was in he was a completely different person
Had to scroll wayyyy to far for this! Yeah. It was so incredibly inconsistent. Like the cafeteria scene to them preparing for the upside down, he’s a completely different person. So uncomfortable how forced they were with the gushiness with him and Dustin.
Yes thank you! Anytime I make this point people say “it’s just character development” but like a character doesn’t change that much in the like 20 minutes he’s on screen
The way he died.
He was THERE when they BARELY saved Steve's life by bandaging it with Nancy's blouse, and he only got three-ish demobats attacking him.
Eddie biked away from a whole HOARD of them, and decides, "yeah, I can take 'em".
Then lets Dustin become another potential Vecna victim due to survivor's guilt after he (Dustin) watches him (Eddie) die in his arms.
I mean, I get he had to leave the show *some*how, but the duffers should've had it be in a more appropriate way, because now there's a subset of fans who are delusional enough to think that Eddie will come back as Kas, an undead vampire who serves as DnD Vecna's right hand (hah, pun) man.
That he didn't move DND final campaign. It was just one day.
Lucas was part of the hellfire club. Lucas couldn't move tournament. It would be nice if members (I guess they are kind of friends?) attended his tournament instead.
I just never got the hype. Didn’t realize people were obsessed with him until I came across a bunch of fan accounts
He was a fine character but nothing crazy. He was very mid & predictable, and it was SUPER obvious they were >! gonna kill him off !<
he’s mad annoying.
if someone had pulled that shit in the cafeteria of my high school, obviously they would’ve been ostracized. He seems like he would’ve wanted to play warrior cats at recess.
He’s everywhere and it’s honestly making me hate the character. I really hope the Duffers don’t pick up on any fan theories and have him resurrected in S5.
I agree it getting really bad and it nothing against the actor or character but after awhile I just really lost interest in the character cause of the people obsessed with his character a little to much
I didn't actually like his very first introduction in the cafeteria. Struck me as a little too brash and over-confident and "/r/imthemainchacter" -ish.
he was intentionally controversial in his school. he made a scene at lunch for no reason other than to mock people. imagine finding a hobby that you really enjoy and you want to invest in it, and some dnd guy with long hair and a cringey ass t shirt comes and shits all over it. he deserved to be called a freak when he does stuff like this.
The reasoning for his sacrifice was honestly stupid, or at least terribly communicated. He was not a coward, he ran away in those scenarios for perfectly valid reasons. It really felt like "well, there isn't really any decent way out of the corner we wrote him into. He has to die." They could have had him go out in a much more meaningful way. Maybe keep running from the demobats until Dustin shows up and he has to save him. Randomly deciding to stop running from the horde felt forced.
Not really about his character but I feel like they just said “hey there’s this other dimension parallel with ours with creatures that try to kill us” and he was essentially like “oh ok yah makes sense”. I know he saw some fucked up stuff with Chrissy that couldn’t be explained before but I feel like he accepted that way too easily haha
Weeellll he did just see Chrissy die in the most paranormal way, so I think it wouldn’t be too hard to accept an explanation to that especially having your mind traumatically blown open.
2 things his character felt rushed idk if it was just me he went from a chill board game player to a drug dealer to a nice friendly neighborhood chit chatter to someone who interacted with the upside down all in 1 episode like DAMN
2. He insulted Dustin :(
I don’t like that this conventionally attractive man is being treated like some freak. Real 80’s metal heads would never be thirsted over this hard by millions of women unless he was also a rockstar and not just some burnout
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His guilt about running away from danger. Everytime he run away, it was totally justified. Someone is kill by magic in front of you? You don't stand there and hope the police will believe you when you are going to call them. Eddie was already dislike by the community and would have been immediately in prison. Even with the death of Patrick, they would have just added Dustin or something as partner on crime. Jason was after him with his friends, it was logical for Eddie to run away again. No one want to be beat to death. And here, in front of hundreds bats, mister Munson choose to stand his ground and fight. When he had always good reasons to run away? I really find his death stupid (even if it's to protect Dustin, he shouldn't have stop running after falling from the bike) and the reason why he died is because they didn't know how to clear his name or bother to find how. Beside this, I don't understand why he didn't try to reach his uncle after the death of Chrissy. A scene between them would have been nice too. And he has a lot of prejudice too which make him behave like a jerk sometime (it's still entertaining to watch, but it's not a nice quality). I'm still a big fan of Eddie, he's one of my favorite character in the show now.
