Warning: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things 4 volume 2.
Just as fans had been fearing since volume one dropped back in May, the newly released second volume of Stranger Things 4 went ahead and killed off a beloved fan-favorite.
While folks were heartbroken by the development, they weren’t shocked, as the writing was on the wall for this character all season. For more proof that their death was always on the cards, a sly piece of foreshadowing has been discovered that predicts their dark fate.
So, yes, the character in question is, of course, Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn). After spending all season in hiding, Eddie decides it’s time to play hero when he faces down a horde of demobats single-handed. In the wake of his courageous demise, then, fans have realized that an ominous hint at his death has been hanging around Eddie all season, in the form of his tattoo.
As Twitter user @kierstenfarris pointed out, Eddie has a tattoo on his lower right arm depicting a bunch of bats. Before hand, this seemed like a harmless nod to his love of heavy metal-related imagery, but now the ink takes on a much darker meaning.
While it’s obvious that Eddie’s death was always set in stone, creators the Duffer brothers may be wishing they hadn’t killed him off so soon, as the character has surely become much more of a hit with viewers than they could have predicted. Like Bob and Barb before him, Eddie is the latest lovable supporting player that fans wish had lived longer. At this point, though, all we can ask for is for his name to be cleared and his status as a hero restored. Quinn, for one, is hoping season five will do just that.
Stranger Things 4 is now available in its entirety on Netflix.