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mullingarssweetheart · 7 years

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Steve Harrington Analysis

Or, in other words, all the little under-appreciated and overlooked things that Steve did that prove he’s already a better person than the “rich, popular, playboy” stereotype makes him out to be even before his redemption arc (plus those aspects, too).

Note: This in no way is meant to drag down any other characters (except for Tommy and Carol they can choke but I’m pretty sure we’re all in agreement on that). I love Jonathan so so much and if anything said about him in here sounds offensive, it was not my intention. He, like Steve, is still growing and maturing so they’re both bound to make mistakes along the way (which they both have). This analysis is just to simply highlight some of Steve’s moments that show he isn’t just a one-dimensional character since some people in this fandom dislike him and only focus on his negatives. Ok, anyway, here we go...

1x01 - In the bathroom after Nancy says no to Steve’s idea of coming over to her house to make out study later, he stops her and frantically, and almost nervously, suggests doing something else instead, such as just simply hanging out in his car. This moment stood out to me when I first watched this scene because it’s the first time we kind of notice that he is genuinely interested in her, more so than just sex or to “get another notch on his belt” as Nancy put it. The tone in his voice to me sounds like he’s apprehensive because he wants her to say yes, not primarily for sex, but just so he can see her again. His crush on her is growing which is why he offers to help her study, regardless if his intentions were just sexual at first. Also, when Nancy shoots his suggestion down again and starts to leave the bathroom, he doesn’t stop her or say something mean just because she said no to him like some guys would. He’s obviously disappointed but he just kinda accepts it and doesn’t push her again.

- In Nancy’s bedroom when Steve first tapped on her window. Let’s take a minute to talk about Steve’s fucking adorable ass face when she opens the window and he’s smiling up at her. Oh God that boy looks so happy and proud of himself for climbing up to her window he’s so cute. Anyway, when Nancy reminds him that she said no on the phone, he says he figured they’d just study at her place and amidst tripping climbing through the window says, “I can’t have you failing this test”. Again, he could’ve just been wanting to fool around, but I think there’s still that hint of sincerity in his voice about caring enough to actually help her.

- Steve actually following through and helping her study like a good boyfriend.

- When Nancy pushes him off when they’re laying down on the bed making out and asks if he was just using her to get another notch on his belt, he says “No, Nancy, no.” He sounds incredibly insistent that that’s not the case at all and determined to make her understand because he knows she’s different than Laurie or Amy or Becky and I think that’s one of the reasons why he likes her in the first place.

- “You’re an idiot, Steve Harrington”. “You are beautiful, Nancy Wheeler.” First of all, ICONIC. Second, he says it so seriously I love it so much. He’s not saying it in hopes of changing her mind, he’s just saying it because it’s true. It almost seems like he blurts it out because he didn’t know what else to say but also just felt like he had to tell her or he would explode. Third, the way Nancy looks at him sent me to my grave kiddos. She looked so happy and bashful like she can’t believe this gorgeous, popular boy likes her of all people, but guess what Nance, HE DOES! SO! MUCH!

-Nancy continues to make heart eyes at him and he sits back up and resumes quizzing her. He didn’t continue trying to press her or didn’t leave when he didn’t get what he wanted. Nancy continues to smile at him and I’m pretty sure she wasn’t actually paying attention to what his questions were, she was reminiscing on those moments and probably had major butterflies. (((Fun fact: this was when I started shipping them bc I was so happy that he just kept on quizzing her and didn’t get mad or keep pressuring her or anything like we all expected him to. I literally went, “Aw, that was cute. I ship it”)

1x02 - In the hallway at school when Steve is talking about having a party at his house that night, Tommy and Carol are teasing and mocking Nancy for not understanding and being confused at first. When Tommy mocks her by repeating “It’s Tuesday” in an irritating voice, Steve hits him on the chest and looks annoyed as if he wants to say “knock it off” before trying to reassure Nancy that it’ll be lowkey and not overwhelming and ease her into the idea.

