Steve’s sexuality and Scopolamine
The Cinema
When Steve and Robin were at the cinema, it was the first time they “watched” Back to the Future (Btf). Since they were drugged with “truth serum”, which was probably Scopolamine, they couldn't fake or control their reactions.
This is because they weren't aware of their behavior because the drug was suppressing mainly the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for rational thought. They also affect the hippocampus (memories) and the amygdala (feel of danger).
Here are both of their reactions to the movie. More specifically, you can see the exact moment Marty enters the scene and the shift in Steve's behavior:
Scopolamine’s severe impairment of the attention span
It is important to note the contrast between Robin and Steve’s reactions, despite them being in the same drugged state. While Robin is distracted, Steve’s sudden attention and awed expression (he forgets the popcorn he was about to eat) isn't about the movie’s special effect, it’s a direct response to the person appearing front and center on the screen, Marty McFly.
It is important to remember that, as I mentioned before, this drug causes a total loss of focus. They can't follow the movie's plot, which explains why they are constantly confused or why they suddenly wander off to find water.
Even so, Steve later claims at Family Video’s interview that it's in his top 3 fave movies. He might have rewatched it, but that seems unlikely since he only clearly remembers the car and Marty’s character. This suggests his ranking is based on the intense impression the movie left on him while he was drugged, rather than an actual understanding of the story.
Appearances vs. Reality
You can appreciate this here:
Steve struggles with appearances, likely because they were ingrained in him at home. While we don't know exactly how the Harringtons became so wealthy in a small town like Hawkins, I suspect it traces back to his grandfather, Otis Harrington. As I pointed before here and here.
As a war hero, Otis may have had ties to the CIA, Project MKUltra, or the Family Jewels reports and the Watergate Scandal, talking about all this experiments in American citizens and soldiers.
This theory is supported by the show in S4, we know Hopper was exposed to similar clandestine operations like Agent Orange during his time in Vietnam, which was a common occurrence during that era.
Following this brief summary, let’s look at Steve’s fear of failure.
Appearances are vital to the Harringtons, who strive to maintain the image of the “perfect role-model family” in Hawkins. On the surface, they present themselves as the ideal citizens, but the subtext suggests a much darker or more hollow reality within the home.
What we know of Steve’s parents is minimal, aside from their wealth, their status in Hawkins, and their expensive clothing. We know his father is an asshole, likely a womanizer or a troublemaker, because Steve mentions in S1 that his mother (who has a really good reputation in Hawkins as he told Robin in S3) only travels with him to “keep him in check”. Or maybe it is another excuse to get away, maybe Steve was never really wanted.
They are perpetually absent, either on business or vacation. While they likely used to spoil him, Steve’s “fall from grace” and poor grades seem to have changed that.
He now pays for almost everything himself (and we see this in the epilogue even though I believe is fake). Interestingly, his work ethic isn't new, he worked at the local pool, like Billy, even before the events of S1, suggesting he’s always sought some level of independence from his family's shadow. We also know that Steve’s uncle is an influential lawyer, a detail Robin brings up in S5. Steve’s reaction, ignoring her and abruptly changing the subject, clearly shows his discomfort with his family's connections. Furthermore, his relationship with his mother seems to have soured by S5 too, since he becomes visibly defensive the moment Dustin mentions her, suggesting that the “perfect family” facade has completely crumbled for him and he is exhausted of it all.
It is also vital to note that Steve is repeatedly subjected to brutal physical trauma (and concussion trauma, I don’t know why this is not bring up more often), torture and drugging, yet his parents seem completely indifferent. This is a clear case of negligent parenting, they have effectively abandoned him emotionally but also physically at some point, which is another form of abuse. Their lack of a reaction to his injuries proves that they are more concerned with their own lives and appearances than with the actual well-being of their son.
Considering Steve is an only child, and after seeing Danny Harrington's (Steve’s dad) brief appearance in S5. It seems likely that Steve was unplanned. In a family where appearances prevail, he may have been kept more for status than out of desire. This explains why Steve constantly seeks external validation and is so genuinely surprised when others show him unconditional care, like Dustin does in S5. Because he feels he is not enough, he believes he must constantly provide or sacrifice to be tolerated by the “found family” he has built and is so terrified of losing. This deep-seated insecurity is exactly why he feels so conflicted regarding Dustin and Jonathan in S5.
