Summary
There are a lot of compelling dynamics inStranger Things, be they platonic or romantic. Season 4 finally sealed the deal between Joyce and Hopper, Mike and Eleven reconciled after Season 3’s rocky ending, and Robin got the woman of her dreams.Stranger Thingsfans never got to see Eddie and Chrissy together, but at least Nancy and Jonathan, Max and Lucas, and Dustin and Suzie are still going strong. But who does that leave?
TheStranger Thingscommunity is stillwaiting for Will to get his happy endingin Season 5, especially after the youngest Byers confessed his unrequited love for his best friend Mike in Season 4. But Season 5 is anticipating the conclusion of one of the most significant character arcs in the show’s run.Steve Harrington went from an ignorant jock to the so-called “mom” of the Hawkins gang, selflessly putting his life on the line to protect others. After breaking things off with Nancy in Season 2, Steven formed an unlikely friendship with Dustin and became the Party’s guardian and mentor of sorts. Ever since, Steve has excelled as a character, butRomeo has yet to find his Juliet asStranger Thingsnears its final season.
Steve’s Failed Love Life
In Season 1, Steve is a recurring character who gets promoted to the main cast from Season 2 onward.Originally, Steve is the arrogant boyfriend of Nancy Wheeler, but after suspicions arise that Nancy might be cheating on him with Jonathan, Steve begins degrading both of them as an act of revenge.After Barb went missing, Steve became careless and focused more on humiliating Jonathan than finding Nancy’s best friend. After the culprit was found to be the Demogorgon,Steve and Nancy called it quits for good. By Season 3, Steve had met Robin Buckley, his coworker at Scoops Ahoy in the Starcourt Mall.
After some encouragement from Dustin,Steve began to view Robin in a romantic lightinstead of purely platonic. After they escape the Russian’s secret lab, Steve and Robin have a heart-to-heart in the bathroom, where Steve hints to Robin that he has a crush on her.Steve confesses to Robin that he’s liked her for a while, but he never acted on those desires for fear that dating her would tarnish his reputation as a popular jock. Robin communicates to Steve how she envies his seemingly effortless ability to charm women, then confesses that she’s gay and once had a crush on Tammy Thompson. Steve teases her about her crush on Tammy, but ultimately accepts her coming out. And this isn’t the show’s first instance of gay representation, as Noah Schnapp confirmed Will is gay beforecoming out as gay himself. In Season 4,Robin briefly encourages Steve to reconcile with Nancyand tell her that he still loves her, but nothing ever comes from the exchange.
Steve Deserves To Find Love in Season 5
So,Steve is entering Season 5 loveless. In the closing moments of Season 4, Robin finally gets to talk to her crush, Vicky, whom she met through band rehearsal. Nancy and Jonathan are stronger than ever, as it appears that Nancy has moved on from Steve fully.There aren’t too many options for Steve ahead of Season 5, but the most probable scenario is that the Duffer brothers introduce a new character into the fold who can act as a love interest for Steve. Alternatively, Steve could end up alone. There’s a fan theory floating around thatSteve might even sacrifice himself in Season 5for the greater good, in which case, his love life wouldn’t matter all that much.
But if that isn’t the outcome,Steve Harrington deserves to find his true love in Season 5. Despite making some careless choices in the past that he isn’t proud of, Steve has turned out to be a decent guy. In fact, Steve has grown exponentially as a person, which is not only a testament to his perseverance, but it also means that he’s no longer in love with himself, like he was when he was dating Nancy.Now that Steve can act selflessly, he’s very ready to be in a full-time, committed relationship. In Season 1, he wasn’t mature enough to handle Nancy’s complicated emotions and cared far more about keeping up his personal image than tending to her concerns.
If Steve does find love in Season 5, he’s made the necessary changes to himself to be able to devote his time to another person in a healthy and prosperous relationship.It might turn out characters like Will and Steve are destined to be alone, but after everything that both of them have been through, it would be a cruel twist of fate for them to end up suffering alone. As he’s proven in the past few seasons,Steve has a lot to offer a person. Despite Robin being disinterested in Steve romantically, she did confess in the bathroom that she “really, really likes” him, so there are obvious qualities in him that a love interest would find intriguing, if that’s the direction the Duffer brothers decide to take forStranger ThingsSeason 5.
