‘Stranger Things 4’ Theory Suggests Eddie Munson Could Play a Big Role in Eleven’s Story
There could be more to Eddie Munson than Stranger Things fans know. The new character has become a favorite among Stranger Things 4 viewers because of his hilarious wit and sense of style. But what’s the real story behind the newest member of the Hawkins High gang? A popular Stranger Things fan theory could tell the shocking truth about Eddie.
[Spoiler alert: The following story contains spoilers for Stranger Things 4 Vol. 1.]
Who is Eddie Munson in ‘Stranger Things 4’?
Eddie (played by Joseph Quinn) is the leader of Hawkins High’s Hellfire Club, a Dungeons & Dragons group that also includes Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo), and Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin). Early in season 4, it’s revealed that Eddie is a senior at the school, but he was held back twice. So, he’s a bit older than a typical high school student.
Eddie witnesses Chrissy Cunningham’s (Grace Van Dien) death while she’s at his trailer for a drug deal. Because of this, he becomes a suspect in her murder case and goes into hiding. Mike and his friends suspect that Vecna, a monster from the Upside Down, could be responsible for Chrissy’s death, so they track Eddie down and tell him about their previous encounters with the other realm.
Later in the season, Eddie joins the Hawkins High kids on their mission to find an open gate to the Upside Down. He ends up with Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Robin (Maya Hawke), and Steve (Joe Keery) in the Upside Down, which is where season 4 volume 1 ends.
A popular ‘Stranger Things 4’ theory says Eddie is 1 of the Hawkins Lab kids
Many fans of Stranger Things have grown suspicious of Eddie’s mysterious past, which isn’t really discussed in the new season. Is he really just a D&D fan who ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, or is Eddie’s role in all this a bit more complicated? One theory has gone viral on social media sites like Reddit and TikTok: Eddie is actually 010 (Ten), one of Eleven’s “siblings” at Hawkins Lab.
As viewers learn in season 4, Henry Creel/Vecna/One (Jamie Campbell Bower) was responsible for the Hawkins Lab Massacre years ago. He presumably killed all of the kids in Dr. Brenner’s (Matthew Modine) program, except Eleven. At the time of the massacre, Ten was working with Dr. Brenner in a room separate from the other children. Dr. Brenner survived the attack; did Ten survive as well?
The theory states that Ten may have secretly survived and escaped the lab. He then grew up as Eddie Munson. A few pieces of evidence point to this theory — namely, Eddie told Chrissy he had “buzzed hair” in middle school, which is how all the Hawkins Lab kids looked. Plus, Eddie wears a watch on his left wrist, which could cover his 010 tattoo.
Lastly, some fans are suspicious of how accepting Eddie is when the Hawkins kids tell him about the Upside Down and Eleven’s powers. He’s not even a little shocked at the idea that another realm with monsters could exist and that experiments on telekinetic kids happened right in Hawkins.
Some fans might have debunked the theory
While some Stranger Things viewers agree with the Eddie Munson theory, others don’t think the evidence is strong enough. In the comments on a TikTok video, fans mentioned the timeline not adding up. Ten’s age was never specified, but fans thought he was around 12 or 13 years old when the massacre occurred. If Chrissy knew him in middle school, that would mean he transitioned from the lab to regular schooling unusually quickly, especially after such a traumatizing event.
Even if Eddie isn’t Ten, it seems he’ll play a bigger role in season 4 vol. 2. New photos of the upcoming episodes show Eddie helping the Hawkins gang in their investigation, and the teaser shows him shredding on his guitar in the Upside Down.
Stranger Things 4 Vol. 1 is now streaming on Netflix. Vol. 2 drops on July 1.