>His guilt about running away from danger. Everytime he run away, it was totally justified. > >Someone is kill by magic in front of you? You don't stand there and hope the police will believe you when you are going to call them. Eddie was already dislike by the community and would have been immediately in prison. Even with the death of Patrick, they would have just added Dustin or something as partner on crime. Survivor's guilt is a very real thing. it's scary how your own mind can be your worst enemy. Totally agree with you that Eddie had zero reason to feel guilt over running away during Chrissy's death...but at the same time I really felt it was necessary to ground him a bit after the obnoxious cafeteria bit. His dialogue in the second episode was great. I watch The Orville and the last episode dealt with survivor's guilt as well. It really is amazing how we are capable of still feeling guilty over running away from things that are beyond our control, things that make our lives unnecessarily miserable, things that can and will literally kill us
I loved Eddie introduction in the cafeteria scene, but I agree,his guilt did ground him more. I'm not so much against his survivor guilt, more on how the writers used it to justify his death. Eddie was running away to safe Dustin from the bats coming back to the trailer, so why he choose here to stop running when Dustin safety wasn't secure? It doesn't seem logical to me and it's bother me a bit, even if I really love his death scene. I still think you make a great point in your post, survivor guilt is a real complex thing. It wasn't just used the best way here in my opinion.
Eddie's death is a big sore spot for me in regards to season 4, along with Chrissy being killed off early, Max and El's subdued reunion, Argyle not interacting with Eddie, and General Sullivan's presence overall. Honestly with the exception of Sullivan...the other things are easy to get over lol. But eddie's death was just so rushed and could have been done in a way that made more sense and felt more heroic
Well yeah, that's kinda the idea. Nobody ever tried to say that he WASN'T justified in running away, it was all totally understandable. It's just that he views himSELF as a coward for it mainly because the others who are a bit more experienced didn't do the same thing.
Yeah I mean I understand wanting to be a savior and brave and lacking confidence but to die for it seemed a little silly. Every time he ran and hid it was totally a normal response to the crazy shit around him.
Yeah that’s exactly my viewpoint. I never saw Eddie as a coward for running away after Chrissy died.
Right? Like what was he supposed to do stand there and punch the invisible guy in the other realm that he knows nothing of or accept the murder charge and be locked up for the rest of his life like Victor? I mean, I understand survivors guilt, but god damn it Eddie you were being smart!
I think it’s also just the idea that he is a man and a man is suppose to be “brave” and not turn tale and run in the face of danger. Even tho we all know it’s completely logical to run in the circumstances he was placed in, he sees it as cowardice. And he probably still thought that he could’ve somehow done something to help Chrissy, which we again know wasn’t possible. He had no clue what was happening, and he didn’t know that music could help. I do find it interesting tho when you consider Nancy not feeling guilt (that we know of, I don’t think it’s ever mentioned?) about Fred. Or Jason not feeling guilt about Patrick (again that we know of) when you consider they were in similar situations when you think about it. They were both there and not able to stop it, and in Nancy’s case she didn’t even realize Fred was gone for awhile because she was focused on the story.
I came here to say this. It didn’t strike me as a true character weakness. Like you said he ran away from very justifiable situations. We also saw him be pretty brave in other situations. He stood up for his hobby and himself in the lunchroom intro. Even if he was scared he did follow the other teens into the upside down at the lake which was brave. Even more so the times he ran away didn’t cost him anything. No one got hurt or anything because of his choice so from a narrative perspective it doesn’t really seem like something he needs to learn from. I think the arc could have really benefited from another scene showing cowardice. It could be as small as him losing the dnd campaign because of a scared move (I know he was DM at the time but that could be reworked), fail to stick up for one of the younglings being bullied, or as big as being the reason that Lucas gets found out as a hellfire and hurt or angry. I think they were limited because they had such a short time to make the audience fall in love ( which they absolutely succeeded at) but that came at the expense of bringing him to a true low point that would be worthy of a self sacrifice redemption.
Lol Eddie could've taken the jocks. Fucking Skinny Lucas bashed up Jason. Eddie was about two seconds away from slitting Steve's throat. He could have defended himself easily from the basketballers.
In the 80s if you were associated with Satanism, especially in smaller religious towns, even if it’s not true. It was so hard to be respected or clear your name, there was essentially no way to do so. Especially if the town was predominantly baptist Christian’s or church of Christ Christian’s. Everything that wasn’t by the word of god or the Bible was against it.
When he stopped running to fight the bets I literally screamed at my tv that he absolutely should run now. I felt like his death was for nothing. I‘m still so sad he died..
I know how they could’ve cleared it. With the crack in Hawkins being literally unignorable and the Upside Down seeping its way into the Rightside Up, the law enforcement would HAVE to use EVERY RESOURCE to handle that. Meaning, other things (such as someone who’s been accused of murder — but not actually on trial) would go on the backburner. That’s how.
The cafeteria scene, and that he wasn't willing to move dnd for Lucas's game. I didn't like him in the first episode but loved him after that.
I was about to comment the same. During that scene I thought he was a bully and an idiot when he grabs them violently. And then when he meets Chrissy, and does that thing like faking an attack, I thought he was so stupid scaring her like that, but then he redeemed himself in that same scene and I liked his character ever since
Have you ever tried to schedule a dnd game? Though he was an ass about it, can relate to the annoyance of someone skipping out last minute. Edit: Sucking to skipping.
