What real criminal case inspired the character of Eddie Munson?
And what does Eleven have in common with Luke Skywalker?
Keep watching for Easter eggs you might have missed in Season 4, Volume 2 of Stranger Things.
But beware!
There are spoilers ahead.
When speaking with Netflix's Tudum, the Duffer brothers hinted at the fact that Eddie Munson
is inspired by a specific person who was a Dungeons & Dragons fanatic and metalhead just
like Eddie.
A tweet from Netflix Geeked confirmed that Eddie Munson is loosely based on West Memphis
Three member Damien Echols.
A writer and artist these days, Echols was one of three teenagers convicted under highly
dubious circumstances of the 1993 murders of Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher
Byers, in what the media considered at the time to be satanic rituals.
Echols had a tendency for dressing in black and listening to heavy metal, which led the
community to ostracize him and believe he conducted spiritual practices with ties to
witchcraft and satanism.
In an interview about Season 4, Ross Duffer said,
"Something we really wanted to get into this year was the Satanic Panic."
The term "Satanic Panic" refers to a period in the '80s and '90s when society began blaming
its various ills on the influence of heavy metal music and fantastical imagery from escapist
entertainment like Dungeons & Dragons.
Advocates of the Satanic Panic were specifically concerned about supposed satanists harming
or sacrificing small children.
"There's a widely held opinion that what happened at the daycare was the devil's handiwork."
The West Memphis Three were released from prison in 2011.
Echols went on to become a New York Times bestselling author and produced a documentary
about his experience.
When describing the character of Eddie, Matt Duffer said,
"What's sad about his narrative is that the people who get to know him love him, and the
people who don't have judged him horribly."
It's no secret that the creators of Stranger Things love to pay respect to horror classics
with the numerous references they sprinkle throughout the series, and Season 4 is no
different.
At one point, Joyce and Hopper come across a Russian lab of tanks filled with Demogorgons
for experimentation, and the scene is almost identical to one in Alien: Resurrection — a
1997 movie that, just like Stranger Things, co-stars Winona Ryder.
However, the Duffer brothers didn't stop there.
There are several other nods to the Alien film franchise throughout the season, such
as Paul Reiser's use of the word "kiddo."
Burke, Reiser's character in Aliens, also makes frequent use of the patronizing nickname.
References to the Stephen King horror classic, Carrie appear throughout the season as well,
like when El gets bullied in front of her whole school and when Max's happy memory of
the Winter Ball is ruined by blood-filled balloons.
The Duffer brothers have confirmed that when planning this season, they focused a lot on
A Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser and the It miniseries.
They also said they modeled Vecna after Pinhead from Hellraiser.
"It's time."
And, of course, Robert Englund plays Henry's father, Victor Creel, which means Vecna's
dad is pretty much Freddy Krueger.
Those final two episodes of Vol. 2 are extremely action packed, but did you notice a familiar
weapon amid all of the chaos?
As revealed by David Harbour on his personal Instagram page, the sword used by Hopper to
slay the Demogorgon in the final episode is actually the same Atlantean sword famously
used by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Conan the Barbarian films.
Harbour describes the prop as both, quote, "heavy as hell" and, "a tremendous honor to
wield."
Fans also pointed out some foreshadowing to this epic sword battle that came in the first
episode of Season 4.
When we get a glimpse of Mike's bedroom, a poster for Conan the Barbarian can be seen
hanging on his wall.
This tiny Easter egg probably wouldn't have meant anything to you prior to the finale
episode with Hopper.
Schwarzenegger himself actually admitted to still owning the legendary sword and keeping
it in his office.
When asked if he still had the sword back in 2010, the actor and onetime Governor of
California confirmed that he, in fact, did.
Eddie plays a vital role in the final moments of the fight with Vecna by sacrificing himself
for the greater good.
In what is definitely the most metal concert in the history of the Upside Down, Eddie shreds
to Metallica in order to distract the Demobats.
The song Eddie performs, "Master of Puppets," is of clear significance.
Given the way Vecna tends to toy with his victims by forcing them to relive their worst
fears and traumas, Vecna is basically a metaphorical master of puppets.
Metallica actually reposted the clip on their Instagram page, praising the show for how
well they incorporated the song.
They admit to being blown away by the final product, writing,
"Some folks were able to guess the song just by seeing a few seconds of Joseph Quinn's
hands in the trailer."
Eddie's fate sadly seemed to be written in stone from his first appearance.
If you look closely at Eddie's arms, you'll see a tattoo of bats as well as another tattoo
of a hand controlling a puppet on strings — direct connections to the circumstances
of his inevitable death.
