Did Billy Ever Have a Chance to Become a Good Guy in Stranger Things?
When Stranger Things season 3 hit our screens we were met with a new antagonist in Billy Hargrove.
By the end of the season, he was under the control of the Mind Flayer with self-sacrifice as his only means of escape.
However, many have said that Billy's demise meant he was unable to become a good guy. Could he ever have been? Let's discuss.
The scary and often seemingly insane character of Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery) dominated our screens as season 3's main bad guy – at least in the real world of Hawkins. He was introduced to viewers way back in season 2 after growing up in California but moving to Hawkins.
Billy was Max Mayfield's older stepbrother, and he wasn't a very nice one at all, often abusing her and demonstrating racist views towards her friend Lucas.
However, as Billy became possessed by the Mind Flayer, we learnt a lot about who he was before his mother went away and he was left being looked after by his abusive father. His final words were an apology to Max.
Could Billy have redeemed himself?
Though Billy was very much a bad guy, Dacre Montgomery did a great job humanizing him. This meant that there were lots of conflicting feelings about his death among fans.
Though many think he was evil through and through, others believe he could have been redeemable. After all, he was only 18 years old when he died.
Billy is a prime example of a bad guy being created rather than being – a good discussion point in the nature Vs nurture debate. The tragedy of his death is that there was potential for a good person to come out in the end.
Billy was clearly terrified of his stepfather and suffering at his hands. Had he passed the point of no return? Probably not. He certainly showed redeeming characteristics in the end. This doesn't take away from the fact that he did bad things, but he did have the potential to break the cycle of abuse.
Did he have a chance to become a good guy?
Though potential was there, Billy's character did need to die. After all, his character (and death) played an important role in season 4. As such, he never did have a chance to be a good guy. Allowing him to live would have meant the series taking a different path and wouldn't have allowed for the developments that occurred in season 4 – which we very much loved!