Stranger Things season four volume one spoilers ahead.
Stranger Things season four has barely been out a week but has already given us so many things: a newly-refreshed love of Kate Bush, a villain so skin-crawlingly horrifying he leaves Freddy Krueger a shivering wreck, and Steve Harrington shirtless.
Really, there's something for everyone in this series, even if it's just a jab of some '80s nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake.
But most importantly, there's someone who has proven to be universally adored by fans of the series, and his name is Eddie Munson: the ruling leader of the Hellfire Club.
Played by British actor Joseph Quinn, metalhead Eddie looks like a baby member of Mötley Crüe – complete with fluffy glam-rock hair, leather-and-denim fashion sense and love of sweet silver rings. But his tough-looking exterior is nothing but a front for those who can’t and won’t understand him in Hawkins, Indiana.
Spend more than five minutes with him, and you find out he's just the king of Dungeons and Dragons-loving nerds, content to hang out with his little band of outcasts and dabble in a little light-hearted drug dealing.
So naturally, we're petrified for his safety, and fear the show is setting him up for disaster by the end of the season's run.
This fear isn't unfounded. In fact, if our worries are correct, it actually slots in with a tried and true formula within the world of Hawkins, Indiana.
Stranger Things has a bit of an issue with cast overcrowding, and it only gets worse with every new season and string of new additions. Even Millie Bobby Brown and Noah Schnapp, two of the show's leading cast, haven't missed it, telling The Wrap ahead of season four's premiere there needs to be a Game of Thrones-style cull to trim the credits down.
"The Duffer brothers [show creators] are two Sensitive Sallys who don't want to kill anyone off," Millie said. "We need to have the mindset of Game of Thrones. Kill me off! They tried killing David [Harbour] off and they brought him back!"
While this observation is indeed an accurate one, with nearly two dozen main characters with their own side plots throughout this season alone, there is actually one exception to this rule – and it's the trope known as the Sacrificial Lamb.
The Duffer brothers know a show like Stranger Things needs some stakes. Having everyone we love miraculously survive numerous run-ins with a murderous monster for an extended period of time is not only unrealistic (well… as unrealistic as it can be given the fantasy world they're in), it also means there's little tension as you know the main group are going to be fine.
But there is a loophole in this, something that Stranger Things has used to terrific effect multiple times already: you bring someone into the main fold whose sole purpose is to die.
This person normally has some kind of importance to at least one of the main characters, becomes a key part of the narrative, and is often quite lovable, giving their death an emotional impact different to that of an antagonist whose death you can revel in.
But the greatest tragedy of of the Sacrificial Lamb is they're often killed in such a way that it has little to no lasting impact on the show at large, even if it does have some emotional effect on their pals or provides some sort of galvanising effect on their behaviour going forward.
For season one, this was Barb – Nancy's goody-two-shoes pal who ends up getting dragged into a swimming pool and eaten by the demogorgon as her bestie bumps uglies with Steve in a room upstairs.
This was the first seemingly major character to be whisked off to the great unknown with fans wanting Barb to get some justice… but after season one she was barely mentioned again. It took until season four for Nancy to acknowledge her guilt over her friend's death, and even that's when Vecna infiltrates her brain.
In season two, Bob Newby became the sacrificial lamb, throwing himself to the wolves (well… demodogs) so the others could live to fight another day. In the run-up to the incident he proved a much-needed match for Joyce, father figure to Will and Jonathan, a vital and smart member of the adult gang, plus a general sweetheart. But he's barely been mentioned in passing since.
And then for season three, we had Russian scientist Alexei, the comic relief for Joyce and Hopper's ongoing will they/won't they romance as go on the run with him. A pure, sweet baby angel, he couldn't speak a word of English and just wanted to experience America, drink cherry slushies and watch Woody Woodpecker cartoons. Even if he was a little sneaky at times, he was ultimately harmless, and quickly became a favourite.
Then without warning, he was killed off in the middle of the Hawkins 4th of July fun fair. It served as a stark reminder that no one was safe in this show, no matter how much you liked them.
