Editor’s note: The below article contains spoilers for Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 1.
The long-awaited return ofStranger Thingsis finally here, with the first volume of its fourth season releasing Memorial day weekend. The Netflix juggernaut, helmed by theDuffer BrothersandShawn Levy, picks up a few months after the battle at Starcourt Mall. Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and the Byers have moved to California, while Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and the rest of the Hawkins crew remain to try and continue on with life. When a mysterious new threat begins to terrorize Hawkins, Dr. Owens (Paul Reiser) seeks out Eleven to help her regain her powers to fight in the battle ahead.
With each season, the original Hawkins group has expanded to add new members to the party in order to defeat a new threat from the Upside Down; such members include Max (Sadie Sink), Robin (Maya Hawke), Murray (Brett Gelman), and Hawkins’ favorite babysitter, Steve Harrington (Joe Keery). While each new member has brought their own unique skills and personality to the group, some original party members have since been pushed to the sidelines and ultimately fallen through the cracks in the latest season — namely, the Byers brothers, Will (Noah Schnapp) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton).
The first season ofStranger Thingsbegins with the disappearance of Will after he’s kidnapped by the Demogorgon. His mother, Joyce (Winona Ryder), and his brother seek out help from Chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) to find him; this leads to the discovery of some unusual activity in their small Midwest town, including alternate dimensions, secret government projects, and children with psychic abilities. Now in its fourth season, the story has moved away from simply focusing on a small town disappearance for dimensional-level threats and monsters. Though the plot continues to enrich the world-building ofStranger Things, the character development for both Jonathan and Will has seemed to teeter off and come to a halt.
RELATED:‘Stranger Things’ Has Lost Sight of What Made Hopper So Great
Let’s start with Jonathan Byers. In Season 1 and Season 2, his care for his younger brother allowed him to step out of his shell and let others in. The quiet loner of Hawkins High joins forces with Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer) to hunt down the Demogorgon and give closure to the fallen Barb (Shannon Purser). These adventures lead to romantic feelings between the two, beginning to date at the end of Season 2. In Season 3, Jonathan and Nancy work alongside each other as interns at the local newspaper. It’s here that the cracks begin to form in Jonathan’s growth as a character. His involvement is more in service to highlight the misogyny found in the workplace that Nancy experiences. Nancy pushes to follow her gut and follow a story, where Jonathan tries to stick to following the rules, leading to tension in their relationship. Though they eventually make up and later separate when Eleven and the Byers move out of Hawkins, there is little growth for Jonathan to make apart from Nancy.
Season 4 Jonathan without Nancy is stuck at a crossroads. Though apart from Nancy, he clearly still loves her and wants to try and make their long-distance relationship work; yet, he’s grown comfortable in California. He’s looking forward to attending community college with his new friend, Argyle (Eduardo Franco), trading stranger things for stoner things (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). Every high school senior feels the pressure and uncertainty about what lies ahead after graduation, especially when it involves another person. With connection seemingly severed from Nancy due to distance, Jonathan is left alone to make a decision, but that decision is left on the table after Eleven is arrested. From there, any further exploration of Jonathan is dropped in service to Eleven’s storyline. After Eleven agrees to go with Owens to bring back her powers, a couple of agents are put in charge of Jonathan, Will, and Mike. Jonathan makes an initial plan to leave, but otherwise, it’s Mike directing their plans in order to reunite with his girlfriend. Jonathan is drifting from scene to scene, only stepping up to be a man of action when the plot revolves around Eleven.
In Season 4’s “Chapter Two: Vecna’s Curse,” Jonathan has an interesting conversation with Argyle about his fears of not wanting to repeat his parents’ history with Nancy. He doesn’t want Nancy to resent him for potentially giving up her dreams in order for them to be together. Unfortunately, after seven episodes, this conversation hasn’t been brought up again. Being on the other side of the country with no communication, these well-founded fears just fall into the cracks, deepening the divide between him and Nancy.
What’s worse for Jonathan? While they are apart, Nancy is in Hawkins working alongside Steve, seeing her ex-boyfriend for the man he’s grown to be. No longer is Steve Harrington the douchey cool kid of Hawkins High — he’s now an active leader and role model to the Hawkins gang. A stark difference between that of her California-based boyfriend, who doesn’t appear to take an interest in his younger brother or adopted sister unless the plot calls for it. The audience gets more from the dynamic between Steve and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) than Jonathan does with his own brother.
