Stranger Things continues the tradition of introducing new characters to the story every season, as season 4 allowed us to see more characters that played a few roles of their own in the series. Some of these characters have smaller yet memorable roles. One such character is Fred Benson, who is portrayed as the typical 80s nerdy kid. So, who is Fred Benson in Stranger Things season 4, and what happened to him?
Fred Benson is a high school student working with Nancy Wheeler in the Hawkins High School newspaper. He seems to have a crush on Nancy as it was suggested that he was sort of jealous of Jonathan Byers. Fred ends up getting killed by Vecna, who cursed him by using his traumatic past against him.
Fans that have been following Stranger Things since season 1 will notice that Fred is another one of Nancy’s friends that end up getting killed by something from the Upside Down. Still, he seemed like a harmless young man that died before his time. So, let’s get to know more about Fred Benson and what his role was during the events of Stranger Things season 4.
Who Is Fred Benson From Stranger Things Season 4?
Similar to the previous seasons, Stranger Things season 4 introduced more characters into the mix as we saw new actors playing the roles of new characters in the newest season of the hit Netflix original. Some of these characters played bigger roles, while some of them weren’t even that important to the overall flow of the story.
One of the new characters was Fred Benson, who made his debut in the very first episode of Stranger Things season 4. Unlike some of the newer characters, Fred plays a rather minor role that doesn’t have a lot of importance to the overall flow of the series. So, who is Fred Benson from Stranger Things season 4?
Fred is a regular high school student that goes to Hawkins High School. He was first introduced as one of the students working in the school newspaper together with Nancy Wheeler, who is the editor-in-chief of the Hawkins High School newspaper. Fred was portrayed to be quite closer to Nancy than the students in the school newspaper, and he was also pretty skeptical about the school’s chances of winning the basketball championship, which they were rushing to cover that day.
When Fred was introduced, he looked like the typical 80s nerd that couldn’t hurt a fly and was struggling with his social life. It was also suggested that he had a crush on Nancy during a scene wherein they were discussing her relationship with Jonathan Byers, who was in California. Fred was seemingly jealous of Nancy’s relationship with Jonathan and even went on to call her the most desirable girl in school, a comment that Nancy found weird and creepy.
Nevertheless, throughout that time, Fred and Nancy maintained a professional friendship with one another because they worked in the school newspaper. They were even seen together when they were covering the high school championship game.
The morning after the championship game, Fred and Nancy worked together to uncover the mystery behind Chrissy’s supposed murder, as it was clear that they were quite comfortable working together for their school newspaper.
What Happened To Fred In Stranger Things Season 4?
Fred Benson seemed to be one of the supporting characters that didn’t contribute a lot to the narrative of season 4 of Stranger Things. Throughout the entire time, he was always tagging along with Nancy to work on the stories that they were covering. The most important story that they ended up working together on was about Chrissy’s death, which was something that they investigated.
During the investigation and as he was tagging along with Nancy, it was clear that he was suffering from headaches and was seemingly bothered by something. When they were stopped by a cop on the road, Fred had visions in his head about the cop telling him about the high school student that he killed by accident on the road. However, the cop never pointed that out in real life, as it was all in his head.
It was later revealed that Fred was the newest teenager that the Upside Down creature called Vecna was tormenting. Vecna, who was the very same creature that killed Chrissy, was using people’s traumatic experiences against them, as that was what he was also doing to Max throughout the early part of the season.
Vecna was using Fred’s traumatic experience of accidentally killing a fellow student in a car accident a year ago. As such, he was using his psychic powers to make Fred relive that moment over and over again but in a more horrific manner.
Eventually, Fred and Nancy went over to the trailer park where Chrissy was killed so that they could investigate further. Nancy went over to Eddie Munson’s uncle to get more details about Chrissy’s death, as the uncle himself told her that his nephew couldn’t have killed Chrissy. That was when Fred disappeared as he was once again getting visions of the accident a year ago.
Vecna used this vision to lure Fred away from Nancy as the powerful creature eventually killed the young teenager using the same manner that he used to kill Chrissy. Fred started floating in the air as his limbs were snapped and bent. His eyes were gouged out as blood came out of them until he eventually succumbed to his fate as the second teenager that Vecna killed.
Nancy found out about Fred’s death, as she was eventually convinced that this was not Eddie’s doing. Fred’s death only strengthened Nancy’s resolve to find out the truth behind what had been happening to Hawkins as her investigation led her to Dustin’s group. Tagging along with Dustin’s group allowed Nancy to find out that Fred and Chrissy were both visiting the school counselor because they were suffering from similar symptoms before their death.
Fred’s death wasn’t really as big of a deal as Chrissy’s death, but it still helped Nancy learn more about what was happening to Hawkins. The investigation eventually led her to Victor Creel, who was said to be responsible for the same type of murders that happened in the 50s.
It is worth noting that Fred is the second friend of Nancy’s to have died to a creature from the Upside Down. The first was Barbara Holland, who was Nancy’s best friend during the first season before she disappeared and eventually died. Still, Nancy didn’t seem to be bothered by Fred’s death as much as she was with Barb’s demise, as this seems to suggest that she and Fred weren’t all that close but were merely working together due to their professional relationship in the school newspaper.
