In Stranger Things 5, Volume 1, the scars of war litter Hawkins—the Upside Down is barely contained by metal plates, Max remains in a coma, the military has quarantined the city, and Dustin Henderson’s usually cheerful demeanor has gone dour. His grief and guilt over losing Eddie Munson weigh heavily across his shoulders. In a different article, I wrote at greater length about Dustin’s journey in Stranger Things 5, Volume 1, and why, instead of treating him as selfish and unreasonable, his friends would do better to see him as brave and resilient, to respect and support him rather than impede his journey. But, between the longtime duo of Dustin and Steve, Stranger Things 5 paints an even more complicated, emotional picture. Not only does the series invert the narrative of their relationship, but it also actively sends it spiraling into a truly painful place. And though Stranger Things 5, Volume 1 does not yet fully dive into the nuances of this new animosity between the pair, it leaves enough context for us to paint a complete and aching picture for ourselves.
In basically every other season of Stranger Things, Dustin and Steve’s narrative has followed the same, beloved trajectory. It has always gone like this: Dustin stumbles onto a dangerous happening, needs help handling it, and comes directly to Steve… adventures ensue. And although I would argue the framework of this narrative really doesn’t alter from Stranger Things 2 through Stranger Things 4, the repetition of it has served to bring the characters closer with each ensuing iteration. Its constancy turning the first tentative strands of friendship in Stranger Things 2 into a well-practiced rhythm of brotherhood and intimacy by Stranger Things 4. (Regardless of Steve’s grumblings about it.)
On Dustin’s end, as he’s gotten older in Stranger Things, the help he needs from Steve has varied. In Stranger Things 2, Dustin needs an adult to take on the Demodogs. In Stranger Things 3, he needs a friend to help him crack a Russian code. And in Stranger Things 4, on the nose of it, Dustin mostly needs access to Steve’s many phones to try and track down Eddie Munson… But, underneath that, he just needs someone he knows will back his play. And, however dubious of the proceedings Steve is, he does exactly that. In Stranger Things, Steve has always been there to support Dustin, to protect him, and to see him not just as the sidekick or the brain, but as someone worth following, someone who is a fully realized person—someone totally cool.
Meanwhile, for Steve’s part, I think it’s fair to say that Dustin is actually his first friend. And until he finally gets to know Robin, his only friend. It’s clear from the beginning of Stranger Things that Steve’s other “friends” never really knew him and encouraged him to be the worst version of himself. And Steve was fine with this until he learned something better. It’s true that Nancy is the person Steve credits with giving him the thump he needed to change course, but it’s Dustin who is the first person to really know the new and improved Steve. Although Steve did change after Stranger Things‘ first season, with Nancy, the complications of their history never went away, deteriorating their relationship, both romantic and friendly. But through his friendship with Dustin, Steve found many of the things he most sought in his evolved state: family, trust, and unconditional love—leading him to always to be there when Dustin called.
In Stranger Things 5, though, that pattern notably breaks. Dustin faces a dangerous issue, the ire of Hawkin’s murderous basketball team, and more importantly, beneath that, the depth of his grief, but not only does he not go to Steve with this problem, he refuses to let Steve help when he offers, and in fact, not only totally shuts him out, but is actively cruel to him in every interaction, cracking the well-worn dynamics between them.
After finding Dustin bleeding on the road, Steve doesn’t buy Dustin’s bike accident excuse and insists, “Who was it? It was Andy and his goons, wasn’t it?” Then adds in response to Dustin’s glib response about Steve’s care for him, “I have shown nothing but concern for you since forever, and I have been repeatedly ignored, and now look what’s happened. We are totally and royally screwed.”
Of course, we can use “since forever” here to indicate the entire history of their time together on the series. But we can also see this construction as an insight into the last 18 months, which we don’t get a good look at in Stranger Things 5, Volume 1. But Steve’s note that he had been “repeatedly ignored” calls up visions of a recurring moment that took place during that time skip. One where Dustin was clearly suffering from many different griefs and pains, Steve reached out to help him, and Dustin viciously shot him down. If their framework from before, Dustin has a problem and he comes to Steve, indicated their closeness, the amount of trust and love between them, and how much they need one another, and its repetition meant that these things were growing, then this change to it loudly broadcasts to Steve that Dustin plainly doesn’t need him anymore, or worse, doesn’t want him there at all.
But, as we mentioned above, the situation is even worse than just refusing to let Steve help and ignoring his attempts at caring for Dusin. Dustin’s ire actually seems to be specifically pointed at Steve in Stranger Things 5. Not only is he not letting Steve help anymore, but he’s actively being pretty terrible to him at every available opportunity. Dustin isn’t really allowing any of his friends behind his walls, but as a fellow Nerdist writer observed, “He’s being really mean to Steve.” And Dustin is being mean to Steve, not just ignoring or avoiding him, but shoving him away as hard as possible. But where does this element of their new world order come from? Why is it that Dustin has turned on Steve, the one person he used to turn to?
Well, it all comes back to Dustin’s grief.
Dustin is mourning Eddie Munson in Stranger Things 5, but it’s all wrapped up in Steve.