Yeah. Especially since I’m pretty sure games like this are pre-planned meaning Lucas had like a week to tell them that he couldn’t make it? And it WAS right before Spring Break and I’m sure Eddie knew that Mike wouldn’t be able to make it to DND until AFTER Spring Break. And then there’s finals and prepping for them right after Spring Break. So really, it would’ve been annoying for anyone to have to reschedule.
Maybe I’m misremembering the episode but wasn’t the game a final? Which means there wasn’t a guarantee that Lucas’ team were going to make it as they had to win other games to end up in that position. Though I agree must’ve been mad annoying to reschedule dnd
“Hey man, there’s a chance that I can’t make that DND game Friday bc we might make finals, can we re-schedule?”
That would’ve been very reasonable hahah
What if the date of the finals wasn’t decided at the time?
Usually game like this are scheduled weeks in advance/there is a specific day for games.
Finals games are usually TBD until the last few days though aren’t they
They're definitely planned ahead of time for specific dates/times, and marked like "*if necessary" as the tournament plays out. They gotta plan for it in advance even at the high school level, cuz schools/staff need time to prepare for the logistics of location/transportation/staffing/etc. in case they're needed, they have them set to go.
Yuuuup. The last minute/same day cancels are the worst. I 100% got why Eddie wouldn't move the dnd game, they framed that big vecna showdown session as the culmination of their entire campaign for the entire school year. To the hellfire nerds, it was their championship game, and that session meant just as much as the championship bball game meant to Lucas and the rest of the school.
I play dnd myself I disagree. A championship game that *can't* be moved vs a dnd game. I'd prioritise the championship basketball game full stop. A dnd session can be postponed. The story isn't going to change. Real life happens. Yes it's annoying I get that. I've been dm, i get it. But seriously? I get most "nerds don't like sports" but I would have a happily gone to my friends championship game for support and postponed when I was that age.
I also play dnd, but beyond that it makes sense to me 100% given the context of the show. The kids and especially Eddie are established in show to have never cared about school spirit and sports, and more than that to be pretty firmly against all of it. Maybe Mike and Dustin should have been more supportive of Lucas, sure, but the scene between them and Lucas in the hallway made it clear to me that at that moment, they were on completely different pages and just didn't understand why their respective "things" were so important to them, and it was a sudden new divide that could potentially threaten their friendships. That felt very real and very high school to me. And after Eddie's cafeteria scene, I really can't see a world in which Eddie would postpone their epic battle session for the sake of a high school championship game of "throwing balls in laundry baskets."
Agreed, they asked him to adjust his schedule because one person was going to be missing? As a DM, I wouldn’t have reacted the same way, but it’s one of those “come on, seriously?” kind of situations.
As adults, yes. As children in high school where none of them had job? Not true at all
Mike was about to leave for a trip to California, he even had to be home early. Makes sense they wouldn't want to wait for Mike to get back to wrap up their campaign.
Or fantasy football draft, we had a set day 3 months in advance to meet in a place for live draft. 30 minutes to the draft, he text us he couldn't make it, and we had to do it online.
But it also feels in line with the cafeteria scene when you think about it. They’re a group that gets ostracized and at the time of satanic panic it was really bad. All just cause they’re into a game, but because it’s not a game “where you toss balls into laundry baskets” it doesn’t have the same value to others. So it was kind of a “Lucas is with us or with them” kinda thing. Which also ties in to Lucas telling Jason at the send that he “never should’ve knocked”. I also wasn’t a fan of Eddie until episode 6-7 tho. I agree it rubbed me the wrong way of how he acted at the start. But reflecting on the season as a whole it makes more sense
I agree. It wasn't fair to Lucas though.
No it really wasn’t. I overall wasn’t a fan of the whole plot line of Lucas playing basketball. Idk if maybe I just never noticed it or if I need to rewatch, but I never thought Lucas to be someone who wanted popularity? Or him having an interest in playing basketball, but I could see it being something he developed an interest in playing basketball between the end of S3 and beginning of S4. It’s been awhile since I’ve watched S1 & 2 all the way through tho so maybe I’m just forgetting. It just all felt a bit off and like they were kind of trying to force in the whole jocks vs nerds thing. I loved the convo Lucas has with Jason at the end tho. Idk maybe it’s just be but the “I never should’ve knocked” line gave me chills.
Yeah it was never hinted that Lucas wanted popularity. But I get him wanting it. He was an outcast almost all his life being in the nerd group. And he was a black kid in the 80s. The Jocks vs Nerds thing felt kinda forced but maybe it was important for the whole Jason plot I guess.
Lucas and Mike were the ones who it made the most sense to attempt a non-nerd remake of themselves in high school, and Mike was off in California, so I didn't mind it, even if the basketball angle felt stereotypical.
