I have always loved the number of bad guys in The Duffer Brothers’ hit Netflix series Stranger Things. There are the Demogorgons, the Mind Flayer, Vecna, the Russian soldiers who kidnapped some of the main characters, and all the scientists from Hawkins Lab who tested on Eleven. Having so many of these bad guys has even led to a breakout villain star from the show. All these villainshelped draw audiences to the show, making it one of the biggest Netflix series ever made.

The fact that many of these villains exhibit some character development makes the series even more intriguing. This humanizes them (even if they are not fully human) and adds to the emotional depth of the show. One character that the Stranger Things creators established as a micro-villain in the series’ first season is Steve Harrington (Joe Keery). He is now a widely known favorite character, including my own. Unfortunately, though, many viewers have misunderstood his character through the years.

Stranger Things Wants Audiences To Think Steve Was A Bad Guy In Season One

He Was Not Supposed To Be A Character Audiences Rooted For At First

Stranger Things Season
Release Year

Season 1
2016

Season 2
2017

Season 3
2019

Season 4
2022

Season 5
TBA

Upon initial viewing of Stranger Things when I was younger, and the series was first released, Steve Harrington truly lives up to his role as a jerk. Now that I am older and have re-watched the entire series again, it is clear that the show merely wants its audience to believe Steve was a bad person at first. After all, he encourages Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer) to drink underage, breaks Jonathan Byers’s (Charlie Heaton) camera, and gets into a fistfight with him. These situations do not look good for Steve’s reputation.

Even the friends Steve has in season one make him a bad guy that viewers of Stranger Things should not root for. After all, two of his friends, Tommy (Chester Rushing) and Carol (Chelsea Talmadge), are often rude to Nancy. The worst part is that Steve barely does anything about this until the end of the season. He does feature some character development. With all of these other circumstances that season one presents, he is not a character audiences should root for. Therefore, the Stranger Things season one version of Steve is a bad guy.

Steve Was Never Actually A Bad Guy, He Was Just A Teenager

He Was Never Bad, Just Immature

The strange thing (pun intended) that many viewers get wrong, though, is that Stranger Things’ Steve Harrington was not a bad person, just an immature teenage boy. After all, when Steve broke Jonathan’s camera, he was just upset that Jonathan’s camera was used to take pictures of Nancy undressing. When he fought Jonathan, Steve thought he was trying to get with Nancy while she and Steve were already together. His actions are not entirely justifiable, but they have good reasoning behind them.

After all, when Steve broke Jonathan’s camera, he was just upset that Jonathan’s camera was used to take pictures of Nancy undressing. When he fought Jonathan, Steve thought he was trying to get with Nancy while she and Steve were already together.

Steve is merely the immature version of himself in the first season of Stranger Things. Perhaps viewers were not initially meant to root for him because of his immaturity. However, now that I have re-watched the entire show again, he seems to be the character most people could relate to at first. After all, he is themost normal character in Stranger Things at first. He is just trying to deal with his relationship with his immature teenage mindset, while everyone else is trying to find Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) and Barb Holland (Shannon Purser).

Steve’s Character Was Always Misunderstood, But It Was Needed For His Character Development

He Needed To Undergo This Character Arc To Be A Fan-Favorite

Despite viewers believing Steve was a bad guy in Stranger Things’s first season, it was necessary for his character’s growth. He would certainly not be one of two of my favorite Stranger Things charactersif he did not go from being the typical high school jerk to basically the babysitter of all the younger characters. If he had always been painted as a nice guy, there would have been no way for this arc to exist. Why would it? He would be the show’s normal character. He never would have shown up for his actions and accidentally got wound up into dealing with the Demogorgons.

Now, if anyone wants to see Joe Keery portray a true villain, they should watch Eugene Kotlyarenko’s film Spree . In this film, Keery plays a serial killer, showing his potential to play an actual villain rather than a teenager who is just very immature and not really a bad guy.

Steve’s character growth is needed throughout the whole plot. Without it, some of the younger characters may not have survived encounters with the villains, and some wouldn’t even be a part of the show. Without Steve, we would not have Robin (Maya Hawke). Yet, she is the primary reason the characters find out about the Russian soldiers. Ultimately, most of the characters would be doomed if it weren’t for Steve’s development. Steve is not only essential for Stranger Things, but so is his growth from a misunderstood “villain” to a good guy. The show only promises “good things” for Steve.

For years, viewers, including myself, have misunderstood Steve Harrington, and it is finally time to accept that we have been wrong about him. In the beginning, he was just the immature teenager we all once were. Now, he is one of the reasons the series has gone in the direction that it has. With the production of Stranger Things season 5 underway, it will be interesting to see how his character development continues. Nevertheless, I will watch this show’s final season with a new appreciation for Steve’s character.