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So let me get this straight. You've kept something you knew to be dangerous in order to...impress a girl who you just met?
— Steve Harrington, November 4, 1984

Steve Harrington, portrayed by Joe Keery, is a main character in Stranger Things, having a recurring role in the first season before being promoted to the main cast from the second season onwards.

A student at Hawkins High School, he was best friends with Tommy Hagan and Carol Perkins and the boyfriend of Nancy Wheeler. When Nancy's best friend, Barbara Holland, disappeared, she became distant and Steve thought she was cheating with Jonathan Byers. Following a few ignorant actions, Steve had a change of heart, told his friends off, and set out to make things right. By coincidence, he ended up heroically saving the day and reconciled with his girlfriend.

In 1984, following a falling-out with Nancy, Steve became an ally to the Party , especially Dustin Henderson, with whom he formed an unlikely friendship. He became a sort of authority figure for the party and became a major player in the battle against the Mind Flayer.

In 1985, Steve worked at an ice cream shop called Scoops Ahoy alongside Robin Buckley, who gave him a hard time when he struck out with the ladies. Feeling self-conscious about not getting into college and working a low-wage job, he was more than willing to help Dustin, who had just come to him with a strange radio transmission.[3] Steve, along with Robin, helped Dustin translate a secret Russian transmission. They discovered there were Russians in Hawkins, working underneath Starcourt Mall. Steve, along with Dustin, Robin, and Lucas Sinclair' younger sister Erica Sinclair, discovered the Russians were trying to reopen a portal to the Upside Down. Steve also formed a friendship with Robin and later accepted her sexuality. Steve later learned of the Mind Flayer's return and helped the rest of the Party battle against it until the gate was closed again. Three months later, Steve remained best friends with Robin as they applied for new jobs at Family Video.

In 1986, Steve was still working at Family Video with Robin and he was still finding it difficult to find a new girlfriend. He learned about the murder at the Forest Hills Trailer Park of Chrissy Cunningham from the news on TV in the store. Later, after finding out more information about the victim from Max Mayfield and Dustin, they then trace down Eddie Munson, who was the prime suspect in Chrissy's death. Steve along with Max, Robin and Dustin went to Reefer Rick's house (Eddie's drug dealer) where he learned about the dark wizard of the Upside Down named Vecna. While investigating Vecna with his friends, Steve started to grow closer to Nancy again. After being dragged into the Upside Down and nearly being killed by a swarm of Demobats, Steve was saved by Nancy, Robin, and Eddie before they managed to escape the Upside Down where Nancy discovered Vecna's true identity as Henry Creel and One, the first child test subject of Hawkins National Laboratory. With these discoveries, Steve and his friends formulated a plan to kill Vecna and stop him from opening four gates across Hawkins. However, Steve, Nancy, and Robin were only able to severely injure Vecna and could not prevent him from opening the gates.

Two days later, Steve, Robin, and Dustin work to help survivors of an earthquake that was caused when the gates open. Steve happily watched Robin beginning to bond with her crush, Vickie before witnessing particles from the Upside Down falling down over Hawkins.

History

Background

Steve Harrington was born between August 1966 and July 1967. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harrington, lived in Hawkins, Indiana; his father was a business owner, and the family was relatively wealthy. The Harringtons lived in a large house with a backyard swimming pool. Mr Harrington, however, had a poor relationship with his son. Steve refers to his father as a "grade A asshole".

Hopper-template-test
"Oh my god, none of this is real."
This information from Windows 1.11 is of questionable canonicity.[canon-rationale 1]
One source suggested Steve was born no later than June 1966.

1980s

Steve began attending Hawkins High School around 1981, eventually befriending Tommy Hagan and Carol Perkins. His growing popularity landed him many girlfriends, including Laurie, Amy, and Becky. However, Steve has alluded that they were merely superficial.

