Stranger Things Season 5 is officially around the corner with its three-part release, and my stress levels are once again through the roof because all I can think about is whether my #1 babysitter and angel boy Steve Harrington will be okay.
And I can hear people yelling about how there are many characters to care about and not just Steve, but we all have our favorites, so feel free to light a candle for yours. But since Season 2, no one’s had a character journey as gripping as Steve’s, so his survival is necessary. It’s everything to me. And not just a survival, but a worthy future where he can have all that he’s ever hoped for.
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When I generally think about series finales and the expectations leading up to them, I always think about The Americans, and how I was sure that, given everything that’d transpired, there’d be a big character death, if not multiple. I was prepared for it. The show never promised us a happy ending. Heartbreak wouldn’t have been ideal, but it would’ve been understandable. Instead, The Americans subverts expectations in an admirable way by giving viewers and, more importantly, the characters the ending they deserve—something that isn’t perfect, but it’s still undeniably earned. We don’t have characters driving off into the sunset with a happy ending, but we get an ending that isn’t taking the easy route.
In addition, I’m someone who’ll forever believe that it’s easy to kill off characters, even if the writers mourn them. And while sometimes the death understandably enhances the plot and changes characters in a way that’s necessary, most of the time, when it comes to these stories centered around final battles, death is the easy way out. Survival, even if it’s not with rainbows and butterflies, is harder to master. Because as writers, we have to ask ourselves really tough questions when it comes to the end, and we have to question whether what we’re doing is right for the character, or if it’s right for us.
And when it comes to Steve Harrington’s character journey in Stranger Things, it’s always been so incredible to see just how authentic it feels. Because, really, what we get is a boy who just wants to be loved, accepted, and appreciated. A kid who’s unlucky in a lot of ways and decides to carve his own path toward something better. A kid who doesn’t have anyone looking out for him, but he continuously goes out of his way to look out for others.
A large part of the reason the show is so revered is that it touches on a bunch of lost kids finding home. It’s hopeful, even amid all the darkness. It’s about the fight for survival, but it’s about building something bigger along the way and learning that you can have the things you want. So much of Season 4 focuses on new friendships and second chances, and Season 5 can improve this with a satisfying conclusion by actually allowing the characters to live after everything they’ll survive.
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In other words, Steve Harrington (and really, all the characters) should survive. And if they don’t, prepare to be so sick of all of us if something bad happens to any of them.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Netflix