Warning: Spoilers ahead for Stranger Things: Flight of Icarus!
Stranger Things set up Eddie Munson’s tragic death nearly two years before his fate was revealed in season 4. Joseph Quinn’s beloved character is the basis of Stranger Things: Flight of Icarus, an in-universe book that serves as a prequel to Eddie’s season 4 storyline. Despite not making his official debut until 2022, Eddie instantly became a fan favorite for becoming a champion of the downtrodden and embracing himself as a “freak” in the eyes of his peers. Though his time in Stranger Things was short, he left a lasting mark on everyone he considered a friend.
As a newcomer within Stranger Things season 4’s cast of characters, Eddie became involved in the latest mysteries plaguing Hawkins and participated in a mission in an attempt to defeat Vecna. Eddie ended up suffering severe injuries in the Upside Down before dying in Dustin’s arms, but even when facing death, Eddie kept a positive outlook. This is even more surprising considering how much pain he went through going up in Hawkins after losing his mother and dealing with his deadbeat dad. However, Eddie’s avoidance of following in his dad’s footsteps wouldn’t change his fate.
Eddie Munson Predicted His Death 2 Years Before It Happened In Stranger Things Season 4
Eddie’s Stranger Things‘ death was one of the most heartbreaking moments in the show’s history thus far. However, his grim fate was essentially set up two years prior in Stranger Things: Flight of Icarus through one brief but impactful line. In chapter 1, the book introduces one of Eddie’s longtime friends and allies who has never been mentioned in the show: a fellow classmate named Veronica “Ronnie” Ecker. While Ronnie is a member of Hellfire Club and plays drums for Corodded Coffin, she has a brighter future in the eyes of Eddie, which he follows up with a sad prediction that comes true in 1986:
“Veronica Ecker is going places. She’s headed to college, she’s headed to law school, she’s getting the hell out of Indiana. Eddie Munson? He’s gonna die in this stupid town.”
The book, which is told from the perspective of Eddie in first-person, documents a time in the character’s life when he has a way out of Hawkins. Flight of Icarus sees Eddie encounter a Hawkins High graduate named Paige, who now works for a record label in LA. The connection to Eddie gives him hope for the first time in his life, but deep down, even he knows he’s never meant to leave the small town. Ronnie manages to get out, considering she’s not around in Stranger Things season 4, but Eddie, as set up with his in-universe perception of himself years prior, only had one fate. Sadly, that death in Hawkins came sooner than he probably expected.
How Stranger Things’ Prequel Story Makes Eddie’s Death Sadder
To make matters worse, Eddie’s Stranger Things death is foreshadowed in several ways in the prequel book. Eddie’s line in Flight of Icarus is likely the self-realization that he would end up living in Hawkins for his entire life, working a dead-end job similar to his Uncle Wayne. He never took school seriously, and he didn’t have many people on his side for support. With his genuine chance at auditioning for a record label to become a rock star, bypassing that opportunity makes his eventual fate just two years later all the more heartwrenching.
After being left to clean up his father’s mess with the local police from a robbery gone wrong, Eddie knew he couldn’t run from his troubles. He stuck with Hawkins, sought out a gig with Reefer Rick as a drug dealer, and embraced the fact that being the leader of Hellfire Club was good enough for him. It’s as if that was all he thought he deserved in life, something that Stranger Things season 4 deemed untrue. Eddie’s brief arc in the show proved that he deserved more in life, and his actions in the prequel book only adds to that notion.