In S1, Steve sought the recognition he lacked at home by being loud and popular (much like Naruto), he acted out because he felt invisible.
Meeting Nancy (especially since she was the first to act different with him) and Dustin changed everything, he realized people could see him for who he truly was, which triggered his intense fear of failure, that already existed because of lack of affection and attention from his parents. He was desperate to prove himself to them.
By S2, his sense of responsibility began to shift from a burden to a source of genuine fulfillment. However, he still feels out of place, leading him to take extreme risks to “prove” his value. He remains trapped by the status-driven values he learned as a child. It’s a difficult cycle to break because his core values were born from superficiality and a desperate, misguided need to be loved, because of his parents and childhood.
We see this performative, superficial act frequently, for example during the Family Video interview. Notice how he avoids eye contact with Keith when answering Animal House as one of his fave movies, it's a show-off move. He is listing movies that fit his popular persona rather than his actual interests. In reality, Steve wasn't even a movie buff until he met Robin. By S4, however, he’s giving genuine advice to customers, showing real growth.
The same tension appears with Star Wars, when he mentions “the one with the teddy bears”, he immediately checks Robin’s reaction. He is terrified of failing the interview or looking “out of place”, showing how carefully he calculates his answers to avoid being judged, he also does this a lot with Dustin and Nancy.
Then suddenly, he loses his composure and gets excited remembering Back to the Future (Btf). This should have been the first movie he mentioned, especially since he is literally cosplaying Marty with the same jacket and his famous shoes.
While the drugs likely blurred his memory of the plot, the visual impression of the DeLorean and Marty was incredibly strong. Even in a drugged state, his attention was captivated by them, which is a significant detail. Interestingly, despite being dressed as the lead character and showing genuine excitement for the first time, he leaves this movie for last. When he realizes he’s getting hyped, he becomes shy and pulls back, retreating into his shell.
His real fave movie, even without really knowing the plot. Just notice his body language:
He is scared to show his true self, even to Robin. He has lived safe in his shell all his life, so it is difficult to risk leaving it. It is easy for him to listen and help others, but hard for him to let others in.
And even though he is really resilient, it will get heavy and end in a bad situation, leading to “burnout” and/or potentially “borderline personality disorder”. (It can be both because they can be linked)
In fact, you can already see the symptoms, aside his depressive behavior, he is already experiencing in S5, but still he moves in his “babysitter” way and feels responsible of them and instead of looking for himself, he is selfless and almost always puts others first. As I pointed here.
This is a perfect example of that, and also evidence of the fake ending.
In the epilogue, he tries to hide his tears, which is a trait of the “old Steve”.
The truth is that he had actually accepted that vulnerable part of himself after his talk with Dustin in ep 8, right before going after Vecna.
Seeing him hide his emotions again shows he is regressing.
Same Clothes
Link to Vogue: https://www.vogue.com/article/dressing-like-your-crush
Steve didn't just buy Marty’s shoes and a similar jacket, he began styling his entire wardrobe after him between the end of S3 and S4. This mirrors how Vickie began mirroring Robin in S4. Steve’s crush on Marty led him to adopt Marty’s aesthetic because he was deeply attracted to that persona. By dressing like him, Steve was trying to capture the essence of someone he admired, making his attraction a part of his own identity.
And it is not the only time he does this.
In S5, he literally dresses like Eddie. Eddie was likely the first man Steve felt something deeper for beyond a mere crush and where he was aware of his feelings after “Marty’s awakening”. Just as he mirrored Marty’s style after the cinema experience, his adoption of Eddie’s look in S5 suggests a deep emotional connection. You can see him suffering also because of his death but he prefers to keep it to himself. After talking with Dustin and accepting that cared about Eddie’s death and Dustin’s grief. He is wearing the clothes of the man he lost, signaling that his safe shell is finally breaking under the weight of his genuine feelings.
