Stranger Things season 4 introduced us to Eddie Munson – metalhead, man on the run, and massive D&D fan. The season’s finale left the internet speculating about the fate of many main characters, but what will happen with Eddie has been talked about perhaps more than anything else. One Tiktok user and Dungeons and Dragons lore lover, @paulruddfanclub, thinks Eddie’s season five story is tied to some classic DnD history – namely, the backstory of Vecna himself.
Given Eddie’s affinity for tabletop RPGs and how often the series is explained using DnD terminology, this is a Stranger Things theory we think might actually have legs. The key to Eddie’s season five fate, according to @paulruddfanclub, is classic DnD character Kas the Bloody-handed.
This is your warning that the rest of the article is going to contain major spoilers for Stranger Things season four. The final episodes were released on July 1, and if you haven’t had a chance to check them out yet, you might want to come back to this article later.
Still here? Good. Let’s talk about how Kas the Bloody-Handed could change the fate of Eddie Munson.
@Paulruddfanclub begins their Tiktok video (which you can watch below) with a clip of Eddie Dungeon Mastering a D&D game for some of the main Stranger Things crew. Vecna (the tiny miniature one) returns from the dead, and Mike cries out “he was killed by Kas!”
As the Tiktok explains, Kas was Vecna’s most trusted lieutenant. He was a human who later transformed into a vampire, and he’s known for wielding the Sword of Kas. In general, @paulruddfanclub says Kas favoured a one-handed blade and a shield in battle. Sounding familiar yet?
@paulruddfanclub #stitch with @.dizay really thought i was in denial at first until i got to thinking… #fyp #strangerthings #strangerthings4 #eddiemunson #vecna #foryoupage #josephquinn #dufferbrothers ♬ original sound – 🤡
Eddie Munson takes on the beasts of the Upside Down with a one-handed blade and a shield. Eddie Munson is taken out by the bites of Vecna’s Demobats (who the internet is absolutely adamant don’t kill people).
“I also have a theory that things not from the Upside Down can’t die in the Upside Down,” @paulruddfanclub adds. “One should have been killed by the things that happened to him, and how else did Will survive there for so long without food and water?” They also point out a discussion the gang had earlier in season four that compares Vecna to a vampire.
All this seems to be pointing towards the possibility of resurrection. If Eddie has been bitten by vampire bats, there’s every chance he could return. Not only that, but he could also return to do exactly what Kas the Bloody-Handed did, and what Kas is best known for – betraying and killing Vecna. Perhaps Vecna brings Eddie (and the other dead kids) back for his own purposes, but Eddie somehow manages to break free of this control.
@Paulruddfanclub openly admits there may be some holes in their theory (such as Barb’s death breaking the ‘no one dies in the Upside Down’ rule). They also leave the Tiktok video open-ended, and we’re left ruminating on what an Eddie Munson resurrection could actually look like.
One thing the Tiktok leaves out is what happens to Kas after he kills Vecna. We’re sorry to say that it’s not a happy ending – Kas may have taken Vecna’s life, but he was banished to the misty plane of Ravenloft not long after. Eddie Munson may come back to be a hero again, but there’s nothing in D&D lore that says it won’t be for the last time.
We look at Stranger Things season 4 some more by showing you how you can have your own Stranger Things Kate Bush moment in TTRPGs. You can also find more DnD in our guides to Vecna and how to play Dungeons and Dragons.