The hit Netflix seriesStranger Thingsis back in production for Season 5, which will sadly be our last time with our favorite Hawkins crew. Before we think about the series coming to an end, let’s revisit one character who had quite a twisted journey:Dacre Montgomery’s Billy Hargrove. Swaggering into Season 2 with unparalleled animosity,this bad boy is one of the most deplorable and dangerous characters— and one who, unfortunately, doesn’t earn the redemption arc he is given in Season 3. When Billy sacrifices himself to the Mind Flayer in theStranger ThingsSeason 3 finale, it is no doubt a moment of intense bravery, but when we look back on his time in Hawkins, we’re reminded that Billy was an abusive and violent person whose actions cannot be erased by one act of heroism.
Stranger Things
When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one strange little girl.
Billy Is a Model of Toxic Masculinity in ‘Stranger Things’
First off, it is immediately made clear upon Billy’s introduction inStranger ThingsSeason 2 that he’s a hostile guy.Max’s (Sadie Sink)older, angrier stepbrother is aperfect model of toxic masculinity. He calls his female peers cows, screams in Max’s face, and within his first five minutes onscreen, he’s threatening to mow three kids down with his Camaro — and probably would have had Max not intervened. While we get to know Max as an outgoing, talkative kid when she’s around her friends, she retreats into herself when she’s around Billy. She’s timid, quiet, and afraid of triggering an outburst, which leaves us to wonder what other abuses she’s endured that we don’t see.Every time Billy and Max interact, there’s barely a sibling relationship to be seen there, let alone a caring one.
Over the course of the next few episodes ofStranger Things, Billy’s actions only get more aggressive as he picks fights with reformed jerk Steve (Joe Keery), calls Max countless crude names, and even becomes physically violent with her. Moreover, when Billy sees Max hanging out with Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), he says to Max that there are “certain types of people” that she should avoid, seemingly referring to the fact that Lucas is Black. This ideology is further implied when Billy arrives at the Byers’ residence looking for Max, and he immediately attacks Lucas even when there are three other boys there with her.Basically, the more we see Billy in action, the harder it is to find any redeeming qualities in him.
‘Stranger Things’ Eventually Explains Billy’s Behavior
It’s not until Episode 8 of Season 2 ofStranger Thingsthat we get insight into why Billy behaves the way he does. As Billy prepares for a date, he’s oozing confidence as he primps himself in the mirror and sprays cologne in rather presumptuous places. This confidence, however, immediately falters when Billy’s father enters the room and berates him with homophobic slurs for taking pride in his appearance. His father continues his tirade by shoving Billy against a shelf (a move that Billy reenacts on Lucas later that night) and hitting him, showing us who taught Billy to settle confrontations with violence.
As his father leaves and Billy shows a rare display of tearful vulnerability, we sympathize with this son of an abusive father who was never taught a safe way to express his feelings. Later in the season, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) permeates Billy’s mind and witnesses a pleasant memory that he shared with his mother. In this scene, we see how Billy was once a happy kid, how he was twisted and tormented by his father’s abuse, and how thisdamage was cemented when his mother abandoned him.
Billy Is Possessed by the Mind Flayer in ‘Stranger Things’ Season 3
Billy’s time inStranger ThingsSeason 2 ends with a ballistic bang,with him beating Stevewithin an inch of his life until Max subdues him with a syringe full of drugs. She then slams a nail-covered baseball bat into the floor mere inches from his groin and tells him to stay away from her and her friends, pretty much confirming that there is no sibling love between them.Flash forward to Season 3 and Billy is attacked by the Mind Flayeron his way to have sex with Karen Wheeler (Cara Buono). He spends most of the season possessed by the resident big bad of the Upside Down, and one of the most troubling things about this is that his terrifying behavior upon possession is virtually indistinguishable from his usual self — save the bulging black veins and superhuman strength. He remains the same kid-shoving, glass-smashing madman, but now he also lures people into being possessed and absorbed by a colossal meat monster.
Billy Sacrifices Himself in the ‘Stranger Things’ Season 3 Finale
Throughout the season,we see Max struggle as she watches Billy become increasingly unhinged, and she tries to appeal to whatever humanity she can remember of him. When the control of the Mind Flayer proves to be too powerful andBilly lays Eleven out to be sacrificed to the monster, El reminds Billy of his mother and the loving memory is enough to wake him from his possession. In what is really his only redeeming moment of the series, Billy stands in front of Eleven and allows the Mind Flayer to kill him instead, being violently stabbed through the chest and subsequently dying in a horrified Max’s arms. His sacrifice is undoubtedly noble as he stands in front of El and allows the Mind Flayer to destroy him,but this one moment of immense heroism doesn’t erase a long history of emotional and physical abuse.
Max’s Guilt in ‘Stranger Things 4’ Leads to Vecna’s Attack
Following Billy’s death,Max distances herself from her friends and boyfriend and feels immense survivor’s guilt, traumatized by her stepbrother’s violent death. She consequently feels responsible for the dissolution of her family and is so entrenched in her shame thatshe becomes Vecna’s next victim. Due to her PTSD, this season ofStranger Thingsis littered with Max’s flashbacks, almost all revolving around the moment of Billy’s death. This constant reminder of his sacrifice almost lets us forget that for most of his time on the show,Billy was far from honorable.
How Vecna Saved ‘Stranger Things’
He may have wreaked havoc on Hawkins, but Vecna saved ‘Stranger Things.’
The season as a whole reflects on Billy only through his one courageous moment, rather than the countless instances of his abuse. In the acclaimed episode “Dear Billy,” Max laments the relationship that she and Billy could have had, and despite their disdain for one another, she thinks that they could have become good friends. Had the show used some flashbacks to include unseen times when Billy and Max connected, be it him letting her pick a song on the radio or roughly helping her off the ground after she fell off her skateboard,it would make Max’s feelings of longing and regret feel more earned.
‘Stranger Things’ Mishandles Billy’s Arc
To be clear, we didn’t need to forgive Billy for Max’s storyline to work. Max’s survivor’s guilt and Billy’s actions are two very separate entities. However, in never acknowledging anything that Billy did before his death, it feels likewe’re expected to allow him this redemption and forget that he was an objectively bad guy. People deserve the opportunity to be forgiven and learn their way out of ignorance, and Billy clearly carried his own burdens and trauma.
However, pretending that Billy was just a misunderstood hero and not a hateful perpetrator of violence perpetuates the dangerous idea that years of abuse can be swept under the rug in favor of one righteous act. At the end of the day, Billy’s death inStranger Thingswas the sacrifice of an angry and broken young man who felt he didn’t have anything left to lose, and we can appreciate this act of courage for what it was without forgetting all the harm he caused.
Stranger Thingsis available to watch on Netflix in the U.S.
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