- When Steve invites Nancy to the party at his place, he looks to Barb as well when asking if they’re in. It’s small but it’s nice that he doesn’t completely ignore her since she’s not a popular girl and knows she’s Nancy’s friend.

- When the gang are watching Jonathan put up posters for Will, Tommy comments “How much you wanna bet he killed him?” Steve again hits him and says “Shut up,” and looks disgusted that he’d even say that since it was extremely inappropriate to say in the situation. Steve calls him out on it instead of agreeing with him or just letting him say it and looks like he’s thinking “You’re stupid. Don’t be an asshole, man”.

- When Barb cuts her hand at the party and asks Steve where the bathroom is, he immediately jumps up and gives her directions. He watches after her into the house to make sure she’s alright and finds it ok which shows he actually does care about other people, just like Nancy (and unlike Carol and Tommy who just think Barb’s injury is cool rather than actually being concerned for her), he just doesn’t show it and covers it up all the time to maintain his reputation.

- After the pool, Steve rubs Nancy’s arm and asks if she’s alright and saying he’ll get her some dry clothes. Again, CARING!!!

- When Steve hands her the pair of clothes he just stands there smiling and looking at her like he’s not sure what to do. When Nancy asks him for some privacy he shakes out of his moment and is like “Oh, yeah, right, sorry.” It’s awkward yet adorable and he doesn’t pressure her into letting him stay or saying anything fuckboy-ish like “you’re not gonna let me watch? ;)”

- When Nancy takes off her shirt, Steve genuinely looks surprised and shocked. I don’t think he had a plan to get laid that night or expected them to do anything more than makeout if she wasn’t ready, so he’s sincerely surprised when it happens, and clearly in awe when he just stares at her and says “damn”.

1x03 - During their first time, Steve asks “Hey, what’s the matter?” when Nancy pauses and looks distracted like she has this weird feeling that something isn’t right (BARB!!!) He senses her distress and stops to make sure she’s ok instead of just ignoring it and continuing only for HIS pleasure like some guys unfortunately would.

- “You’re so beautiful.”

- HAND!!! HOLDING!!!

- Steve doesn’t ditch her right after like we all assumed he would. At her locker, he notices her uneasy manner and asks if she’s ok. He assures her he didn’t tell anyone when she says she’s worried about it and he puts her at ease by telling her she isn’t being annoying or unreasonable with her paranoia and he instead finds it cute. He further reassures her he had a good time and the rest of that scene is just unbelievably adorable like Nancy’s face watching Steve leave after he chuckles and points to the butterflies on her locker PLS KILL ME

- During lunch when Nancy asks Tommy if he saw Barb leave the house and he says he has no idea who she’s talking about, Steve steps up and says “Come on, don’t be an ass, man. Did you see her leave last night or not?” When Carol and Tommy start mocking them with sex moans, Steve and Nancy both look so done I laugh every time lmao but Steve ultimately tries to comfort her and says that he’s sure she’s fine and is probably just skipping (not knowing that Barb isn’t the type of person to skip class).

- When Nancy, Steve, Tommy, and Carol are in the hallway waiting for the game to start, Steve is sitting against the lockers while Nancy stands and leans against them. Steve puts his hand on Nancy’s thigh in a kind of loving, leisurely touch like DID YALL FUCKIN SEE THAT BC I DIDNT THE FIRST TIME AND IT IS CUTE! AS! HECK!

- Also I feel like that gesture was a way to kind of silently say “sorry about my shitty, annoying friends, they’re all I’ve got” but idk I just love it so much

- When Nancy begins to walk away to try and look for Barb bc she’s too distracted by her disappearance and makes an excuse about how her mom needs her, Steve practically trips over himself to get up and ask what she means. Idk it was cute like he clearly didn’t want her to leave. And when he watches her walking away I can just picture himself wracking his brain trying to think of everything he’s done that could possibly lead to her up and leaving like that when really it barely had anything to do with him at all.

