Warning: The below contains spoilers from Season 2 of Stranger Things. If you haven’t finished binging, turn back now!
If you’re all caught up on Season 2 of Stranger Things, then you probably have some thoughts about class(less) act Billy. I’m hoping your thoughts are more along the lines of ew and less along the lines of this headline because let’s be real—it’s pretty possible not to love him.
I won’t call his place in the second season useless—after all, he brought us who I should not, but ultimately will, call Daddy Steve—and he’s definitely not an unsympathetic character. But boy, oh boy could I have done without the majority of his bullshit. From the moment he disgraced my screen, I was immediately turned off by his character (which is a shame, given the internet’s recent revelation that he looks like the love child of Zac Efron and any number of other hot men). Attitude is key, though.
The first revelation came when his scraggly mullet and baby ‘stache were revealed.
Um, no thanks.
Then, as if that beauty faux pas wasn’t enough, it was quickly revealed that he’s a grade A piece of shit. Not only did he put his hands on his sister and try to control everything she did (telling her if she wasn’t out at an exact time she could skate home), but he also refused to let her hang out with Lucas (is he just further trying to control her life, forbidding her from having friends, or is he a blatant racist?), he picked on Steve not only in front of the rest of the gym class but also alone in the shower (WTF?), and he was this close to running over the party with his stupid car, with Max in the passenger seat freaking out. Is he really willing to commit vehicular homicide to teach his sister a lesson that she doesn’t need to learn?
To top it all off, when he went off in search of Max in the last episode, he hardcore creeped on Nancy’s mother. To be fair, the fact that she fell for it may say more about Mrs. Wheeler than Billy.
Sympathy for him rolled in for a brief moment when it was revealed how much of an asshole Billy’s father is, forcing responsibilities on him that, in all fairness, he shouldn’t have to deal with—like knowing where his sister is 24/7—but turning around and treating Max as he did is not the answer. I feel for him and what he goes through, but it’s no excuse for emotionally—at the very least—abusing his sister and her friends. Sorry, brah, you’re still a POS.
Especially since his next step after being threatened by his father was to go threaten Steve, Max and the rest of the squad. When they heard his car roll up outside of their hideout, Max panicked, sure he was going to kill them. Daddy Steve™ stepped up to protect his children, and subsequently had the shit beaten out of him, but Max saved the day when she stabbed Billy with a sedative and stole his keys, getting them all TF out of that situation.
We didn’t really see what became of Billy after that, so I’m sure Season 3 will show some unfortunate consequences for Max and the gang. What a world it would be if he could just stay unconscious, huh? Here’s to another round of young women saving the day and the Billy Hargroves of the world getting knocked on their asses. If only they’d stay there.