Stranger Things Theory: Steve’s Fate in Season 4, Volume 2.
As you may have read under the ‘trending’ section of Twitter, on your Facebook newsfeed, or in your Google searches for ‘Stranger Things,’ fans have come up with theories for volume 2 of Stranger Things season 4. Unfortunately for Steve Harrington fans, one of these theories includes the character’s untimely demise.
Towards the end of volume 1 of season 4, fans had to endure a frightful scene where Steve goes to the Upside Down and fights for his life — literally. At one point, Steve is knocked off his feet, falling to the ground where he is unable to defend himself and is feasted upon by the bats. It is only when Nancy, Robin, and Eddie all jump through the portal (or “Watergate” as Dustin refers to it) that he is saved and pulled away from the flesh-eating creatures.
However, this is where fans began to worry about the beloved character, myself included. At one point, Steve is weak and appears to almost collapse, causing Nancy to check his wounds. Here, the fans are given a glimpse of his injury, seeing how bloody and gruesome it appeared. Nancy applies bandages to the area to slow the bleeding before they carry on with their mission. After all, Steve has no choice but to follow them in hopes of getting to safety sooner than later.
Although Steve appears to be relatively stable throughout the rest of episode 7, fans are left wondering how critical his condition is. Not only because of how gruesome the injury appears, but because of some dialogue from the characters.
The first instance is where Robin mentions rabies on multiple occasions, stating that once the symptoms start kicking in, it is already too late. While this may be accurate, it does leave Steve’s fan wondering if there is a reason, she mentioned it so often; is it simply because of her irrational fear, or is it because it’s involved in the plot?
The next instance is in the scene where the crew — Nancy, Steve, Robin, and Eddie — are all in Nancy’s house in the Upside Down. While the other three went upstairs, Steve stays in the living room area. They hear him screaming, so they run downstairs to check on him, only to see him hollering Dustin’s name and waving his flashlight around like a crazy person. Robin, if my memory serves me right, leans towards Nancy and asks if he actually has rabies or if he was just going crazy. While it was a comedic scene, one that I personally got a chuckle out of, it left some fans wondering about his stability. After all, those wounds looked quite aggressive and deep, and his behavior could be a result of a decline in brain function. He is becoming weaker, slowly succumbing to his injuries.
The second instance is one I must debunk. While it seems like a decent idea, it is actually proven wrong in the show. Further into the episode, it is revealed that they actually can hear Dustin in the real world. Eventually, the crew is able to communicate with Dustin, Lucas, and Erica, who assist the three in getting out of the Upside Down and into the real world again (for the most part).
Now, you may be wondering: so, why are people theorizing about this? Sure, Steve has injuries, but he and others have had injuries before and lived, so why is it a big deal here?
Well, the Duffer Brothers, the creators of Stranger Things, have teased that there will be at least one death in the season finale, based on what I have read online. This is what sparked the discussion of who may meet their end in the season finale, and made fans pick out pieces of evidence that point to the beloved character dying.
At the end of episode 7, the viewers are subjected to a shocking twist: Nancy has been attacked by Vecna. The audience sees her climb the rope, Steve opting to go last, and as she does, she is suddenly flung into a pit of darkness, waking up in the pool where her best friend — Barb — tragically died seasons ago. I thought she was flung into this when she climbed the rope, but the viewers soon realize that this is an illusion — she is standing before the rope and Steve with her eyes rolled back, her ex-boyfriend trying to wake her from the nightmare.
Why is this significant?
Steve and Nancy were subtly flirting throughout the season, making it clear of their potential interest in rekindling an old relationship. In fact, both Steve and Robin make it clear to Nancy that the two of them are just friends — they are platonic “with a capital P” (Robin). They wouldn’t do this unless Steve wanted the chance to get back with Nancy or thought that Nancy wanted him back.
With this in mind, fans believe that Steve will sacrifice himself for Nancy, giving himself to Vecna if Nancy is released. The girl he loved, who broke his heart, who changed him to be the man we see today is worth sacrificing his life for, and we know he would do that for any of the group. We’ve seen time and time again where has stepped in front of danger to protect his friends, so it could happen again.
However, some fans are not convinced that their relationship will have anything to do with Steve’s demise, instead relying on the fact that Steve was bitten multiple times by the bats when he first arrived. Some fans claim that they remember Nancy also being bitten, which means that she could potentially die, too, especially if the bats were poisonous. However, while I believe this could be a perfectly plausible reason, I do find it to be less likely to happen.
First, I do not remember there being confirmation on whether or not the bats were poisonous in some way, and I’m sure this would have been stated much clearer if it were an important plot point, especially one for a character’s death. However, as “lame” as some fans believe it to be, there is a possibility that Steve could lose too much blood, and that is how he dies (if we are to tie in the bites as part of the reason).
Second, Nancy was only bitten once, whereas Steve was practically a whole meal. Therefore, if the bats were not harmful in terms of being poisonous, Nancy could survive the bite, whereas Steve would be more likely to succumb to his injuries.
Either way, many fans are begging the writers to spare Steve’s life, for he has become such a favorable character. Fans like myself are obsessed with him, loving his relationships with the kids and how much of a ‘mom’ (or ‘dad’) he truly is towards them. To lose someone that is not only handsome, but funny and has such great connections with the others on the show would be a tragedy, and many fans are unsure if they would watch season 5 if he was not going to be a part of it.
What do you think? Do you think Steve is going to meet his end in volume 2, or do you think he’ll get lucky enough to squeeze past death one more time? Let me know in the comments!
