I’ve always adored Stranger Things. I was immediately hooked by the first season’s blend of horror and 80’s nostalgia, and enjoyed reuniting with the characters for an uneven (but still engaging) second season.
Hell, there’s even a soft spot in my heart for the lighter Stranger Things 3, which I firmly believed did a great job of setting up a relatively happy status quo for the Hawkins gang before tearing it to pieces for the recently released, and excellent, Stranger Things 4.
I’m not sure you’ll find many fans willing to argue against Stranger Things 4 being the best run of episodes Netflix has produced yet. Bigger in every sense of the word, Stranger Things 4 offered up decadently sized episodes that, somewhat incredibly, actually managed to earn their eye-watering runtimes. The show’s rapidly expanding cast all got room to shine in scenes that were allowed to properly breathe. The scares were back in full force with properly grotesque body horror and a frighteningly visceral big bad in Vecna. It introduced several new generations to the genius of Kate Bush. All in all, a rousing success.
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And yet, I find I’m left with one complaint as we head towards Stranger Things 5: this show has gotten way too predictable when it comes to which characters it’s going to kill off.
Let me prefix this by saying that as we went into the final two episodes of Stranger Things 4, I was genuinely close to erecting a prayer circle to keep my sweet baby Steve Harrington safe from Vecna. I love the core cast of the show, and I don’t particularly want to see any of them die. But I am getting a little tired of the Duffer brothers introducing new characters, having us love them, and then brutally murdering them.
Stranger Things 2 saw the delightful Bob Newby ripped open in front of a traumatised Joyce Byers - a grotesque end for a character who had just spent several episodes showing us what a ridiculously nice dude he was.
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Stranger Things 3 took the time to have us get to know the goofy Russian scientist Dr Alexei before shooting him dead. It also explored Max’s… complicated brother, Billy much better, putting him through hell before finally having him sacrifice himself to save the gang.
All of this to say that as soon as I started Stranger Things 4, I knew Eddie Munson was a dead man. A character that the Hawkins kids all seem to adore and look up to? Played by the stupidly likable Joseph Quinn? Loved by the entire internet within minutes of showing up? He might as well have had a tattoo that said “Don’t Get Attached” slapped onto his forehead.
This isn’t to say Eddie didn’t have a great arc in Stranger Things 4. He starts off (completely understandably) legging it out of his house as poor Chrissie starts folding in on herself like a dodgy deckchair. He then spends most of the first half of the series hiding from the police which, to be fair, I’d probably do if I lived in America too.
By the series’ end, he’s a changed man. He runs headfirst into danger, actively goading it towards him with the power of some seriously bodacious guitar licks in one of the very best scenes in all of Stranger Things. But did he need to die? I don’t think so.
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Personally, I think it would have been more impactful to see Eddie learn to be a hero and then continue to be that hero. To see him alongside the rest of the gang in Stranger Things 5 continuing to watch over and protect his Hellfire Club. And hey, if someone has to die then, it would’ve been even more heartbreaking to say goodbye to Eddie after two seasons.
But it didn’t shake out that way, and I knew it wouldn’t from episode one. I’m sure most of you reading this knew, too. In fact, immediately after watching the finale, a friend who hasn’t seen a single second of Stranger Things 4 messaged me to ask if Eddie had kicked the bucket. That’s how predictable it was. This didn’t exactly lessen Eddie’s journey for me as a viewer, but knowing outright how it was going to end from the very beginning? Well, it didn’t do it any favours.
To make matters worse, Stranger Things 4 once again repeated the last season’s trick of pretending to kill a main character before almost immediately revealing it was a fakeout. Hopper famously avoided death at the end of Stranger Things 3 through the power of plot armour. Similarly, Stranger Things 4 saw Max “die” briefly before being brought back by Eleven before her brains had completely turned to treacle. Yes, her consciousness is currently AWOL, but if you don’t think Max will be awake and ready to take down Vecna with the rest of the gang in the final season, you’re a very silly sausage.
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I long to be surprised by Stranger Things 5. I want it to take risks, and make some bold decisions that leave us genuinely shocked. I simply refuse to believe that after years of fighting off interdimensional monsters together, not a single one of the core cast has permanently bitten the dust. As it stands, I’m going to treat any casting announcements for the new season as a potential obituary - the more likeable the actor, the more likely they are to have their arms stuffed down their throat by Vecna.
So shock me, Stranger Things 5. Do something nobody saw coming and murder somebody who’s been in the show from day one.
Just not Steve, okay? Never Steve.
Featured Image Credit: NetflixTopics: Netflix, TV And Film