'Stranger Things 4' star talks heroic fate in Volume 2

After several weeks of feverish anticipation, Stranger Things 4 came to a close Friday with the premiere of its second volume on Netflix. Despite containing a mere two episodes, the latter "half" of the new season encompasses three hours worth of small screen content chock full of major narrative reveals and heart-wrenching character developments.

Following the reveal of Vecna's (Jamie Campbell Bower) true identity at the end of Episode 7, the heroes of Hawkins decide to bring the battle straight to the Upside Down in an effort to stop the baddie's Freddy Krueger-ish killing spree in its tracks. The strategy is solid, but, as expected, things don't go fully to plan. If you haven't seen the final two episodes yet, we recommend submerging yourself in a sensory deprivation tank. And just in case that didn't give you enough pause, here's a bigger precaution...

**SPOILER WARNING! The following contains major plot spoilers for the Season 4 finale of Stranger Things!**

During the final confrontation, fan favorite character and local Hawkins "bad boy" Eddie Munson (played by Game of Thrones alum, Joseph Quinn) makes the decision to remain in the Upside Down and fight off a horde of Demobats while Steve (Joe Keery), Nancy (Natalia Dyer), and Robin (Maya Hawke) attempt to pump a few shotgun pellets into Vecna. Eddie's last stand, which presents a nice parallel to the cowardice he showed over Chrissy's demise at the start of the season, results in his own untimely death.

Naturally, this has prompted an overwhelming wave of despair and anguish on the part of viewers who have now had to cope with the passing of Barb, Bob, and Alexei across the previous three seasons.There's only so much heartache an audience can take, after all, and the image of Eddie slipping away in Dustin's (Gaten Matarazzo) arms is sure to leave more than a few emotional scars for years to come.

“I'm delighted that people have responded in the way that they have done to Eddie, so if they're missing him, then that's a lovely thing. It feels very gratifying," Quinn admitted during a recent interview with the Radio Times. "I think there's a great beginning, there's a great middle, and a great end for the character."

He continued: "And as an actor you want characters with those kinds of arcs. So whilst it would have been great to come back for another season and get together with all those lovely people again, I think it was a brilliantly realized ending for a brilliantly written character."

Courtesy of Netflix

While Mr. Munson won't be coming back from the dead like Max (what? too soon?), he still got to go out in style with a rad Metallica guitar solo that leads the Demobats away from the Creel House. Quinn described that day of the shoot as "thrilling" and a wonderful reprieve from the COVID-19 health crisis, which loomed large over the production.

"I think the timing of it was brilliant," he added. "For the whole crew, it felt like the first time that people had been in a live music kind of situation since the pandemic, so it was a joyous celebration on the day. It's a fantastic conclusion to the character and yeah, I feel very very lucky ... It comes around once in a career really, or kind of once in a generation – something that touches so many people's hearts of all different generations. It's a very rare thing to be a part of it."

All nine episodes of Stranger Things 4 are now streaming on Netflix. The show will come to an end after a confirmed fifth season.

Looking for more sci-fi TV in the meantime? Check out shows like Resident Alien, Brave New World, Project Blue Book, Eureka, Heroes, Intergalactic, and more streaming now on Peacock. Looking ahead, SYFY has the new series The Ark in the works from original Stargate film producer Dean Devlin, as well as Stargate SG-1 producer Jonathan Glassner.