“It feels like he wants that fight“: Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo on why Dustin is getting beaten up in Season 5

Stranger Things Season 5 is less than a week away from premiering with its second volume, and the anticipation for the new episodes is off the charts. The cast and the crew have been deceptively quiet about what the second volume has to offer, but Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin, talked about the changes that his character has gone through and continues to in the new season.

The fourth season of the Netflix blockbuster was an emotional rollercoaster, and to add to it all, the season did not end on a happy note. Especially so for Dustin Henderson, who went through one of the biggest losses he's ever faced when he watched Eddie Munson sacrifice his life. Matarazzo opened up on how that loss affected Dustin in the final season of Stranger Things.

Keep reading to find out more.

Stranger Things star opens up about Dustin Henderson's grief in Season 5

The little kids of Stranger Things have been through a lot in the past few years in Hawkins, and it has affected them in ways most of them can't describe. However, as the final season starts, the one character who appears to be the most radically changed is Dustin Henderson. The events of Season 4 have a lot to do with this, as Dustin held someone he deeply loved as they died in his arms. The person is none other than Eddie Munson.

Dustin and Eddie shared a special bond, and his death has affected the young boy in ways he doesn't understand. The new season finds Dustin going out of his way to pick fights and get beaten up. He refuses to open up to the people who care about him and is just very angry.

Gaten Matarazzo opened up about why Dustin keeps getting himself beaten up, and according to him, that has a lot to do with grieving Eddie's death. As a young person, Dustin does not have the tools he needs to deal with the loss of a loved one yet, and according to him, grieving the death means he needs to feel terrible all the time.

"It feels like he wants that fight—not necessarily to lose, but to take that beating. Because if he’s not in pain or miserable, then he feels like he isn’t grieving the right way. When you lose someone at such a young age, you don’t really have the tools to understand that it’s okay not to feel shit all the time."

So, Dustin gets into fights. He gets himself beaten up. Matarazzo explains that he's not necessarily getting into fights so he can lose them, but more so that he can feel pain and be miserable because that would mean he's grieving Eddie's death correctly.

The Stranger Things Season 5 teasers have shown Dustin having an emotional breakdown, and while the events of Hawkins are more than enough to bring one to their knees, it is more likely that someone close to Dustin helps him realize that he does not need to punish himself with this pain to grieve Eddie.

Stranger Things Season 5 Vol 2 premieres on December 25, 2025, with three brand-new episodes.

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