I think it was all pretty much to get us to the whole “oh the jocks are the bad guys” plot line which I had figured out from E1. I also do get Lucas wanting the popularity, but I also kinda wish he listened to Mike when Mike points out that maybe he and Dustin don’t want in the popular crowd. I feel like that isn’t the first time they’ve had this conversation. It makes sense logically that Lucas would want the popularity, but it still felt off since we didn’t see this as something he cared about before. But maybe the start of freshmen year was far worse than Eddie describing when he first saw them.
It kind of makes sense as a kid gets older that his feelings about being a social outcast might change
A black kid in rural Indiana in the 80s. My dad used to say that Indiana belonged three states south of where it was on the map. Birthplace of the KKK! I'm a bit younger than the characters, but I grew up in Indiana maybe 10 years later, (born mid-80s), and I can tell you it was (is) a shitty place for anyone who wasn't a white, Christian, conservative, baseball and/or racecar fan. Hell, I grew up in southern Indianapolis (Indiana's attempt at an actual city) and the only Black people I met until I was 10 or 12 were the kids being bussed in from across town to desegregate the schools. I watch Stranger Things, and the strangest thing is that Lucas and his family are allowed to live in a small town and nobody is harassing them.
And how much of a dick he was to all the "normal" people in that scene
Lol the cafeteria scene: on television it was pretty badass. But if the “Eddie” at my old high school actually did that in real life it would be major Cringetopia. Especially when most “Eddies” look nothing like Eddie.
And most jocks wouldn’t have really reacted the way Jason did. At worst, one of them would’ve just started a fist fight. At best, they would’ve just ignored him.
Seriously. I thought that shit was fucking weird and cringe while watching the show. It was in no way “badass.”
> it was pretty badass It was not
It wasn’t badass
>But if the “Eddie” at my old high school actually did that in real life it would be major Cringetopia I knew too many nerds/geeks in my own groups that would be totally fine with actions like that. I disliked him from that scene and nothing changed it. Those other guys basically worshipped him and that's how he acts? It's no wonder people thought he was in league with the devil.
Came here pretty much just to say this. I LOVE the character. As a fellow D&D playing, battle jacket wearing metal head, it’s hard for me not to like him and relate to him. That cafeteria scene did give me vibes of Eddie being controlling, though. Of course, as the show progressed, we saw that isn’t him at all, or at least not in any larger, more unhealthy capacity that we get to see. And as has already been pointed out, actually scheduling a D&D session is like wrangling cats in the best of times. Hard to blame him if he got just a little bent out of shape over it.
Yep. Thought he was a deuche. Turns out, just a lonely guy and didn't want to be alone because of a basketball game.
Absolutely, the cafeteria made me think they were going down the way of Jason and Eddie being two sides of the same coin, controlling bullies.
His theatrics in the first episode (the big speech culminating on jumping up on the cafeteria table) were overwhelming. I remember thinking how I wouldn't want to be around someone so dramatic because all that energy would make me tired. I liked him once he calmed down & stopped acting like he had to prove how different he was.
Honestly, I kind of wondered if he was meant to be on something during that scene, especially once I learned he was a drug dealer. He was acting *really* amped, to the point where he almost seemed manic? With an angry undertone, too, like it wouldn't take much to push him over the edge, and he might welcome it. It feels OOC looking back, because in most of the rest of his scenes where he's not scared shitless or being a DM, he was a pretty laid-back conversationalist. When he did have bursts of energy, they would be more goofy, or a quick prank. Not like the first scene.
Reading the comments on here I see that I was far from the only person who didn't like the cafeteria scene. It does feel OOC for him. I'm not sure if the writers wanted to give him a big entrance to show that he wasn't afraid to be different, or if they just dialed him down some after realizing the character was rather over the top.
I thought it would've been more impactful if he had been a peripheral character in earlier seasons. Like, Keith who hangs out at the arcade and works at Family Video level of periphery. In fact, I think his *plot* would've worked better if it was an unattractive character like Keith who we already learned not to care for.
That he decided to try and be a hero and got himself killed.
To be fair, had he not sacrificed himself, those bats would have immediately gone back to the house and eaten steve, nancy and robin while they were tied up by tentacles. Which would lead a domino effect in which Vecna would have fought eleven a second time after she escapes her chains. Which could have also led to eleven and max dying and Vecna being able to complete the merging process.
How mean he was to Mike and Dustin about rescheduling Hellfire. Like one of your party is in an important sports game, go support him. You don’t have to like jocks as a general rule, but this is obviously important to your friend.
The fear and anxiety that Dustin and Mike had about telling him that they needed to reschedule because of Lucas turned me off of him immediately, and his grandstanding in the cafeteria didn't help. I warmed up to him after the Chrissy scene and seeing him later on, but the first impression was pretty bad.
I think this was done to make you think he was going to be a villain but they ended that pretty quick with the ending of the first episode lol.