1x05 - Steve goes over to Nancy’s house and apologizes for acting like a dick and worrying about what his parents would think more than Barb’s disappearance. He knows how he behaved was wrong and apologizes for it. That’s one of the things I love about Steve’s character. I believe people do bad things but it’s how they handle the aftermath of it that determines whether they’re good or not. If you can’t realize that you made a mistake then you’re an asshole and don’t have your morals sorted. But admitting you chose wrong and even apologizing for it and making things right, which Steve did, shows more about your character and how good and in the right place your heart is. With all the bad things Steve did, he realized they were wrong and apologized and made up for all of them. That’s what truly matters to me.

-Steve says it doesn’t matter that he got in trouble with his parents and gets down to the important business: Barb. He asks if there’s any news on her which shows he realizes he was wrong to not be as initially concerned about her whereabouts. Despite the uncomfortable fact that there’s a missing person in general, it happens to be his girlfriend’s best friend. He knows Nancy cares deeply about Barb and if Nancy cares, Steve cares.

- Along with his apology, Steve suggests going to see a movie with Nancy to take her mind off Barb and everything for a while. He knows how worried and stressed she’s been lately and wants to try and cheer her up a bit and distract her for a while so she can have a break. It’s a sweet and thoughtful gesture and he understands and doesn’t get mad when she says no. He leaves on a light note to show it’s not too big a deal and he’s not too upset knowing she needs to focus on her family and Barb right now.

1x06 - Steve is in the car with Tommy and Carol on the way to Nancy’s house. Steve insists there’s something wrong and that her acting weird isn’t because she doesn’t want to talk to him. He can’t let it go to the point where he drags his shitty ass friends all the way out to her house just to check on her. Don’t tell me this boy doesn’t care about her.

- When Carol says, “So what? You’re worried about her?” Steve hesitantly says “what?” acting like he didn’t hear her but she isn’t fooled. Steve doesn’t want them to know he actually does care I think bc he’s scared of being vulnerable and putting yourself out there and admitting your feelings for someone can be scary, even if it’s to your friends. Carol and Tommy then begin to mock Steve and being like “Stevie’s in looOoOove” to which Steve shouts back “Shut up!” Remember in middle school when your friends would be like “ooOOoOoo you like them, don’t you? ;)))” and you’d get all defensive and be like “omg stop I do nooot” even though you did? This is the high school version. With this whole scene though, it also makes me think that Steve has never been in love before and maybe never even had a serious girlfriend and just kinda hooked up with the other girls based on the way Tommy and Carol are giving him such a hard time about it and saying things like “Steve has a heart, who knew?” Steve’s outburst also could be foreshadowing into Steve realizing how annoying and horrible his friends are and he’s beginning to realize it during the car ride like fucking finally boy what took you so long ugh ok anyway NEXT.

- This isn’t really a point but Steve’s face at the window watching Nancy and Jonathan :((( he looks so sad I just wanna tell him “baby it’s not what it looks like I swear”.

- Also, I’m about 99% if Tommy and Carol hadn’t come with, the movie theatre incident wouldn’t have happened because they were the ones who did it. I’m not excusing Steve’s actions in any way because he certainly didn’t stop them and watched it happen, but I think it’s worth noting that he didn’t do it himself and he probably didn’t come up with the idea given Tommy and Carol’s personalities. Even though he didn’t do it directly, he was still overcome with anger, hurt, and betrayal to really care and those emotions were blocking his morality. He soon realized his mistake and began to make up for it, but more on that later.

1x07 - When Steve dumps his asshole friends, AKA the beginning of his development. I love everything about this scene. “Carol, for once in your life shut your damn mouth”. Honestly, ICONIC. “You’re both assholes, that’s my problem.” ANOTHER ONE. BOOM. Steve tells Tommy he shouldn’t have done that which is another indication that it wasn’t his idea to do the spray paint. “I should’ve put that spray paint right down your throat”. YES STEVE! TAKIN OUT THE TRASH! He’s on a roll honestly. “Neither of you ever cared about her. You never even liked her. Because she’s not miserable like you two. She actually cares about other people.” YOU TELL EM BABE! Claps for my boy for choosing to walk away instead of getting into another fight and causing more trouble though. That, plus choosing to stand up for what’s right and letting go of friends you’ve had for years is really tough to do and takes lots of courage. It adds to Steve’s strength and development as a person and shows his ability to change and be better and the writers decision to have him go in that direction.