One of the best things Stranger Things 4 did was set up the incredible triangle of relationships between Steve, Eddie, and Dustin. As Gaten Matarazzo beautifully explains, “Even though Steve helped Dustin find a bit of confidence, Eddie was the first one to suggest that he didn’t necessarily need to change anything about himself to have that confidence. He could have his weird niche interests, he could be an unapologetic nerd, and give the middle finger to anybody who really seemed to care. Because Dustin has always had the vibe to me—that he’s someone who wants to show he doesn’t care what other people think. And he meets someone that does embody that, and that’s really exciting… There was a naunce to Steve and Eddie kind of hitting it off, as well, over their love and appreciation for Dustin. They both seem to have an intrigue and a respect toward him. That’s more fun to me than a cliche like, ‘No Mine, no mine.'”
Dustin, it’s important to note, doesn’t live with his father and is the only member of The Party who has no siblings at all. Instead, on Stranger Things, he forms this series of father-brother relationships to build a found family support system around him, first with Steve, and then with Eddie. In Stranger Things 4, both Steve and Eddie initially express jealousy that Dustin has another “older male friend.” But as Matarazzo points out, both bring something totally different to the table when it comes to Dustin and their friendship with him. And ultimately, as the season continues, the affection Steve and Eddie have for Dustin moves them to find friendship with one another as well. And, as can be inferred by both Steve and Eddie acknowledging that Dustin has been talking them up to one another, (“Henderson told me you were a badass,” / “Your new best friend Eddie who you think is cooler than me because he plays your nerdy game.”) and seen in the brief calm before the storm of Stranger Things 4, it’s clear that Dustin is at his happiest when the three of them can come together.
Of course, this joy doesn’t last. And Eddie Munson dies in Dustin’s arms at the end of Stranger Things 4. Which, of course, is a terrible grief for Dustin. But also leaves his newfound family dynamic unbalanced. Because Steve and Eddie aren’t interchangeable to Dustin, creating a terrible loss, but they do occupy similar roles, creating a sudden, complicated comparison that hits on both Dustin’s anger and his guilt. As I said to my writer, when he told me Dustin was being mean to Steve… Dustin is being mean to Steve, mean to and angry at Steve on Stranger Things 5. But it’s in the way one is when one parent dies, meaning you can’t be mad at them for leaving you, so instead you turn on the parent who is still there and still alive. This is not to suggest that Dustin wishes Steve had died instead in Stranger Things 5. But to say that the fact Steve is still alive and still whole might set off Dustin’s grief and rage that Eddie isn’t leading to his constant angry responses. Something that surely can’t be simple for Steve to swallow, especially given his series-long insecurities about his relationships being “bullshit.”
Simultaneously, given that Eddie died under the guise of buying the team more time, BUT also while protecting Dustin, there’s a guilt factor involved. In Stranger Things 5, there’s a significant chance that Dustin feels responsible for Eddie’s death in the midst of his grieving. Given that Steve is also prone to throwing himself into dangerous situations to protect Dustin, it feels possible that Dustin thinks it’s better to shove Steve away than to let him in… So far away that there’s no chance of someone else dying over him again. All of which leads Dustin to be vicious to Steve. Leading Steve, who is trying to understand Dustin’s state of mind but not getting clued in, to be vicious right back. And that’s where we find Steve and Dustin in Stranger Things 5, one retort and insult snowballing into the next.
And so, it is this mix of grief and guilt over the loss of Eddie that has led Dustin to cut Steve off from the usual steps of their dance. All this taken together, we return to the most intense emotional moment between Dustin and Steve in Stranger Things 5, Volume 1. When everything comes to a head between them in Steve’s van, in what feels like their only truly sincere conversation all season on Stranger Things 5, Steve all but yells at Dustin, “You can’t admit that you were wrong. You can’t admit it. Jesus Christ. Just do it for once, just admit it, that you’re wrong, you screwed up.”
Steve insists over and over again in Stranger Things 5 that Dustin just admit “he was wrong.” But what is it that Dustin is meant to admit he was so wrong about? Is it really just antagonizing the bullies at school? It doesn’t feel certainly doesn’t feel that way.
Instead, it sounds like Steve is saying that he wants Dustin to admit that he is wrong for breaking their dynamics in the face of this darkness. That he is wrong for shutting Steve out, wrong to not come to him like he always does, and wrong to turn his grief over Eddie’s death against Steve instead of letting Steve help him hold it. But, although they’ve always managed to communicate pretty well before, neither Dustin nor Steve can spit out the truth in Stranger Things 5, Volume 1. That they both just really miss the other person, that they both really need one another more than ever.
Although the emotional dynamics between Steve and Dustin could not be more complex in Stranger Things 5, Volume 1, their screentime is actually fairly minimal. Much of everything we glean comes from subtext, history, and the intense iciness the actors bring to their scenes together. But with hours still to go in Stranger Things 5, we hope the naunce of this relationship is allowed the screentime it deserves to truly shine. More than anything, we hope to see their dynamic reverse course and return to the narrative we know and love. This time, though, reiterating itself as something much harder-won and poignant. With scenes of a sobbing Dustin hugging Steve in the Stranger Things 5’s trailers, we feel fairly hopeful for what’s in store between Dustin and Steve in the rest of this final season. So we’ll cross our fingers. Give us that good catharsis, Stranger Things.
Stranger Things 5, Volume 1 is now streaming on Netflix.
The post Steve and Dustin Break Our Hearts in STRANGER THINGS 5 (As Eddie Haunts the Narrative) appeared first on Nerdist.
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