Eddie's Final Heartbreaking Line In Stranger Things Season 4 Was Unscripted
Netflix's smash-hit "Stranger Things" will soon be coming to an end, with the fifth and final season continuing production once the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) provides a fair contract with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) to put an end to the current dual strike. Fans are used to waiting for new seasons of the sci-fi, horror, adventure series, but many are more impatient than usual after the heartbreaking events of season 4. The most recent season introduced a new character named Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), the misunderstood Dungeon Master of the Hellfire Club, the unofficial Dungeons and Dragons group of Hawkins High School.
It's doubtful the show's creators, the Duffer Brothers, or any other "Stranger Things" creatives predicted how strongly fans would respond to this breakout character, who completely stole the show in a season boasting some of the best moments in the series' history. The end of the season sees Eddie shredding to Metallica's "Master of Puppets" while in the Upside Down so the rest of the cast can make it out, and eaten alive by Vecna's hell bats in the process. His death was downright devastating, dying in the arms of Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) before uttering his last words ... "I love you, man." Eddie was an outsider shunned by most of Hawkins, but his friendship with Dustin was real, and one of the only genuine friendships he had. Dustin is already a wreck, but hearing Eddie express his emotions puts him over the edge, crying out an "I love you, too" before Eddie finally passes.
This is the death of the season, and according to the "Stranger Things" writers' room, the moment was improvised by actor Joseph Quinn.
The power of vulnerability
Given the popularity of the show, the "Stranger Things" writers' room has its own official account on Twitter, where they often answer questions or drop fun facts and teasers for fans. In July of 2022, as fans were reeling from the death of Eddie, the account broke the news that "I love you, man" was improvised. This made fans even more emotional, as Quinn has inspired a fanbase as passionate as the one for the character he played. A cursory glance at the quote tweets of their post boasts hundreds (if not thousands) of fans admitting that this makes the scene hit harder than before. The team has not mentioned if there were alternate line reads or revealed what the original final line was as written in the script. Regardless, Quinn's instincts as an actor were solid, and his improv was right on the spot.
On a lighter note, "I love you, man" wasn't the only line Quinn improvised. In season 4 episode 8, Eddie and the rest of the crew break into (and hotwire) a camper van and Robin (Maya Hawke) expresses discomfort with him driving. Eddie then replies, "Oh, I'm starting the sucker. Harrington's got it ... don't ya, big boy?" to imply Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) will be in charge. The line is such a perfect distillation of Eddie's sarcastic nature, and another line Quinn came up with himself.