- Steve goes back to the movie theatre and helps clean up the graffiti. It’s his next step in making amends and erasing any physical evidence of any wrongdoings is a good place to start.

1x08 - The most iconic episode, let’s be real. Steve goes to Jonathan’s house to apologize for the things he said and for getting into a fight with him. Keep in mind, Steve doesn’t know for sure whether or not Nancy was truly cheating on him with Jonathan when he decides to do this. Yes, she told him it wasn’t what it looked like, but for all Steve knows she could’ve just been lying to save/defend herself like most people do when caught in a bad situation. Her not being able to explain what really happened didn’t help at all either and only further confirmed Steve’s suspicions. Anyway, Steve goes to Jonathan’s house first BEFORE going to Nancy’s. I think this is partly because apologizing to Nancy and earning back her trust is going to take much more work and time than Jonathan, but the fact that he’s apologizing to him at all says a lot. It’s obvious why Steve would want to apologize to Nancy because he cares about her and has become emotionally attached to her, but the only connection he really has with Jonathan are pretty much all negative. A big part of redeeming yourself is apologizing to everyone, not just the people you care about. He’s taking responsibility for his actions and asking for forgiveness, something that old Steve wouldn’t really care about or try to do.

- When Nancy answers the door, he’s shocked but he doesn’t make things worse by being all “what the hell are you doing here??” because right now his main focus is just apologizing to Jonathan.

-When Nancy tells him to leave he ignores it bc he just needs to get this out and frantically says he isn’t trying to start anything and says he messed up. You can tell this is a new thing for him by the way he stutters and rushes through his sentences and stumbles over his words in order to get his point across that he just wants to make things right. It puts him in a vulnerable position which can feel scary and uncomfortable and it’s hard for most people to admit they were wrong, so it’s no surprise he struggles a bit, but it also shows a more human and multi-dimensional side to him.

-Amidst his rambling, Steve notices Nancy’s bandaged hand and stops MID SENTENCE to say in the softest voice ever “Hey, what happened to your hand?” Oh God I love the way he says it so much. He’s so concerned and just stops everything when he notices she’s bleeding. In a millisecond, his apology is shoved to the back of his mind and Nancy’s wellbeing is front and center. Idk I just love how quickly he changes his priorities in the context that they’re in. When Nancy snatches her hand back and says it’s nothing (because she can’t explain why she has it or why she’s the one who did it) he says “Wait a sec, did he do this to you?!?” His first instinct is that Jonathan hurt her. It’s a logical explanation since we have to remember Steve has been kept in the dark through all of this monster stuff and he has no idea what’s going on so it makes sense he would assume Jonathan did it since she is at his house after all. Steve barges into the house and won’t rest until he finds out how and why Nancy got hurt AND BOY IS HE IN FOR THE SHOCK OF HIS LIFE LMAO

Side note: Can we just talk about how fucking hilarious Steve is throughout this whole scene from here on out? I was literally laughing so hard the entire time this boy cracks me up. Honestly I relate like I’d probably be reacting the same way tbh (if I had the guts to actually stay, that is bc god knows I wouldn’t lmao). His “OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYOGHJHGDJ” when jumping over the trap in the hallway gives me life I swear and his “JESUS JESUS WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT” IM CRYING. I just love how Nancy and Jonathan are all serious and focused and then there’s Steve freaking the fuck out, beyond confused, and shouting like a maniac God bless this boy and his comic relief.