But realistically, where could his character have gone? The Russians weren't going to let him get away with defecting, were they? So the chances of him living a quiet life in Hawkins was never going to happen. It was sadly, a foregone conclusion the second Alexei first made us laugh that his was a death waiting to happen.
Now, we're devastated to say this, but if the Duffer brothers continue with this format like they have seasons before, then it looks highly likely that sweetheart Eddie, our new rocker favourite, is on the chopping block. Coming into the series four seasons in, he has become the Sacrificial Lamb in a way already – without even dying.
His sudden involvement with the group does not extend more than the six months he spent playing Dungeons and Dragons with Dustin and Will. But now he’s experiencing the Upside Down, battling supernatural forces with no long-term attachment to Steve, Nancy and Robin.
He has no romantic entanglements and no family, and so only real string to the plot at large is his attachment to Dustin, admitting that he wants to impress the youngster.
The odds are stacked against him, and it seems that his Big Bad may come from something scarier than Vecna – a fearful man who believes Eddie's the devil.
No matter what happens with Vecna, the Satanic Panic that has shaken up Hawkins isn't going to just go away anytime soon, lest the entire Upside Down be exposed to residents.
Satanic Panic is an all-too-real moral panic that was particularly prominent in the '80s and '90s, and especially across the Bible belt of the States. Horrific murders were blamed on Satan or members of Satanic cults worshipping the devil. This was the motive given by the prosecution in the case of three misfit kids wrongly convicted of the murder of three boys in Arkansas in 1993, in the now infamous West Memphis Three case.
In the UK, there was a drive in the 1980s to ban splatter horror movies dubbed "Video Nasties", sparked in the belief that they encouraged and incited violence. The Exorcist was banned for 11 years, only becoming available again for wide release in 1999.
So if you're a known metalhead "gang leader" of something called The Hellfire Club, spend all day playing Dungeons and Dragons, and are present at almost unexplainable murders of teenage residents? Well… you're public enemy number one.
So even if he manages to survive the upcoming battle against Vecna, there's very little chance this teen is in for the happy ending he deserves.
Let's get this out there – we don't know what's going to happen, and we want to protect Eddie at all costs. But if The Duffer bros want an impactful death without losing any of the core cast, then sadly Eddie's going to be your guy.
Even if he doesn't die, the multiple unexplained deaths, including Chrissy Cunningham, Fred Benson and Patrick McKinney, will be pinned on him. It already is by Jason Carver, the high-school jock who waited all of ten seconds to turn to violence to try and track a terrified Eddie down after Chrissy's death.
The mob Jason has fired up is dangerous, violent and vengeful. If it doesn't kill him, the innocent youngster will likely end up in jail, lest a miracle save him at the last minute. Either way, not the ending he deserves.
We hope we're wrong. And until we see it on screen, we're going to believe we're wrong. Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, actor Joseph has hinted that he survives at least into season five, telling us he wants to come back.
"Oh, yeah, I think so. I can't see why not. I'd be furious if they're not bringing me back," he said… which definitely rings of the potential for him to do so.
But history does have a habit of repeating itself in Hawkins.
Stranger Things season 4 volume 2 is available to stream on Netflix from July 1.
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Sony/Legacy Recordings Stranger Things: Soundtrack from the Netflix Original series, Season 3
Century Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town: The Second Official Novel
Freelance writer, Digital Spy
Tilly is Gold-Standard NCTJ accredited journalist with eight years of experience in entertainment journalism.
She has been heard giving her insight on the latest TV stories on BBC Radio across the country and on BBC News.
Previously working with The Sun Online, Yahoo, Metro.co.uk and Independent IE amongst others, she joined the Digital Spy team from 2021-2023 as Deputy TV Editor (Maternity cover).
With a speciality in TV drama and true crime, Tilly has been praised for her exclusive content with A-list stars ranging from Sir David Attenborough to the lawyers behind Making A Murderer.
She’s happy to report her mum now takes her seriously as a journalist as she got to interview George Clooney once.
