Painful Stranger Things Theory: Eddie Only Died Because We... Liked Steve Too Much?

Summary:

• Since the first season of Stranger Things, fans have expected Steve Harrington to be killed off at some point in the story
• Even the show's creators originally planned for him to die in season 1, but changed their minds
• All indications were that Steve was going to die in season 4, until Eddie was introduced as his replacement

The fourth season of Stranger Things introduced a number of new characters, but none of the newcomers, with perhaps the sole exception of new antagonist Vecna, felt as important as Eddie Munson.

Brilliantly portrayed by Joseph Quinn, Eddie was the heart and soul of the season and quickly became a fan favorite, with many viewers expecting him to stay and become a recurring character on the show.

To their utter shock, Eddie bravely sacrificed his life in the final episode of the season, distracting the flying Upside Down creatures and buying time for the rest of the team.

While it was undoubtedly one of the greatest moments of season four, if not the entire series, and one that fans won't soon forget, many viewers who grew to love the character over the course of eight episodes were left a bit disappointed by the twist.

Fan Theory Makes Eddie's Death Even More Heartbreaking

But a new fan theory that recently surfaced on Reddit makes this unfortunate turn of events even more heartbreaking, suggesting that Eddie had to die so that Steve Harrington, played by Joe Keery, could live.

Since the show's debut in 2016, fans speculated that Steve wouldn't survive the events of the first season, and with each new season in the following years, they expected him to meet his end over and over again.

In addition, the show's creators revealed that they had actually planned to kill off Steve in season 1, but they simply liked Joe Keery too much and changed their minds about his character's fate.

Each season of the show featured a major death that affected the rest of the characters, Barb in season 1, Bob in season 2, and Billy in season 3, so fans naturally expected the tradition to continue in season 4 to keep the stakes high.

While most of them, with the exception of Billy and Eddie, were supporting characters, the pattern becomes pretty clear when you look at the show as a whole.

Eddie Felt A Bit Like A Replacement For Steve

Before Eddie's introduction, fans were once again expecting Steve to die in season four, "definitely, for real this time," as his death would devastate everyone, especially Dustin Henderson, for whom Steve had become a brother figure.

Perhaps the show's creators weren't exactly thrilled with the idea of killing off any of the main characters, or Steve in particular (given their previous decision regarding him), but they also didn't want to undermine the expectations of the fans.

This is where Eddie comes in, as he has become a replacement for Steve in many ways, such as taking over his role as the "babysitter character" by bonding with the kids, including Dustin, who seemed to be more affected by his death than others.

In addition, Eddie, like Steve before him, has earned the love of the fans, making him a prime target for the "Shocking Death of the Season," although it must be pointed out that predicting which characters will be loved by the fans or not is extremely difficult.

To sum it all up, the writers may have felt a bit of pressure from the audience, who have been expecting Steve to die for years, so they introduced a somewhat similar character into the story to take his place.

Of course, all of this is just fan speculation, but with all of the possible evidence combined, it definitely looks plausible, even if we will never know the actual truth.

Source: Reddit