like they planning things for robin, discussing people they like (both being bi) etc

and would you believe that when jonathan said this i believed it. why else would this be in the script? obviously because we were going to get a moment of quintessential steve heroics in the final fight: taking a hit for one of the kids (mike?) that would have killed them but he's strong enough to take, protecting someone (maybe nancy) while they made the big play, being the fastest one to get to point x in time. something that required him to use one or both of his two key strengths (his bravery and his athleticism) to do something that no one else on the team could have done. a job for good old steve harrington. and we the audience would think, "wow, it's a good thing steve didn't fall off that tower, or else so and so would be toast!"

but nah. instead you have steve taking a passive backseat role - something he's never done in all five seasons. offering no leadership skills or experience as one of the most expert fighters on the team. not caring when nancy offers herself as bait. stabbing ineffectually at a gargantuan kaiju beast with a long pointy stick.

The problem, however, is that none of this is organic or earned on Jonathan's part. He spent the majority of this season with not much to do beyond getting into petty fights with Steve, and watching his relationship with Nancy deteriorate. The season 5 premiere literally has Joyce volunteering Jonathan to go with Steve on the Crawl because (apart from how Joyce didn't want Will out in the open) Jonathan otherwise would've been hanging out at the Squawk with nothing to do. And even then, Jonathan wasn't particularly helpful in that situation. It's a major contrast to Steve, who has spent most of this season active, whether that's driving during the Crawls, or doing the majority of the physical work in setting a trap for the Demogorgon at the Turnbow house, or offering the suggestion to Nancy about following the Demogorgon into the Upside Down to track it (which Nancy approved of), or breaking Jonathan and Nancy out of the room with melting exotic matter, or even coming up with the beanstalk plan to defeat Vecna.

So for them to have Jonathan take on the mantle of leadership in the final episode just comes out of left-field. There's no build-up to it. There's no instance of growth on Jonathan's part this season to justify taking on that role. It's just something the Duffer Brothers give Jonathan to compensate for how they've otherwise written him for the past few seasons. Even Jonathan saving Steve from falling off the tower is a cheap way writing-wise to absolve Jonathan for how much of an asshole he's been towards Steve for the last 19 months while also rewarding him with a friendship/camaraderie with Steve that he hasn't truly worked for. It's like the Duffer Brothers realized way too late how poorly Jonathan came out looking in season 5, with this being their last-ditched attempt to fix that. And it doesn't work.

Like, for all of the self sacrificial tendencies he has, Steve as a character has never been reckless or eager to put himself in danger. If nothing else, I’d argue that he’s one of the characters with best survival instincts in this show.

He’s the one that says “don’t poke the thing” and “this plan will get you all killed, so no” and “yes, I grabbed the thing to defend us all because we are always about to die” and “don’t be heroes, run away”.

His first instinct when faced with the UD is to run away, get to safety and call for help. But then (but then!) as he’s leaving he realizes that help will not make it on time. That Jonathan and Nancy will die if someone doesn’t intervene. And that he has the opportunity to intervene. So he does. Because…

It just so happens that he’s also extremely protective of people and a doer, able to recognize when he’s the best person for a job…

The only time we’ve seen Steve be arguably reckless was during s2 playing demodog bait, and even then it was part of a plan, not some impulsive choice or hero complex.

After that? Every dangerous choice he’s made was simply recognizing he was the person for the job and doing it.

Big ass man threatening the kids? He fights him even if he gets his shit rocked. Kids going into the tunnels? He goes with them to keep them safe. Russian about to turn them in? Charge against an armed man to stop him. Russians coming in for him and the kids? Hold the door, and yes, that means staying behind, getting caught, being tortured, but the plan was just giving Dustin and Erica a chance to escape. Billy about to kill Nancy? Slam a car into him. Etc. etc. etc.

We see this clearly in s4. Taking the oar in case he has to fight Eddie. Not letting Max on her own too long. Diving into the lake (because he’s the best choice) but not fucking around with it, he does his job, comes back to report… and when he gets dragged against his will, as soon as he’s able he arms himself and tries to fight back.

My point is… Steve Harrington very much doesn’t want to die. He’s actively trying not to die, as a matter of fact. He isn’t reckless or impulsive or trying to get himself killed.

It just so happens that he’s very physically capable (the tool for the job), that his reaction to things is fixing them (he’s a doer) and that he’s very protective of the people he loves (who are constantly putting themselves in dangerous situations).

He’s a pragmatist too so, with all those cards on the table, how could he make any other choice? It’s the logical one for him.

and steve just wants to stop dustin from hurting himself. the choreography of the scene was excellant. dustin tries to make steve hurt physically like he’s hurting emotionally, and with every punch, steve is not only evading him, he’s actively trying to cushion dustin so he doesn’t physically hurt himself. steve’s so much bigger and stronger than dustin. he could have kicked his ass. but instead, he only protected him like he’d been trying to this entire time. it’s just a really well-written scene, brilliantly acted by both joe and gaten, and it makes for genuinely good television.

domestic steddie where eddie’s doing the dishes & suddenly hears his guitar, only to find steve playing it (badly) while on the phone w robin — eddie just stares, completely in awe, while steve’s like “hold on robs, munson’s looking at me weird”

eddie: i’m looking at you because i love you asshole

steve, into the phone: robs, you heard that?