- After round 1 with the monster, Nancy tells Steve he needs to leave because it’s going to come back. She’s doing it for his safety (like before when she says ”I’m doing this for you”). Steve all but trips out the door and fumbles for his keys and gets all the way to his car before he stops and notices that the lights are flickering symboling that the monster is back.

Now. Kids. Just let this sink in. THIS BOY. STEVEN HARRINGTON. This boy right here just witnessed a fucking alien monster COME OUT OF THE DAMN WALL??? AND GOT CHASED AROUND THE HOUSE WITH IT??? AND HE GOES BACK IN THERE! TO FIGHT IT! FOR NANCY!!! WHAT THE HECK!!! Do you know how much you have to like someone in order to do that?!? That’s beyond like. THAT’S LOVE, BITCH! Y’all I have really good friends whom I love dearly and I still don’t think they’d be enough for me to do that for them (my best friend who I love with all my heart is still a maybe). It’s more than just Steve being brave and courageous here, it’s about how much the person(s) inside mean to him. And clearly, Nancy means a whoooole lot. You’re supposed to run away from dangerous situations like that when you’re going up against things that have a 99% chance of killing you, BUT NOT STEVE. NUH UH. HIS GIRL’S IN THERE, HE AIN’T LEAVIN. Steve had an easy way out, he was TOLD to leave, no one would’ve been mad that he actually left because he was threatened twice about it (once with a gun!), obviously not wanted there for fear of messing things up due to his lack of understanding, and was scared out of his mind... fleeing is a totally acceptable response. BUT HE DIDN’T! He risked his life to fight that thing without knowing a single thing about it or what it was or why it was there or what was actually happening. If that doesn’t scream caring and loving, I don’t know what does.

-Steve’s bat twirl needs it’s own bullet point bc FUCKING ICONIC! DAMN THAT WAS SO HOT AND SMOOTH I SCREAMED WHEN IT HAPPENED I WAS LIKE “OOO YES BOY GET IT” LMAO ok anyway

- In the end, Nancy chose to forgive Steve and they get back together. I think this is a smart choice, not just because I ship them but because most character tropes like Steve’s don’t get redemption arcs and the fact that Nancy is giving him a second chance shows how much she really does like him and isn’t just “faking” or pretending to be someone she’s not like Jonathan suggested. I wish we would’ve got to see them from the time between the fight and Christmas where s1 leaves off just to show how they truly are without Steve being influenced by his asshole friends and Nancy constantly worrying and being distracted by Barb and Will and everything going on. And also Steve’s hopeful friendship with Jonathan which leads me to my last point...

- Nancy and Steve buy Jonathan a new camera for Christmas. I know some people say Nancy bought it herself and Steve just knew about it when he asks her “Did you give it to him?” but I’m pretty sure Steve and her both bought it together and Nancy just happened to be the one to give it to him. Why would she buy him a new camera all by herself? She’s not the one who broke it. And Nancy herself says “it’s not really a present” meaning it’s more of a replacement for his old one which would most likely come from Steve since, again, he’s the one who broke it and owes it to him. It also further adds to his choice to make things right and make up for the mistake he made when breaking the camera. Better late than never!

- Also, NICE SWEATER, BABE. Lmao of course they’d have Steve wear an ugly Christmas sweater he’s so extra I love it. Really embracing the dad vibes that radiate from Joe lemme tell ya. But he looks so cute in it anyway so it doesn’t matter. And the final scene of them cuddled on the couch watching TV makes my heart all warm and fuzzy! It’s a simple and sweet moment but I love it so much!

In conclusion: Steve Harrington is just a dumb teenage boy who got in with the wrong crowd, has a shitty and unsupportive home life, and hasn’t matured yet. However, he isn’t a total lost cause as we can clearly see and has proven himself immensely. He’s taken brave steps into being a better person and has worked hard to break out of his negative, stereotypical reputation and I hope they continue Steve’s path to redemption in season 2 :)

This has been a PSA on the love of my life. FIN.

#steve harrington #stranger things #nancy wheeler #joe keery #character analysis #sorry this is so long #thank u so much for reading

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