#also: steve's homophobia and misogyny is a LOT less complicated than billy's racism

[reineyday]

thinking about how steve was homophobic and misogynistic in s1 but they gave him a chance to be faced with a demogorgon when people needed help and he stepped up. everyone lauds him for that, and he's become a fan favourite. yet when billy, finally in his right mind after being possessed the whole season, gets the opportunity and chooses to do the same--stepping up to take a killing blow for el--people dont offer him the same grace? why. :(

the biggest (reasonable) argument is always 'billy dying was not a redemption' and it's not, you're right. steve stepping in to whack a demogorgon with jonathan's nail bat wasnt a redemption either; his redemption came with him apologizing to them both, and then working to show nancy that he's a better person as they deal with the fallout of s1, and being gracious about jonathan's presence in nancy's life. he got the chance to show he's changed and managed to redeem himself because he lived, and billy unfortunately didnt. but you cant deny that his final moments proved that the potential for him to change is there, and that makes a difference.

#rei rambles #billy hargrove #steve harrington #stranger things #stranger things meta #kinda? i guess. #also: steve's homophobia and misogyny is a LOT less complicated than billy's racism #u can point to steve's bigotry as a sign of the times and his rich boy upbringing #billy's racism is mired in toxic family dynamics and probably a survival mindset #yes it's not EASY for steve to unlearn shit but that is certainly not as difficult as unlearning coping mechanisms #that probably served as methods of survival for billy as he grew up under his father's fists #unlearning toxic shit is already difficult when it's stuff society made you learn completely by accident through osmosis #which is what i assume is how steve picked up his homophobia and misogyny #imagine trying to unlearn stuff your dad probably beat you up for if you said you didnt believe it or thought was stupid #jeez #i am still absolutely convinced billy was added as a character bc they werent planning on making steve a good guy #so when they decided to do that last minute they had to refill the role #and then they added eddie bc billy became too controversial so they gave ed the metalhead stuff #and gave the racism and mean popular boy stuff to jason #and nixed all the sexualizing #which is another thing altogether. like why was billy the only character in this entire show that was so overtly sexualized?????? wild. #so weird. #i digress