Warning: major spoilers ahead for season 4 volume 2.
The masterminds behind Stranger Things have squashed all rumours over a particular character returning in season five, much to the dismay of thousands of distraught fans.
In the season finale of the epic show, which dropped on Netflix on Friday, July 1 the loveable Eddie Munson () goes down like a hero in the Upside Down to the tune of Metallica lead the vicious demobats away from the Creel house.
He initially manages to race away from the flock of creatures and use his weapons to defend himself, before eventually being brought down by the beasts, dying in the arms of Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo).
While his death seemed pretty convincing, several viewers weren’t happy with how his story ended, especially as we only got to see him in nine episodes.
Considering that the hit Netflix show is known for its unexpected twists and turns, many fans believed Eddie would make a surprise return in the upcoming instalment, however, co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer addressed the mounting speculation.
During their sit down on the podcast, Matt said: ‘We sort of saw Eddie as a bit of a doomed character.
‘Even imagining the flipside of that where he does survive that final battle, there’s not a great life waiting for Eddie in the right side up either, so he was really designed from the get go as a doomed character – unlike someone like Bob [Sean Astin’s character, who died in season two], who was like a shock to really up the stakes.’
‘He was always going to be a tragic character,’ Ross added.
‘There was no other arc for him. He would have wound up in jail – this fantasy that he would have been in Milwaukee graduating sadly was never an outcome for him.’
Fans were so devastated by Eddie’s death, that a petition was set up on , which at the time of writing, had already garnered over 19,000 signatures with a target of 25,000.
The person who created the petition, who’s going by the name Maddy, wrote in summary: ‘This is a petition I have started to bring back fan favourite Eddie Munson.
‘The Duffer Brothers have unfairly Ki**ed him off and many other fans and I think he deserves to be brought back and not just as a flashback, please sign this petition to spread awareness.’
The description added: ‘Stranger Things fans are kindly asking Netflix and the Duffer Brothers to bring back the fan favourite character Eddie Munson.’
Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix.
