Stranger Things Season 5, Part 2 Spoilers Ahead
Split into parts, Stranger Things Season 5 is unfortunately its weakest thus far. There are great moments, sure, but the show’s lost its spark, and it doesn’t help that there’s absolutely no need to drag the plot as much as they do. Still, amid all of this, everything that we get between Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson continues to be the strongest part of this final arc. (Max and Lucas’s reunion, too, but more on that later.)
Since Season 2, the friendship between Steve and Dustin has been unparalleled—the most surprising and seamless bond to showcase how two lonely kids, at two different age groups, can grow to become brothers. That said, time isn’t properly utilized in Season 5, and a lot of deeper conversations are left to the audience to pick apart in a way that’s not satisfying but irritating, and this is largely again because splitting seasons like this doesn’t make the viewing process any more exciting. There’s also no balance between using an ensemble cast to the best of all their abilities anymore, but that’s neither here nor there. At least we have Steve and Dustin.
Steve and Dustin’s Friendship in Stranger Things Season 5 Is Healing in Every Way
Ultimately, those of us paying attention knew that grief was a huge factor in causing this temporary rift between Steve and Dustin. The inability to properly communicate (because it’s something neither of them knows how to do) was building a wall until every ugly truth came out with the same force of a Demogorgon squelching and screeching. They needed to fight and say all these ugly words out loud to finally come to a place where the only thing left to do is scream about how they can never lose each other. And credit where it’s due, both Gaten Matarazzo and Joe Keery remain astounding scene partners as they continue to meet each other halfway to add layers to the truth they’re admitting aloud.
Related Content: In Defense of Steve Harrington’s Behavior in Stranger Things Season 5
We know that Steve isn’t trying to insult Eddie’s heroism because he, too, is still pissed at all the ways everything’s gone wrong. But he isn’t wrong either—Eddie shouldn’t have had to sacrifice himself, and he wouldn’t have done so if the entirety of Hawkins hadn’t underestimated him. If he hadn’t felt the pain and sorrow of desperately wanting to be remembered. And more importantly, he wouldn’t have chosen an act of heroism if he didn’t care as deeply as he did about Dustin. At the same time, it all comes back to Steve because he is, in every way, Dustin’s best friend—his brother and a huge piece of his heart in a way none of the others are.
The scene’s paramount strength in Stranger Things Season 5, Episode 6, “Escape From Camazotz,” comes from the performances and everything that’s built to this very moment. Matarazzo brings his A-game in full force as Dustin begs Steve not to be selfish this one time before every tear pours out of him as he repeats the word, “please,” and emphasizes the heart-pounding admission of “not you.” Because up until this moment, so much of his strength has come from Steve’s presence and belief in him, and if he loses Steve, there’s too much grief and pain to grapple with. It’s not something he can bear, and we can feel the gravity of his admiration through the sheer agony Matarazzo brings to the forefront.
In addition, how Joe Keery plays off him as Steve realizes the magnitude of what Dustin’s saying, as he realizes just how scared Dustin is of losing him, devastates me because he’s always been the kid who’s been left behind. His parents don’t seem to care, and that alone has allowed him to believe that no one would care, except here’s Dustin, literally admitting that of all the people in the world, he wouldn’t be able to survive the loss of him.
Steve’s Apology Is Further Proof of His Character Development
The internet’s inability to allow characters to be messy and complex is ruining critical thinking on a deeper level that many people aren’t yet ready to discuss, but it’s important that, after all of this, we also get a scene of Steve apologizing to Dustin for everything that he’s said. If you can look in the mirror and admit that you’ve never once said something unkind or brash while you were frustrated, sad, or angry, then you must be a saint because I, for one, know that we’ve all been there.
Because the mess is part of humanity, and it’s a part of grief, and the collective pain that each of these characters is living with gives them a bit of leg room to say or do things that aren’t so kind. It’s what they do after they’ve sat with the anger that matters, and Steve Harrington apologizes to Dustin because he knows he was wrong. It’s hugely important for two boys to admit to missing each other, and it’s hugely important for them to make a clear statement about how their friendship matters to the point where they’d die for each other.
It’s significant that, of all the things Stranger Things Season 5 has done, it’s strengthened this brotherhood in an enormously impactful way that shows how two strangers became brothers. And it wrecks me beyond repair.
Stranger Things Season 5 is now streaming on Netflix. What are your thoughts on Steve and Dustin’s moment in “Escape From Camazotz?” Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Netflix