Are Eddie Munson's parents dead?

Though we learn a lot about him throughout the show and see a huge character development, there are still many unanswered questions. One of the most frequently asked questions is: are Eddie Munson's parents dead? And while we don't know for sure, in this article we'll theorize what might have happened to them and Eddie.

What do we know about Eddie Munson's situation?

Eddie lives with his paternal uncle, Wayne Munson. Though Wayne doesn't have a central role in the show, we see him searching for his nephew and putting up posters of him after the supposed earthquake in Hawkins. It's clear that Wayne doesn't believe the rumors of Eddie being involved in a satanic cult as he tears down a vandalized poster of Eddie and replaces it.

Though we don't know what job Wayne had, Eddie reveals that he works long hours to provide for them.

It is Dustin who reveals to Wayne that Eddie died – and did so while fighting to save a town of people that largely hated him. Wayne is clearly devastated over his nephew's death, which shows the bond the pair had.

What do we know of Eddie's parents?

We don't know an awful lot! It appears that Wayne is the only close relative that Eddie has. There is a mention of his father when Eddie explains in the Papa episode that he learned how to hotwire from his dad.

We presume, therefore, that Eddie's parents were around once upon a time but for whatever reason, they no longer are.

What the actors said

Joseph Quinn, the actor who played Eddie, had his own theory that he worked with. He told Netflix, "I thought his mum had maybe passed on or had left, and that his dad was in prison. He was very estranged from his parents, and that brings up all the stuff that brings up for young people."

In an interview, Joel Stoffer, the actor who played Wayne Munson, discussed the relationship between the pair. He said: "This guy [Wayne Munson] is someone who cares about his nephew, that's it. He's concerned about his nephew, you know, his nephew's been wrongly accused of something and there's no proof about it, I just know my nephew. And I know he didn't do it. Whether or not he was a trailer park guy, who might've been an angry, bitter, guy… which I think there is a little bit of angry bitter in Wayne, but still, you know, the concern about his nephew overrides any of that stuff … but he's [Wayne] also somebody who I think has some anger, you know because of whatever trauma he might've had in his life … I probably saw a lot of crap that Eddie had to deal with growing up maybe with whatever parents he had. Probably some abuse, trauma. I saw that, and I made it a mission as his uncle, to protect him."

So, are Eddie Munson's parents dead?

The truth is, we don't know! Unless it is revealed somehow in season five of Stranger Things, we'll probably never know. But that's a good thing – part of the reason so many people love Eddie Munson is that there's an air of mystery to him.