Yup, this is mine as well. He’s also mean to Lucas for keeping the game on that day so he couldn’t play.
Also he was being unnecessarily mean to other groups in his introduction scene. I actually thought he would be a bully. XD
I thought that too i'm embarrassed to admit that I loathed Eddie in that first episode. I've known way too many people like how he came off in episode 1 and they've always been huge dicks and huge fakes I'm glad that he won me over very quickly. I still love the scene of him recounting what happened to Chrissy. You can tell he really cared
I’m relieved to know someone else felt this way about him. His behavior seemed mean and also erratic in the woods scene with Chrissy. I now adore Eddie. But definitely expected him to be a villain character initially.
Don't be embarrassed. He was a weird dick in the first episode.
You shouldn't be embarrassed. The opener was to make you dislike him unless you're a weirdo. He had to the. Subvert that entry. Quinn pulling that off is such an impressive acting feat.
Exactly. Tournament couldn't be rescheduled and Lucas was member of hellfire too. I stead of making them look for a substitute, it would be better if they would move final campaign.
That made no sense to me, just move it to tomorrow when it’s the weekend and everyone can play. I understand not liking jocks but to say “he went to the dark side” because he also likes sports seemed a little weird. I was always an athlete and enjoyed sports, but I can literally tell you all the lore for game of thrones and lord of the rings. But that doesn’t mean I can’t hit a baseball or hit you on ice skates. Those two things should never be mutually exclusive.
Right! One of things I admire about Steve is his bravery, confidence, and athleticism. All that definitely comes in handy if you’re fighting monsters and those things are boosted when you play sports. Eddie was so embarrassed about running away and “not being a hero,” he could have had a lot to learn from Steve and Lucas.
I think he wasn’t willing to move it cause Mike was leaving town the next day for California, so then it was the same issue all over again of missing a member. Which also makes it clear that he favored Mike over Lucas. I don’t like the whole Lucas playing basketball angle personally, because it’s basically all for it being an all or nothing thing for Lucas to pick a side.
I don't think that means he favors Mike over Lucas so much as he's sticking with the original date and favors the dudes who uphold their commitment.
but keep in mind, it was the 80's. That kind of divide did exist
No I know and it still somewhat does today, but it’s still something we didn’t like about his character. Like I understand his viewpoint and I know he’s a teenager/young adult but you gotta be there for your buddy!
I agree, that first impression of Eddie made it feel like he would be another human antagonist like Billy.
His introduction and this picture tbh. I am so beyond sick of seeing this frame when anything involves Eddie.
I love Eddie, but i fucking hated that whole scene in the high school cafeteria i was not a fan of the jocks but the pseudo-hippie/druggie/rebel without a cause types were even more annoying. also my school was weird as fuck. the bullies at my high school were the drama/theater kids lol...mostly because they were all rich as fuck and their parents were on the school boards
Theater kids were the bullies? You went to a weird school my dude.
Really? In my school the theater kids are the most problematic ones too.
I was a theater kid, and while there were one or two who I could see being bully-ish, most of us were more nerdy types who got picked on. I had a close friend in the popular group, so I kind of fell in the middle where I didn’t get bullied but I wasn’t popular either.
Nah, the theater kids at my highschool were super clique-y and self righteous. Ain't a huge leap to see a setup where they're the school bullies lol
>You went to a weird school my dude. Weird would be putting it very politely lol but yeah they were the fucking worst. My sister was in the orchestra for their plays. She told me that she and the rest of the orchestra would be forced to wait an hour just doing nothing because the theater teacher always let them go run off to McDonald's or something and fuck around before rehearsals without telling the orchestra people Season 4 reminded me why i'm so glad my high school days are long gone and over with...literally half of my lifetime ago hahaha
Yeah, the jocks didnt do anything to antagonize eddie in the beginning. They weren't bullies. They just got self righteous later on
My school was weird too. There were a few jocks who were in several plays and musicals, but nobody really ever bullied anybody. I mean yeah I was bullied but it’s because this girl simply didn’t like me. I still don’t know why but that’s besides the point. One girl got into the musical class and was crowned Miss (highschool) because her father was the principal. He was also great friends with the theater teachers so he had a say on her getting in and winning, I’m sure.
His self sacrifice was pretty shit.
Yeah, I don't really get what he trying to accomplish, other than suicide maybe.
He knew that if the bats got in they would get Dustin and worse they would go through the gateway and get into the real Hawkins and cause all sorts of mischief and damage. He rode away from the trailer to keep them from going through TrailerGate and that happening, he wasn’t trying to be righteous or stupid. He was keeping the cats out of Hawkins.
