my name is frankie and im addicted to dabbing

will says el told him to do the painting and jonathan’s eyes immediately snap up, because he knows it’s a fucking lie. jonathan knows full well el did not ask him to do that painting. el was wondering what that painting was, wanting to see it. jonathan knows there’s something more to what will is saying.

he goes back to driving for a bit, but then will gets to the part in his monologue where he says to mike that el has been lost without him, which of course catches jonathan’s attention once more, because will is getting suspiciously emotional considering he’s talking about someone else’s feelings.

at that, we see him look up to see his brother on the verge of tears.

And by that point, seeing that face, he definitely knows: will is not talking about el anymore. he may be using el’s name, and while they might be similar to the things she’s feeling, he’s not talking about her. he’s talking about himself. calling himself “different,” thinking that he’s a “mistake” but that mike makes him feel like “not a mistake” and giving him courage to keep going.

and jonathan definitely sees will crying to himself. it cuts directly from a shot of will crying to a shot of jonathan, looking at him in the rearview mirror.

i fully believe that if they hadn’t been in an extremely time-sensitive situation that jonathan would’ve pulled over the van on the side of the road to give will a hug right then and there. like…….he Knows. you can’t look at jonathan’s face right there and tell me that he doesn’t. he knows that will lied about that painting being el’s request, and he can see the raw emotion on will’s face as he pored his heart out to mike, even if he very thinly veiled it as someone else’s feelings. maybe jonathan didn’t get it before, but he certainly does now. there’s understanding in that expression, and definitely a bit of concern for his brother who has just implied that he feels like a “mistake” sometimes for being “different” and who is actively crying in the backseat. he for sure knows the truth. and i expect him to very gently ask him about it and give him some emotional support/comfort next ep. god the expressions here were so good, from both of them, it’s fuckin crazy to me how much i saw from jonathan without him uttering a word

1:30 am: go to bed

7:30 am: wake up, skip school

8:30 am: meet up with friends who are also ditching

10:00 am: either personally graffiti a shitty thing about your girlfriend on the movie theater marquee or fail to stop your friend from graffiting a shitty thing about your girlfriend on the movie theater marquee

10:15 am: catch sight of your girlfriend and the school freak leaving the hunting supply store looking like they’re about to commit violent murder

10:30 am: provoke a fist fight that ends with you being roughly straddled on the ground by another boy as he absolutely beats you to shit

10:35 am: realize you like boys

10:40 am: run away from the cops and your bisexuality

11:30 am: abruptly realize that you are being a huge asshole, ditch your friends at the convenience store and drive off

1:00 pm: begin cleaning graffiti off of movie theater marquee

4:00 pm: finish cleaning graffiti off of movie theater marquee

4:15 pm: go home and sulk

6:30 pm: hype yourself up enough to drive to the byers’ house to try to apologize

6:40 pm: arrive at the byers’ house

6:45 pm: get a gun aimed at your head by your girlfriend

6:50 pm: find out that monsters are real when one jumps through the living room ceiling

7:00 pm: leave the byers’ house

7:10 pm: re-enter the byers’ house just in time to save your girlfriend and the school freak from getting eaten by some kind of evil teeth demon

7:15 pm: assist the other guy in setting his own house on fire

7:20 pm: watch christmas lights flicker like it’s the goddamn world series

7:30-8:00 pm: have panic attack, unfortuitously concurrent with the panic attacks your girlfriend and the other guy are both also having

8:10 pm: calm down

8:20 pm: attempt to internalize monsters being real, half-succeed

8:30 pm: get dragged to hospital by your girlfriend and the other guy

8:45 pm-11:30 pm: wait awkwardly in deathly silent hospital lobby

11:45 pm: drive home, miraculously do not crash your car

12:30 pm: stop jumping at shadows long enough to fall asleep

But you know who code-switches like nobody’s business? Steve Harrington. That’s what makes him such a wonderful character.

In s1 he goes from Romantic Triangle Comedy to Slasher Film Monster Hunting in a single scene and fully dives into it. S2 sees him joining the Spielberg genre gang with the kids, taking the “reluctant teenager tagalong” role on stride, not once complaining or missing a beat. And then! And then!! He goes full Russian conspiracy in s3, as his group figures the mystery out, infiltrates their base, undergoes torture, etc. Steve keeps up with each genre like a chameleon.

Maybe it’s because his stakes in this are oddly external. They are a choice he makes.

Unlike Nancy and Jonathan, he is not directly related to anyone in the kid or adult group… but he was briefly related to Nancy through their relationship. Enter slasher film.

Unlike the Party, he hasn’t been life-long friends with anyone involved… but he gets adopted into the group, much like Max, in s2 and becomes one of them. Enter spielberg film.

Unlike the Adults, he isn’t the legal guardian of any of the kids or teenagers involved… but he becomes the designated adult figure they all turn to. Enter conspiracy film.

Other characters have joined certain genres as they are added to the series: Max (Spielberg), Robin (conspiracy), Murray (conspiracy), Erica (Spielberg), Eddie (Slasher). And you could argue that as the seasons and groups morph, they each dip into other genres. Nancy and Jonathan did conspiracy quite a bit, Hopper has had his fair deal of monster hunting, the Cali gang is going through conspiracy right now, the Hawkins kids are dealing with a slasher… but no one does so as seamlessly or consistently as Steve Harrington does.

Poor Steve...

Idk this is just funny

Love that this implies that Billy drops multiple brats off at the Arcade and since this is Nancy's yearbook he also signed it?