Stranger Things is, in my opinion, one of the best ensemble shows on television right now. There’s just something for everyone given the characters' wide range of ages, including adults like Hopper and Joyce, young adults like Steve and Nancy, and of course, the fan-favorite "Party" of kids-turned-teens. With so many characters, it's hard for them all to interact with each other, but it seems Stranger Things Season 5 is finally going to reunite two who fans have been begging to see interact for years. It looks like we’re finally getting a scene where Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) and Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton) speak to each other — at least, we better be, or else I’m going to be mad.
With the WGA strike finally over, the Stranger Things writers are back to work creating the highly-anticipated fifth and final season of the hit Netflix series. While no filming can be done until SAG-AFTRA gets a deal, that hasn’t stopped the team from preparing for production. The official Stranger Things writers’ Twitter shared a series of pre-visual “first looks” at Season 5. After the success of the first tease, the Twitter account released a second showing a CGI version of Steve Harrington and Jonathan Byers interacting. Take a look:
They did Charlie dirty pic.twitter.com/NOWxnTou4lSeptember 29, 2023
On the surface, the GIF might not seem like a big deal, but for diehard fans like myself, it’s everything. See, Steve and Jonathan have never had any one-on-one time scenes, which is why so many fans are freaking out (including me). Sure, they interact several times in Season 1, but those scenes are always refereed by Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer). And after Season 1, the two teenagers rarely ever share the screen together. In fact, the two don’t even see each other in Season 4. However, that doesn’t stop them from mentioning one another while speaking about Nancy in the aforementioned season.
Steve and Jonathan's relationship is an interesting one, fraught with jealousy, as both boys have romantic ties to Nancy. However, that’s not the reason I’m excited for these two to finally interact. In fact, I couldn't care less about the Steve-Jonathan-Nancy love triangle that continues to be played for dramatics. I am much more interested in seeing Steve and Jonathan work out their weird jealousy over one another and finally start to be friends.
After all, Steve and Jonathan have a lot more in common than they might think. They’ve both been thrust into fighting monsters at a young age, and they both have found themselves becoming role models, which often lead to them putting their own lives in danger.
Not to mention, a reunion between Steve and Jonathan could mean the original monster-hunting trio could be getting back together. If Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan team up again, they have a shot at defeating Vecna. Throw Robin into the mix (and a hopefully alive Eddie Munson), and Vecna is definitely going down for good. At least I hope so!
Beyond that, I think Steve and Jonathan making amends is a perfect way to tie up their own character arcs. Steve has spent the last four seasons reckoning with who he was in high school and shedding his “King Steve” persona, and Jonathan is the only character left who hasn’t accepted this newer, better version of Steve. Similarly, Jonathan has grown into his own, and it’s time Steve sees him for who he really is and not the guy who “stole” his girlfriend.
While I have pretty high hopes for Season 5, and they have definitely grown since this tease was shared, I’m still trying to manage those expectations. After all, the scene very much could feature other characters on the sidelines. Or, it could get cut from the final edit altogether. Though if that happens, Vecna is going to be the least of the Stranger Things writers'' concerns.
The first four seasons of Stranger Things are streaming now on Netflix with an active subscription. As for Season 5, keep an eye on our dedicated Stranger Things Season 5 feature for any and all updates.