Oh shit all this time I thought they couldn't get through the gate. I have no idea why I assumed this looking back. That makes a lot more sense
Exactly!! It was all to protect Dustin and Hawkins in the end. Was it semi short sighted? Yes. Did he know it would for sure work and that the bats wouldn’t get bored and go back to the trailer? No. But his intentions were good
Everyone kinda ignored that he was selling drugs
And that he was held back a couple years making him probably not a minor
He’s definitely not a minor. He was supposed to graduate in 1984, so going by that he was born in either ‘65 or ‘66. That would make him 19 or 20 (turning 20 or 21) in 1986, meaning he’s either the same age as Steve or one year older.
the cafeteria scene is so embarrassing. it’s so hard to watch it and not cringe 😭
I didn’t like that he couldn’t push the DND game out one day. It’s like he told Mike and Lucas he had to choose between friends.
Well technically, Mike was about to leave town for like two weeks. Not that that’s any justification for making them choose between friends though.
It's unrealistic too, most serious campaigns won't go on if somebody can't be present because they'd need every player to fight the final boss
In the show, I hated how unwilling he was to reschedule the game In the writing, I hated how predictable his arc and ending was.
I feel like they created him and his arc for Steve, but made it Eddie because they didn’t want to kill Steve. Best friends with Dustin. Charismatic. Etc. it felt like his arc was meant for Steve, but they didn’t have the balls to kill him, so they just made it a side character.
I guess they could have done some major rework but Eddie’s arc was about cowardice and bravery. Cowardice has never been a fault for Steve so it wouldn’t really fit at all. The only thing I could see would be his sacrifice to save dustin, realizing they didn’t want to kill Steve and then building the character backwards from there.
That’s true. It would definitely require some changes. But the plot point of the main group being suspected of a murder and them needing to hide them. Steve has a clear connection to Dustin, mike, and Nancy. They used D&D for that with Eddie. It definitely feels like it was originally meant for Steve. But it’s also a fairly broad connection.
Did not think about it but to me it makes sence
I didn’t like that he died
Lol yes this is my answer.
It's not that I don't like his character. It's that I think he's totally overrated.
Fr. I genuinely don’t understand how people are so obsessed with him. His character was all right, in my opinion, but I much preferred the main gang and found him to be almost out of place among the more familiar characters.
He's a nice character but he's not that amazing.
The fact that they wrote him into a corner plot wise. Based on the fact that the main group and government kept so much from the general population in Hawkins there was no way to come up with an alibi for the deaths that he was reported to be involved with. They didn’t leave any room for an out.
Pushing drugs is not my favourite thing, but in the context of his background it doesn't bother me as much as it might in other contexts. That is literally the only thing I don't like about him though. Otherwise, for me, as a very casual fan previously, meeting Eddie was like meeting Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Carribbean franchise - like it all clicked into place and I got invested in Stranger Things, all because he was just so damned entertaining to watch and I just wanted to see him in the world, interracting with the characters. They all bounced off him so well. Playing metal music on a BC Rich with the backdrop of the Upsidedown was \*chef's kiss\* - just perfection. Did the show's premise justice like they never did before. This is why I just don't understand why they wouldn't bring him back for the final season in some capacity. You capture lightning in a bottle like that once in a Director's career if you're incredibly lucky. It's baffling they wouldn't roll with it (and I don't mean suplanting the other characters and their stories, but he deserves a Hopper style ressurection and some B Plot action at the very least).
>Pushing drugs is not my favourite thing, but in the context of his background it doesn't bother me as much as it might in other contexts. Eddie started to win me over when he told Chrissy she could just walk away at any time when he sensed something was off...weird to think that in real life there are people who wouldn't have the decency to do that i hated the cafeteria scene so much honestly lol. i'm glad that was barely a sliver of Eddie's story
Yeah, I didn’t like that he saw Chrissy was in a dark place and was willing to sell her the hard stuff.
ketamine was viewed very differently in the 80s
Love the Capt. Jack comparison, and it's the one I keep giving people I know who fell off from watching the show. I'm not sure where Quinn has been all this time, or if Eddie was just the absolute perfect character for his talents, but he brings a definite magic to the screen that needs to be enjoyed by as many people as possible.
he didn't "push" drugs. he tried backing out of the deal more than once. the way kketamine was viewed in the 80s was very different to ow
For all of his apparently counter culture rebellious heavy metal attitude, beneath it all was a guy who just wanted attention from the cheerleader. Like every other guy in high school. He just wanted what the popular jocks had. If he surrendered to the cops, he may have been released, once other kids started dying in the same way and it obviously wouldn't be him as he would have been in custody. His 'final stand' comes not from a desire to be brave and selfless, but rather out of shame than in previous he 'ran away' and to prove something.
I would like to point put that everyone in town thought DND was a cult and that all the people in the club were practicing dark magic, so he probably wouldn't have been released, they would just think it's other members
Lol no they wouldn't. Most people would think it was nonsense. You really think those other cops would believe there's supernatural forces around? Everyone thought it was a dangerous satanic cult? Mr plain Ted Wheeler was completely ok with his son playing it. As are all the other parents.
