Warning: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things' Series Finale
Stranger Things fans have noticed a callback that honors one of the show's most beloved characters who arrived and met their demise in Season 4. While there have been mixed opinions on whether the final episode of the Netflix series truly stuck the landing, there have been many fans sharing plenty of online posts that do not focus on picking out minor plot inconsistencies and the "safe" decisions of the Duffer brothers. One such post highlights the way Eddie Munson returned to the series thanks to Dustin's graduation speech.
For many months after Season 4 ended, many fans refused to believe that future Fantastic Four star Joseph Quinn would make some kind of appearance in the final season. Despite the actor continually denying that he would be back - especially considering his character most definitely and irrefutably died - until the end credits rolled on the series finale, there were still some who expected the spirit, ghost, or some other visual representation of Eddie to show up for an encore.
While that did not happen, fans loved one moment that made good on Eddie's speech about what he would do come his graduation. For those who don't remember, back in the early part of Season 4, Eddie said of his own graduation, "I'm gonna walk that stage next month, I'm gonna look Principal Higgins dead in the eye, I'm gonna flip him the bird, I'm gonna snatch that diploma and I'm gonna run like hell outta here."
This is exactly what Dustin did as he ended his epic graduation speech, echoing the sentiment of Eddie wanted to deliver in event he was never able to attend. This is a touch that completely goes against the complaints that the Duffers did not "tie things up," as anything they felt was important enough to be rounded out in the finale had its moment.
'Stranger Things' Could Never Please Everyone but Did Enough
It is almost impossible to bring a long-running series to a close and please millions of fans who all have slightly different ideas about how they want to see things come to an end. Stranger Things had fans wanting to see Will's coming out lead to him and Mike becoming a couple, others wanting Mike and Eleven to have a happy ending, and even more wanting to see several popular characters killed off during the final episodes.
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As it turns out, none of these viewers got their wish, as the Duffers allowed the majority of the characters to exit the series with their futures intact. The biggest exception to this was Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven, who sacrificed herself to ensure the horrors of the Upside Down came to an end for good. In many ways, this was the way things were expected to play out, especially with the Duffers having said that their spinoff plans did not involve Eleven, and they had no further stories to tell about the character.
Now it is over, eyes will now be turning to the way the franchise can continue now that the major threats of Vecna and the Mind Flayer have been dealt with, and everything that came with them has been sucked into the void of space. Stranger Things: Tales from 1985, an animated series going back in time to an earlier period of the story, will be arriving in 2026, but what is next for the franchise is mostly unknown. The huge viewership of the series, though, suggests there will be an audience eagerly waiting for what comes next.
Stranger Things Like Follow Followed TV-14 Drama Mystery Horror Science Fiction Release Date 2016 - 2025-00-00 Network Netflix Showrunner Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer Directors Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Andrew Stanton, Frank Darabont, Nimród Antal, Uta Briesewitz Writers Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock 7 Images Close Cast See All Millie Bobby Brown Jane 'Eleven' Hopper Finn Wolfhard Mike Wheeler
Creator(s) Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer Powered by Expand Collapse