In Praise of Steve, Stranger Thingsโ True Hero
By Sadie Gennis
Oct 30, 2017 11:13 AM EDT
[Article taken from the TV Guide website]
Stranger Things fans have no problem suspending their disbelief when it comes to the existence of demogorgons and alternate universes. But there is one thing I canโt bring myself to believe, and thatโs the idea that Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) is anything other than a perfect human being, despite how so many characters โ and viewers โ treat him like dirt.
During the first season, Steve definitely had his low points, standing back while his friends slut-shamed Nancy (Natalia Dyer) with graffiti around town and lashing out at Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) when he was hurt. But Steve was never the misogynistic, selfish โ80s jock clichรฉ that many of the characters (particularly Barb and often Nancy) treated him as. And as Season 2 has made plainly clear, King Steve is dead and gone forever.
Throughout the second season, Steveโs status as the high schoolโs cock-of-the-walk is repeatedly challenged by Billy (Dacre Montgomery) and heโs never seen with any of his old goons or lackeys. Thatโs because King Steve died the second he picked up that baseball bat to fight the demogorgon, and yet nothing Steve does is ever still good enough for Nancy.
In their big blowout in Season 2โs โTrick or Treat, Freak,โ a drunken Nancy gives Steve a memorable, expletive-riddled speech that reveals she thinks Steve, their whole relationship and how heโs coping with their shared trauma is โbullshโ.โ That night, Nancy tells her boyfriend of a year that she doesnโt love him, but the next day, sheโs too cowardly to own up to her true feelings when Steve confronts her about it.
Steve later apologizes to Nancy, saying heโs a โpretty shโy boyfriend,โ but thatโs whatโs total shโ. Itโs Nancy whoโs a shโty partner for not being able to understand that people cope with trauma differently. Just because Steve doesnโt outwardly show that heโs deeply affected by what happened the previous year doesnโt mean that he doesnโt care. To judge him for that is, to use Nancyโs word of choice, bullshโ.
Even according to the showโs stars, Steve represents comfort and safety to Nancy, which should be cornerstones of a good relationship, but in this case, is shorthand for boring. In the world of Stranger Things, good guys do finish last. Bob (Sean Astin) was another sweet, but basic love interest who clearly was never going to be endgame for Joyce (Winona Ryder). That honor goes to the more brooding Hopper (David Harbour). So although Steve is reliable, brave and has a great sense of humor, heโs never going to be the one true pairing for Nancy because sheโs always going to be drawn to Jonathan with all of his trust issues, struggles with expressing emotions and various other complications that make him more โinteresting.โ
But if Steve is so nice, why do people hate him so much? Is it because he has awesome hair? Or because heโs popular? Has anyone ever stopped to consider that maybe Steve is popular because heโs a just a really great guy anyone would be lucky to have in their life? One doesnโt have to look farther than his blossoming mentorship with Dustin to see proof of that!
Itโs easy to forget that Steve and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) never really interacted in the first season, and yet Steve doesnโt hesitate when this weird middle schooler demands he grab his trusted baseball bat and go to his storm cellar to fight a monster. And when Steve and the kids are cornered by the demodog in the abandoned school bus, Steve wastes no time before throwing himself in front of the terrified gang of misfits. Thatโs because Steve Harrington is someone you want on your side and someone worth looking up to, especially for an outcast like Dustin.
Sure, his dating advice to Dustin was terrible (โjust act like you donโt careโ), but heโs a teenager! What teenage boy do you know has a sound, nuanced grasp on romantic relationships and proper behaviors? And while weโre speaking of proper behaviors, letโs not pretend that his romantic rival Jonathan would give any better advice. Acting like you donโt care is a dick move, yes, but stalking a girl and taking photographs of someone changing can land you in jail! So really, donโt judge Steveโs flaws and past mistakes unless youโre equally willing to judge Jonathanโs, OK? Fair is fair.
Of course, in the end, there is no amount of growing Steve could do that would likely ever earn Nancyโs affection back. And Iโm actually fine with that. Other than dancing with Dustin at the winter dance, Nancy spent most of the season being extremely reckless and fairly selfish, prioritizing easing her own conscience over the risk she was putting her family and Barbโs in during her quest to expose the Hawkins Lab. Steve deserves better, and I hope he realizes that soon.
[This article is perfect and literally my inner thoughts. Bless the woman who wrote this.]
