In case you hadn’t cried enough, the Stranger Things Season 5 finale features a hidden Easter egg that pays tribute to the late, great Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn).
Eddie was the metalhead hero first introduced in Season 4 as the leader of the Hellfire Club. Even though he quickly became a fan favorite, he ultimately sacrificed himself to save the gang from Vecna.
Using the power of heavy metal, he distracted Vecna’s (Jamie Campbell Bower) cauldron of Demobats, a brave move that cost him his life. Throughout the fifth and final chapter, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) has been struggling the most with his death.
The finale of Stranger Things, which landed on Netflix on New Year’s Eve, pays tribute to Eddie in the final showdown with Vecna, but there’s a more meaningful Easter egg that you may have missed. Warning: spoilers ahead!
Stranger Things Season 5 pays tribute to Eddie Munson
During his valedictorian speech, Dustin switches the tone and pulls off his robe to reveal a Hellfire Lives shirt – but he also snatches his diploma from Hawkins High Principal Higgins and gives him the middle finger, which if you recall, was originally Eddie’s plan.
In Stranger Things Season 4, Eddie gives a speech in the cafeteria where he argues that “conformity” is the “real monster” of Hawkins.
He then reveals to his Hellfire crew that if he manages to graduate, “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.”
And this is exactly what Dustin does. He starts out with an inspirational speech honoring his friends who are all there in the crowd, and how the “chaos” is now over.
But the tone switches when he describes Higgins as a “square”, and he rips off his graduation robe to reveal the Hellfire shirt, at which point Iron Maiden’s ‘The Trooper’ starts playing.
As Higgins tries dragging him off stage, Dustin says, “Screw the school. Screw the system. Screw confirming,” another tribute to Eddie. The crowd cheers, and he grabs his diploma and carries out the rest of Eddie’s plan.
A number of Stranger Things fans spotted this, with one sharing their find on Reddit. “At the end, when Dustin graduates, he flipped the principal the bird, snatched his diploma and ran out of there,” they wrote.
“Eddie in the cafeteria: ‘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’.”
The post has received dozens of comments, with one noticing the Easter egg too, writing, “That’s the first thing I thought of. Absolute amazing tribute to Eddie the Banished.” Another said, “I immediately caught this! He did exactly what Eddie said he’d do.”
Others have been left in floods of tears, including this person who wrote, “Me bawling even harder than I was before. Hellfire lives!” Another commented, “Ugh I’m ready to cry again. I can’t get over how amazing that finale was.”
A third pointed out, “Yep, and all to the tune of Iron Maiden’s ‘The Trooper,’ off of Piece of Mind (the album Eddie held up while shouting ‘This is music!’).”
Yes, Eddie never got to walk that stage, but Dustin made damn sure his plan did.
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