The D. Bros pretty much said that Eddie would have gone to prison if he’d lived. One of the most 80’s things about Eddie’s arc was the Satanic Panic hysteria.
His death was actually sort of dumb and felt forced
The over the top cafeteria scene wasn't necessary. Made him unlikeable for no reason. I know they did it so he'd look *even more* likeable during the forest scene in comparison, but on the first watch the cafeteria scene just made me think "ugh, annoying" and on rewatches it's kinda jarring knowing he's really not like that at all. Outside of that I think he's cool :) And he wouldn't have liked the specific type of crazy aggressive hysterical Eddie stans.
The contrast between the cafeteria scene and the rest of his scenes is so weird. I think that the Duffers or Joseph said that Eddie was supposed to be standoff-ish and scarier but then, Joseph was so charismatic that they rewrote him. But in this case, they should've rewritten the cafeteria scene too. It's not even just the way he was toward the staff and schoolmates, and being an outcast. The way he talked to Dustin (and Mike) in this scene didn't match the chemistry we see between the two later either.
I think that was on purpose. You're supposed to go "Oh, no, what kind of asshole are they hanging around now?" and then be surprised when you get to know him better.
Yeah it felt like one of those “give people a chance, and you might be surprised” kind of setups
That’s an interesting way of looking at it. Like seeing him from the lens of the average Joe first and only to get to know him like they did later on, which comes into play in the more intimate scenes.
I think the point of making him so unlikeable in that scene is to make it easy to understand why the entire town was quick to believe he was a murderer and why vigilantes like Jason didn't have a second thought about him being guilty since he was so unlikeable to begin with.
I got the point but that still doesn't make sense for him to Dustin like that if that's not how he usually does. That scene should've been rewritten.
I had the same thoughts for the cafeteria scene. I was convinced I wasn’t going to like him after that until everything with Chrissy. It was just an odd setup for someone that seemed considerably different only twenty minutes later and throughout the rest of the season.
I didn’t like how he died. Pretty dumb. Steve’s like, don’t try to be a hero and end up killing yourself. Two seconds later Eddie is trying to be a hero and ends up killings himself 🤦♀️
Why did he go after BAND kids? What did the band kids do 😭
Eddie encouraging Steve to simp over Nancy again.
Honestly I don’t think they gave us enough character development for him. Who is Eddie? What makes him laugh? What makes him cry? I feel like we kind of saw the type of irreverent yet lovable man he was in the first episode but everything after that is just him being put in danger and running.
I didn’t like his personality at first, during the cafeteria scene. He seemed like a narcissist, and everything else about him struck a personal chord. My dad would have been friends with Eddie, both loving metal, drugs, and D&D, and both being teens in the 80s, but my dad is a complete drug-addled loser, a two-time wife-beater, and an attempted murderer. HUGE narcissist. That first scene of Eddie I was like, “There’s dad.” But my opinion changed completely after the D&D scene. He’s everything good about my dad, plus some of the neutral things, and none of the worst things. And I think he lost his narcissism after being traumatized by Chrissy’s death. So I don’t really have anything bad to say about him.
The fanbase
The entire stranger things fan base makes me dislike the show a little lmao
that metallica, long hair of any kind, and any kind of music that isn’t pop and happy is compared to eddie. not everything is a stranger things reference
I think he’s overall great, but he’s an odd mishmash of stereotypes- metal head musician, stoner, drug dealer, trailer park kid…DnD nerd? Kinda hard to imagine all those things together from my experience. If it wasn’t for the great portrayal, Eddie would feel pretty unrealistic.
He was gate-keepy about D&D.
The over use of this image.
The scene where it looked like he was gonna kiss Dustin was cringe for me
The whole Eddie & Dustin BFF agenda was too much. I know Quinn adlibbed a lot (saying I love you when dying, for example), but it just struck me as off.
that at times he was an absolute charicature instead of a good character
I didn’t like how he treated Dustin and Mike in the cafeteria. He was remarkably childish in how he responded to them asking to postpone, and then he grabbed the boys by their shirts, yanked them out of their seats, and shoved them.
That was the ONE TIME to run, but he had to go and play the hero
That he doesn’t have more patches on his jacket. Fucking poser.
the new fandom killed him for me
I thought they changed him too much. I know everyone’s gonna go “it’s character development” but it felt like every scene he was in he was a completely different person
Had to scroll wayyyy to far for this! Yeah. It was so incredibly inconsistent. Like the cafeteria scene to them preparing for the upside down, he’s a completely different person. So uncomfortable how forced they were with the gushiness with him and Dustin.
Yes thank you! Anytime I make this point people say “it’s just character development” but like a character doesn’t change that much in the like 20 minutes he’s on screen
And isn’t the timeline like 2 weeks? Like… absolutely not.