BeforeKate Bushand her certified bop “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” there was “Should I Stay or Should I Go” byThe Clash. This song was the bonding moment between Jonathan and Will, which later confirms Will being alive in Season 1, and helps him push through the Mind Flayer’s control to communicate with the group in Season 2. With such an emphasis on the healing power of music this season, this could’ve been an opportunity to bring back this needle drop and remind audiences of the connection Jonathan and Will have to each other and the larger story at play. There’s still time with the remaining two episodes, but based on how the season has progressed so far, the odds of this happening are slim to none.
Speaking of which, Will Byers is the reason the original Hawkins D&D party came together. With the help of the teenagers and adults, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) rallied the troops to find Will and bring him back home in Season 1. Now in Season 4, Will has taken a backseat as the third wheel to Mike and Eleven’s spring break. More than that, Will has taken a back seat to the action of Season 4, acting as a passive participant to the action.
After months of him and El living together, it could be inferred that Will has a close friendship with his new sister; they’ve been through so much with their connections to the Upside Down that their shared trauma could birth a real friendship between the two. Instead, Will is isolated in his own world, only watching from the sidelines as Eleven struggles to fit it in at their new high school. He watches and reacts to Eleven after the fact, admonishing her for lying to Mike but not much else. Though they remind each other that “friends don’t lie,” the audience is told this friendship rather than shown it. Like Jonathan, Will is swept up in service of Eleven’s storyline once she’s arrested and later taken to an undisclosed location in Nevada. He joins Mike on his crusade to find Eleven, more for Mike’s sake rather than for his own or Eleven’s.
The only storyline Will seems to have in Season 4 is that he may be preparing to come out as gay to his best friend, Mike. There have been hints that he’s preparing himself for this revelation, packing a secret painting that he’s been waiting to give Mike. However, the contents of this painting are still yet to be revealed, leaving much to be speculated. This isn’tStranger Things’ first time handling a coming out story; just last season, newcomer Robin revealed to Steve her attraction to girls, which he took with care and understanding. Coming out isn’t an easy thing to do, especially during this period of time when AIDS has become an epidemic and there’s widespread discrimination and hate towards those in the LGBTQIA+ community. Instead of having those discussions in the background, Will is teetering on the edge of the “maybe he is, maybe he isn’t.” If this is Will’s only contribution to the season, what could be a nuanced story arc for Will is brushed to the side for the California crew on their search for Eleven across the Southwest.
In Season 2, Will was given the unique gift of True Sight, which gave him the ability to see in the Upside Down without being there. When the gate was closed at the end of Season 2 and the Mind Flayer out of his body, the gift disappeared. With multiple gates opening up in Hawkins thanks to Vecna aka Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower), it could’ve been a great chance for Will to regain this power without knowing the true reason why, connecting him back to the primary plot. Again, this story thread is left untouched in favor of Eleven’s journey. To put things into perspective, Suzie (Gabriella Pizzolo) serves more of a purpose to get the California crew to Eleven than Will does as a member of the group.
The greatest strengths ofStranger Thingsare found in the interpersonal relationships within the Hawkins group. Whether related through family or friendship, their bonds are the reason audiences cared for a sci-fi series set in the 1980s. While certain bonds have only strengthened as the seasons have gone on, others have lost their luster. Will’s connection to everyone, as well as his relationship with his own brother, has fallen victim to this. Though these brothers are growing up, they’re losing their ties to Hawkins; instead of leaning on each other through the trials and change, they’re facing this alone, appearing stagnant as the world gets stranger.
There are only two episodes remaining in the season, which will be released on July 1. We have to wait for the resolution of the season so the story arcs of Jonathan and Will can be resolved by the season finale. However, based on what the majority of the season has shown us, there is the lack of care for the Byers brothers. The Hawkins D&D party has moved on and seemingly has forgotten about their once-lost friend. Distance and lack of communication have given Nancy the push she’s needed to reconsider a relationship with Steve. The world ofStranger Thingsdoesn’t know what to do with Jonathan and Will so for now they are just along for the ride. At this point, Eleven could’ve been adopted into a random family, and it wouldn’t make a difference to her storyline.