"I didn't run away this time, right?"
The Duffer brothers sat down with Collider and revealed that they have taken a lot of
inspiration from the Star Wars franchise.
Matt Duffer said,
"We always have wanted to do an 'Empire Strikes Back' ending.
We tried to do [that] with [Season 4].
Where it's the sense of loss."
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back is known for its shocking ending where
the bad guys more-or-less prevail.
Sadly, Vecna likewise kind of prevails when the Upside Down leaks into the real world
of Hawkins, Indiana.
There's also a similarity between Eleven and Luke Skywalker — both characters abandon
extensive training sessions against their mentors' wishes in order to help their friends.
In Luke's case, his decision leads to the loss of his hand and Han Solo being taken
prisoner; in Eleven's, her attempt to intervene in Vecna's plan leads to Max's coma, blinding,
and possible paralysis.
But one must not overlook the moment when Murray utters one of the most famous lines
from the entire Star Wars franchise:
"I've got a bad feeling about this."
There's no denying that Tom Cruise was an '80s heartthrob following his roles in Risky
Business and Top Gun.
It's safe to say that Cruise had a dedicated fan base back in the day, and Nancy Wheeler
was most definitely a member.
Not only does Nancy have a Tom Cruise poster stuck on her wall as of the very first season
and mentions him on several occasions — she and Steve actually dress up as Risky Business
characters for Halloween back in Season 2.
Robin briefly teases Nancy about her poster, which still hangs on her wall, in Season 4.
"You have a Tom Cruise poster."
"That's.
Old."
A Reddit user also pointed out the visual similarities between Steve from Stranger Things
and Steve from The Outsiders, played by Cruise.
Clearly Nancy has a type, and we can't blame her.
When the gang gets together to plan their attack on Vecna, they decide to stock up on
weapons at a store called The War Zone.
When Eddie points out an advertisement for the place, we see the company's logo takes
clear inspiration from the Top Gun logo.
Mason Dye, who portrays the unhinged jock Jason, did an interview with the Steve Varley
Show and explained that Tom Cruise was the main inspiration behind his character.
He said,
"I sat down with the Duffer brothers and [producer] Shawn Levy and they were like, 'Okay, Jason
is just Tom Cruise from his '80s movies.'
So I just went back and watched 'Risky Business,' 'Top Gun,' like all his '80s movies a week
prior to filming."
In the final episodes of the season, viewers learn that there is a large significance surrounding
the number four.
Not only does a clock chime four times whenever Vecna is about to claim another victim, but
he also requires exactly four victims to enact his plan.
In order for the Upside Down to break through to the regular dimension, Vecna needs to create
four portals, which ultimately results in the four cracks seen in the final scenes of
the season.
While all of this is explicitly explained throughout the series, there are some additional
references that aren't as noticeable.
The main characters are all split into four distinct groups — the Hellfire gang in Hawkins,
El and Papa in the training facility, Hopper and Joyce in Russia, and Will and co. in California.
It makes this the first season where characters fight the main antagonist simultaneously from
different locations across the globe and other sides of the dimensional barrier.
If you were so inclined, you could theorize that the importance of the number four could
relate to the four horsemen of the apocalypse, but we can only hope more explanations unfold
next season.
One of the best parts about Stranger Things is dissecting the countless Easter eggs and
background details scattered throughout.
For example, while the Hawkins group scrambles to find music to bring Nancy back from Vecna's
mindscape, we catch a glimpse of Eddie's bedroom.
If you look closely, his walls are packed with posters from various heavy metal bands
ranging from Iron Maiden, Anthrax, Judas Priest, Slayer, and Kreator; proving he is a true
metalhead.
"Music!
We need music!"
"This is music!"
An example of subtle symbolism occurs during the moments of Brenner's death in the desert.
As the camera pans over him, he can be seen in a crucifix pose, most likely mirroring
the Christ-like way in which he viewed himself.
However, the camera then flips the image upside down in order to evoke the evil that Brenner
truly created by bringing Vecna into this world.
When the Hawkins kids go to The War Zone to stock up on weapons, they quickly pass by
a bulletin board covered with Wanted posters for all the members of the Hellfire Club,
showing that most of the town has succumbed to satanic panic by this point.
During this same visit, Robin catches a glimpse of her school crush Vickie, who is sadly getting
cozy with some guy.
Meanwhile, there are uncanny similarities between Vickie's wardrobe and the look of
Molly Ringwald's character in Sixteen Candles, which would have been released about three
years earlier, which could imply that Vickie is a John Hughes fan.
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