Stranger Things' Eddie Managed to Do Something Billie Never Could
For 4 seasons running, the sci-fi horror Stranger Things has become notorious for introducing new characters and killing them off, all within the same season.
Fans are quick to grow fond of characters like Joyce's sweet, nerdy boyfriend Bob in season 2 and student leader of the Hellfire Club, Eddie Munson, in season 4, only for them to die quite brutally near the end.
In season 3 Stranger Things fans were introduced to Max Mayfield and her step-brother Billy Hargrove. Whilst Max becomes part of the Hawkins gang and a pretty instant fan favorite, Billy is an antagonist from the start. He is a bully and a racist, and he recklessly speeds around town in his car.
Fans who hated him before hate him even more when he is taken under the control of the Mind Flayer and used to lure and kidnap innocent people. Some fans change their opinion of Billy in the end, as a softer, more humane side of him is revealed when Eleven enters his mind to try and plead with him to stop. He ends up sacrificing himself to save his sister and her friends, dying in a gruesome but heroic way.
Some fans have become fond of Billy because of this and blame his father for the way he turned out. They argue that he was raised by a bully and misogynist and was just never able to escape the cycle of abuse. However, other fans have taken to Reddit to point out that Billy does not deserve to have excuses made for him because there was another character who went through the same.
Eddie Munson grew up poverty-stricken and with an abusive father who is mentioned to be in prison. Although Eddie endured abuse of his own and was undeniably rebellious, he was kind and he was protective of the Hawkins gang. He considered the younger group his friends and ultimately sacrificed his life for them in the Upside Down. How can Eddie and Billy even be compared when they turned out so different?
It was a point made by one Redditor that opened fans' eyes to one big difference between how the two turned out. Although Billy and Eddie both had toxic male figures in their lives and no female role models to raise them, Billy spent his whole life being raised by his father, whilst Eddie's father went to prison and he was raised by his Uncle Wayne.
Uncle Wayne doesn't appear too often in the season, but the Redditor pointed out that he was a good man and was a positive role model for Eddie to look up to. Billy had no one to look up to and no one to help him.
The Redditor suggests that if Billy had had someone like Uncle Wayne in his life, just one good person, he may not have turned out as angry and violent as he was. One figure can make all the difference, and although it is debatable, it is also easy to see how this could have changed everything for Billy Hargrove.