Stranger Things is a smash hit. The Netflix drama has ‘80s nostalgia, strong science-fiction elements, and stunning synthwave soundtrack – all the makings of a cult classic. But its young cast is what makes this show truly special. With season four, much of the hype comes from newcomer Joseph Quinn, who plays Dungeonmaster Eddie Munson with real verve. But the Stranger Things fandom has a hero who – until now – has gone largely unsung. Robin Buckley.
Robin (played by Maya Hawke) is smart. She can crack Russian military codes and come up with a plan to save the day. She’s charismatic and she understands what makes people tick; both evidenced by her masterful manipulation of a psychologist eminent in his field. She’s hilarious, having some of the wittiest dialogue on the show. She’s deeply loyal, someone who has her friends’ backs no matter what. And Robin is also a lesbian.
Robin’s coming out scene in season three is one of the greatest moments in Stranger Things history. It’s a perfect example of what this show does best: wholesome moments of human connection wedged between government conspiracies and apocalyptic shitstorms.
Steve Harrington, former King of Hawkins High, has undergone some major character growth – partly thanks to his friendship with Robin. After they’re injected with truth serum by the Russian military, Steve questions whether popularity matters, and the values that led him to ignore people he considered uncool or beneath him – including Robin. As they sit on the (absurdly clean) floor of the mall bathroom, Steve suggests he might have romantic feelings for her.
Whether it’s because she can’t lie or doesn’t want to, Robin tells the truth. She admits that she likes Steve as a friend. And she confesses the real reason she resented him: Tammy Thompson, her crush, had feelings for Steve. “I wanted her to look at me. But she couldn’t pull her eyes away from you and your stupid hair.”
Robin knows that this could be the end. Not only could Steve pull away from their friendship; he now has the power to destroy her life. But he doesn’t. Instead, he tells Robin that she can do way better than Tammy. It’s a beautiful moment. One of the most nuanced and believable portrayals of a coming out in modern television. Hawke gives a performance that either one of her parents (Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke) would be proud of, and proves that she’s so much more than just a Hollywood nepotism baby.
Some fans of the show complained that Robin’s character has changed since the previous season. Her quips in season four are less sharp, more playful. And on one level this disappointment is understandable: who doesn’t love a mean lesbian? But those fans are ignoring a vital piece of the puzzle.
Having real friends for the first time didn’t change Robin. It gave her the opportunity to be more herself: that inquisitive young woman who talks a mile a minute without worrying people will judge her. And that’s a good thing. Robin didn’t have the luxury of being so open before coming out, because she was constantly afraid of rejection.
Until her friendship with Steve – and by extension the kids he protects every time the Upside Down invades Hawkins – Robin was very much a loner. There’s a reason we never see her with other friends: she didn’t have any, before falling in with this group. Robin kept to herself. She didn’t voluntarily spend time with her classmates outside of band practice.
While her savage one-liners were a real highlight of season three, it’s important to remember that Robin’s sarcastic quips were also a defense mechanism. That spiky attitude way of keeping people at bay so they wouldn’t work out her secret. Being out in the ‘80s wasn’t just social suicide for a highschooler; it was dangerous.
And having friends – a group of people she trusts with her life – has enabled Robin to let her guard down. She’s grown in confidence. She relaxes enough to be friendly, curious, and a little bit dorky. While Robin isn’t yet out to anybody other than Steve, she’s starting to accept that the others genuinely like her for who she is. Steve and Nancy were popular at the start of Stranger Things, and Lucas’s performance on the basketball court has elevated him to jock status in season four. But all of these kids know what it is to be a misfit in one way or another.
Max and Eddie live in a trailer park. Though Steve comes from a wealthier background, his parents are neglectful – their absence through four consecutive seasons is its own kind of presence. Nancy slid down the social ladder in her pursuit of justice for Barb (a character clearly coded as lesbian). Dustin and Mike are at the bottom of the school’s social hierarchy, nerds who play Dungeons and Dragons. And though Lucas has fallen in with the jocks, he’s a Black boy living in rural America during the 1980s.
They all have their struggles. And Robin fits in with this group of outsiders. She might be the only (confirmed) gay in the village, but Robin has found her tribe.
I say confirmed, because there have been strong hints that Will is gay. Will’s father uses “queer” as a slur when he doesn’t think his son is being sufficiently masculine. And in season three, when Will gets upset that his friends are more interested in their respective girlfriends than the D&D campaign he has lovingly crafted, Mike says something very interesting: “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls.”
Mike and Will have always shared a particular closeness. Will makes a painting to give Mike as a gift when he visits. But Mike only has eyes for Eleven, his girlfriend and – since Joyce adopted her – Will’s sister. And while the two of them hold hands and make eyes at each other, Will is on the periphery. His hurt in those scenes is all the more visceral for going unvoiced.
It hasn’t been explicitly stated on screen that Will is gay, though members of the cast have alluded to it in interviews. Which makes it all the more important that Robin claims her lesbianism. There are even hints of a romantic subplot on the horizon.
Now that Tammy has lost her lustre, Robin’s interested in fellow bandmate Vickie. And while Stranger Things dangles certain romances just out of reach – Hopper and Joyce, Steve and Nancy – the real question is whether Robin gets the girl.
Stranger Things is now streaming on Netflix