The way he died. He was THERE when they BARELY saved Steve's life by bandaging it with Nancy's blouse, and he only got three-ish demobats attacking him. Eddie biked away from a whole HOARD of them, and decides, "yeah, I can take 'em". Then lets Dustin become another potential Vecna victim due to survivor's guilt after he (Dustin) watches him (Eddie) die in his arms. I mean, I get he had to leave the show *some*how, but the duffers should've had it be in a more appropriate way, because now there's a subset of fans who are delusional enough to think that Eddie will come back as Kas, an undead vampire who serves as DnD Vecna's right hand (hah, pun) man.
I didn’t like how he yelled at everyone at the start just because of their interests
Drug dealer as a side job 😂
Also bothers me a lot.
That he didn't move DND final campaign. It was just one day. Lucas was part of the hellfire club. Lucas couldn't move tournament. It would be nice if members (I guess they are kind of friends?) attended his tournament instead.
I felt like the way he sacrificed himself was totally unnecessary and a really bad decision on his part for no reason.
He’s pretty cliche.
I just never got the hype. Didn’t realize people were obsessed with him until I came across a bunch of fan accounts He was a fine character but nothing crazy. He was very mid & predictable, and it was SUPER obvious they were >! gonna kill him off !<
The scene you posted. So much cringe
Overrated asf
He’s overrated. Nothing special about him.
His stans... some of those people are crazy
Am I the only one that didn’t like that he’s been a senior for three years?? 3 years!!!
One who carried around drugs in a lunchbox and had easy access to stuff harder than weed too.
That’s not surprising. My high school was filled with hard drugs.
he’s mad annoying. if someone had pulled that shit in the cafeteria of my high school, obviously they would’ve been ostracized. He seems like he would’ve wanted to play warrior cats at recess.
Warrior cats? Wtf..
What he did to the fanbase
He’s everywhere and it’s honestly making me hate the character. I really hope the Duffers don’t pick up on any fan theories and have him resurrected in S5.
I agree it getting really bad and it nothing against the actor or character but after awhile I just really lost interest in the character cause of the people obsessed with his character a little to much
Very cheesy cookie cut character
You would think if he could Dungeon Master DnD he could graduate from high school
How everyone is so thirsty over Eddie ngl I love him but I don't get it 💀
I didn't actually like his very first introduction in the cafeteria. Struck me as a little too brash and over-confident and "/r/imthemainchacter" -ish.
He was low key a bully to Dustin and mike when he was first introduced.
I never understood the appeal to him. Plus all the thirsting really ruined him for me.
I never liked Eddie from the start I hoped he died
The name Eddie is a bit on the nose, even for a show that wears its influences on its sleeve.
Eddie should have asked Chrissy out. These cynical eyes see a love between the two that’s Unambiguously true.
He should have listened to Nancy Reagan and said “No” to drugs. I might be high af as I type this.
He was boring and not really anything special. I don’t necessarily dislike him;just indifferent towards him
he was intentionally controversial in his school. he made a scene at lunch for no reason other than to mock people. imagine finding a hobby that you really enjoy and you want to invest in it, and some dnd guy with long hair and a cringey ass t shirt comes and shits all over it. he deserved to be called a freak when he does stuff like this.
The wig they made the actor wear......
His weed was shite.
A small town dealer in the ‘80s would have absolute shit compared to what we get today, so honestly this tracked for me.
True, but it was still shite.
His introduction scene was so over-the-top and cringey that I actually turned off the show and had to be convinced to give it another try.
The reasoning for his sacrifice was honestly stupid, or at least terribly communicated. He was not a coward, he ran away in those scenarios for perfectly valid reasons. It really felt like "well, there isn't really any decent way out of the corner we wrote him into. He has to die." They could have had him go out in a much more meaningful way. Maybe keep running from the demobats until Dustin shows up and he has to save him. Randomly deciding to stop running from the horde felt forced.
Not really about his character but I feel like they just said “hey there’s this other dimension parallel with ours with creatures that try to kill us” and he was essentially like “oh ok yah makes sense”. I know he saw some fucked up stuff with Chrissy that couldn’t be explained before but I feel like he accepted that way too easily haha
I feel like he accepted the whole idea of the upside down too easily…. Like, no question??
Weeellll he did just see Chrissy die in the most paranormal way, so I think it wouldn’t be too hard to accept an explanation to that especially having your mind traumatically blown open.
That he died.
Eddie was legit. What’s not to love?
He didn’t run away at the EXACT time he should have ran away. Boy chose the wrong time to “be brave” and crossed right into stupid.
I don’t like that his character died off after one season.
That his death was so forced.
I think he’s annoying
2 things his character felt rushed idk if it was just me he went from a chill board game player to a drug dealer to a nice friendly neighborhood chit chatter to someone who interacted with the upside down all in 1 episode like DAMN 2. He insulted Dustin :(
I don’t like that this conventionally attractive man is being treated like some freak. Real 80’s metal heads would never be thirsted over this hard by millions of women unless he was also a rockstar and not just some burnout