Steve and Billy
I also believe there was a clear attraction between Billy and Steve in S2, a sexual power play of dominance that ultimately led nowhere because they were opposite sides of the same coin. Both were trapped by their values, appearances, and a desperate need to fit in.
Billy’s father and his toxic, abusive household turned him into a “monster”, yet he remained a victim of his circumstances. Because Steve was only just beginning his own transformation, a relationship was impossible at that time.
While I feel bad for Billy, his actions were still horrific, and while death wasn't necessary, even if it served as his only escape and redemption at the moment. From a psychological perspective, abused children or women often struggle to distinguish right from wrong because violence was normalized for them. This is a crucial factor when treating survivors of abuse, helping them understand that violence is not love and that they deserve to be safe.
However, as I mentioned, trauma does not give someone the right to hurt others. Even though being an abused child is a significant risk factor for becoming an abuser, it isn't a certainty. Ultimately, people choose whether or not to become their own worst nightmare. Billy chose to lean into those toxic mechanics to survive, whereas Steve (Will, El, Max and Jonathan, even Eddie), despite his own upbringing, made the conscious choice to change.
Steve and Nancy/Robin (S3)
Steve’s relationships with Nancy and S3 Robin are primarily driven by his struggle with appearances. He fell for Nancy because she was the first to truly see the real him, but that romantic connection effectively ended by S2.
His “love” for Robin in S3 was actually a reaction to the insecurity he felt after his attraction to Billy and his more conscious interest in Marty.
By S4, his sudden re-interest in Nancy served as a way to reassure himself of his straight identity while he was falling for Eddie. His dream of a “perfect family with six little nuggets” is a classic heteronormative shield, he uses the kids as a placeholder for the family he never had.
Ultimately, his conflict with Jonathan in S5 isn't about Nancy, it’s about proving his value to his found family.
It was never a love triangle, it was a series of misunderstandings born from his fear of being different.
And also this:
This is something I have talked about here. I also did an analysis of Jancy being a “prison” relationship, and the potential of Ronance and Stonathan here and Steve’s character and Will being Henry since ep 4 here. Basically, Will’s feelings for Mike parallels Steve here.
Steve and Jonathan
Steve’s self-discovery journey is long, and he learns a lot about both others and himself. I believe Jonathan is the love he has been looking for all along.
WSQKsync: The show synchronized the dark screen with Jonathan saving Steve exactly as the lyrics “I wanna know what love is” play. To add to this, the moment is a deliberate parallel to the scene where Henry saves Patty as she is falling in the first shadow.
This suggests that what Steve is experiencing with Jonathan isn't just a friendship or a rivalry, it is the answer to the question asked by the song itself.
We can tell the feeling is reciprocated because, in the epilogue, Jonathan repeatedly asks Steve to come live with him in NYC. This invitation is significant, Jonathan is offering Steve an escape from his family and Hawkins. Jonathan wants Steve to be a permanent part of his future as a partner in a new life.
Hopper does the same thing with Joyce.
Thank you @strange-anni for telling me!! Link: https://x.com/bylerslabyrinth/status/2016639399329435937
Baseball Coach
After all that progress and self-acceptance, seeing Steve retreat and conform is a massive red flag. He even chooses to play baseball, a sport we’ve never seen him play before!!
This is a clear sign that something is wrong. He isn't moving forward, he’s performing. By picking up a traditional hobby and acting the part of the perfect suburban man, he is desperately trying to silence himself and appease his father’s expectations one last time.
As you can see, Will and Steve have a lot in common and the same applies to Mike. Ultimately, they never directly confess their feelings. When Will calls Mike a “friend” in ep 8, Mike is left with only the certainty of friendship.
Since that is better than losing him entirely, Mike settles for it, and the misunderstanding is never resolved. In the end, conformity wins, and they stop fighting for what they truly feel.
This is the face of confort, there is a mix of sourness and happiness. He still has Will in his life but not like he would like.
Tell them Max, tell them!!
The self awareness should be the main indicator that there is more to it!!