At some point, Steve attended Mrs. Click's history class two days a week with a band student, Robin Buckley, though he never acknowledged her existence. Steve always had the same breakfast; bacon, egg, and cheese on a sesame bagel, and constantly arrived late to class. Steve would attract the attention of Robin's crush, Tammy Thompson, making Robin jealous, which Steve was unaware of, as he did not return Tammy's affections.

1983

Dating Nancy Wheeler

S1E1-Steve & Nancy looking at each other

Steve and Nancy Wheeler started dating around November 1983. They made out a couple of times and fooled around in the bathroom at school. On November 7, he convinced Nancy to go on a date with him. In the evening, Steve climbed in through her bedroom window and helped her study for a chemistry test. He suggested they should take their clothes off and was leading up to having sex with Nancy. Nancy stopped him and insisted they continue to study, for her chemistry test.

The next day, Steve’s parents left town for his father's conference. This gave him the opportunity to invite Nancy to a party at his house. Tommy and Carol were also there, along with Nancy's friend, Barbara Holland, also known as "Barb." Steve chugged a beer and persuaded Nancy to do the same. Nancy did so. When Nancy urged Barb to chug a beer can, Barb accidentally cut her hand trying to open the can with a knife. Steve gave her directions to his bathroom to wash off the blood. Once Barb went inside the house, Steve and the others uncaringly jumped into the pool with clothes and played around.

Later, after getting out of the pool, Steve offered Nancy to get her some dry clothes in his room. Once they were up in his bedroom, Nancy asked Steve to give her some privacy which he proceeded to do so until Nancy changed her mind and undressed in front of him. They proceeded to have sex. They were unaware that Barb was being abducted by a ferocious monster. After having sex with Nancy, Steve fell fast asleep. Nancy changed back into her clothes, and borrowed a sweatshirt from Steve. Nancy told a sleeping Steve that she will see him tomorrow.

At school the following day, Nancy felt like people were watching her, but Steve swore that he hadn’t told anyone and kissed her by the lockers. During lunch, Nancy was worried because she hadn't seen Barb since last night, but Steve suggested that she was "probably just skipping."

Stranger Things 1x03 – Steve with Jonathan's camera

Steve taunts Jonathan before breaking his camera.

Nicole informed Steve that she had seen Jonathan Byers in the darkroom, developing furtive photographs from the pool party. Steve and his friends confronted Jonathan and took the photos, one of which showed Nancy getting undressed. Steve called Jonathan a pervert and ripped up the photos and broke his camera.

Before the sinister events

Two days after the party Nancy expressed her worries about Barbara (who was still missing) to Steve. However, he was more concerned that his parents would find out he hosted a party with beer. Nancy got upset, walked away and said: “I can’t believe you right now.”

Steve did get into trouble with his parents but went to Nancy’s home to apologize the day after. He explained that he panicked and “was a total dick.” He noticed that Nancy was still upset about Barb and suggested they catch a movie to “pretend everything is normal for a few hours.” However, Nancy was reluctant and said she couldn't.

Noticing that Nancy was acting weird, Steve worried that something was wrong and decided to check up on her. He drove to her house with Tommy and Carol the same evening and climbed up to her bedroom window. There, he saw Nancy sitting on her bed with Jonathan Byers. Jonathan placed a jacket on Nancy’s shoulders and held his arm around her back. Steve immediately concluded that Nancy was cheating on him.

Stranger Things 1x06 – Nancy slaps Steve

Nancy slaps Steve as Tommy, Carol and Nicole watch.

Hurt and angry, Steve went around downtown Hawkins with Tommy, Carol, and Nicole as Tommy spray-painted obscene messages about Nancy and Jonathan on walls and the marquee of the movie theater. Nancy confronted them and slapped Steve across the face. She inferred that Steve had come by last night and, though she tried to tell him that “it wasn’t like that,” was unable to explain what she and Jonathan had done in her room. Steve told Nancy to go to hell. He spewed insults at Jonathan about his family and pushed him until they ended up in a fistfight. Jonathan kept beating Steve repeatedly while he was down on the ground until the cops broke up the fight and Steve ran away with his friends.

Discovery of truth and redemption

Tommy and Carol kept talking trash about Nancy until Steve finally had enough and told Carol to shut up. Steve regretted their actions and told Tommy he shouldn’t have spray painted that stuff about Nancy. He called them both out for never caring about or liking Nancy, called them assholes and miserable people and drove off. He then went to the movie theater to help them clean the spray paint off the marquee.

Stranger Things 1x08 – Jonathan, Steve and Nancy after monster

Jonathan, Steve (spiked bat in hand) and Nancy after fighting off the Monster.

In the evening, Steve went to the Byers residence to make things right. Nancy was there with Jonathan and threatened to shoot Steve unless he left immediately. But, the Christmas lights hung all over the living room started blinking intensely and a monster broke through the ceiling. The trio hid in Will’s room until the monster disappeared and Steve, who didn’t understand what was going on, tried to call the police in a panic. Nancy told him to leave because the monster would come back, so Steve ran to his car. The lights started blinking again, so Steve want back inside and fought off the monster with a spiked bat, leading it into the bear trap in the hallway, where Jonathan set fire to it.

December

A month later, at Christmas, Steve and Nancy had reconciled and he spent Christmas Eve at the Wheeler household with her family. Steve had bought a camera for Jonathan to replace the one he broke, which he had Nancy give to him as a Christmas present.

1984

Losing High School popularity

While in the school parking lot, Nancy was looking over Steve's college essay when they witnessed Billy Hargrove and Max Mayfield arrive. That night, Steve and Nancy had dinner with Mrs. and Mr. Holland. While there, they discovered the Hollands were selling their house in order to hire Murray Bauman, a private investigator, to investigate Barb’s "disappearance." This caused Nancy to use the bathroom so she can silently cry about the news, leaving Steve at the table with Barb's parents.

The next day, as Steve and Nancy were studying in the school library, Nancy noticed a person who resembled Barb, reigniting her grief. She then told Steve that they should tell Barb’s parent’s the truth about her death. After reminding her that it would be too dangerous to do so, Steve managed to convince Nancy not to say anything and to go to that night’s Halloween party so that they could have a normal night.

FullSizeRender (94)

Steve being verbally berated by a drunk Nancy, blaming him and herself for Barb's death.

That night at the party, Steve had a confrontation with Billy, who had beaten his keg standing record. Nancy began drinking the spiked punch, despite Steve’s protests. She eventually became intoxicated, resulting in her confessing to Steve that she really did not have feelings for him while blaming him and herself for Barb's death. Upset, Steve left the party, later asking Jonathan to take Nancy home.

The next day, Steve, who was still crushed by Nancy's hurtful confession, did not take Nancy to school, making her miss her first period class. While Steve was in gym class, he played basketball against Billy who taunted him, but Steve proceeded to ignore him, only for Billy to win the game. As Steve accepted his defeat, Nancy arrived at the gym to talk to him, leaving Steve not happy to see her. When they went outside to speak privately, Nancy tried to confront Steve on why he did not take her to school this morning, only for Steve to coldly shrug it off. When he asked Nancy what she remembered from the party last night, Nancy told him all she could remember was dancing, getting drunk, and going home where she believed Steve to have taken her, only for Steve to reveal that it was actually Jonathan who took her home. When Nancy became confused, Steve recounted the other events of the party to her, including where she blamed him and herself for causing Barb's death, how she felt about their relationship, and her confession of not loving him. Though Nancy tried to explain she was drunk and assure him that what she said wasn’t true, Steve asked her if she really does love him, but when she does not tell him upon his request, he left to continue the basketball match, leaving Nancy to realize how badly she had hurt Steve's feelings.

S2E4-Steve mocked

Steve after his breakup with Nancy.

While Steve was playing basketball at school during gym class, the next day, Steve was once again taunted and upstaged by Billy. After losing a basketball match, Steve was told by Billy to "plant his feet" next time instead of being helped up from the floor. Then, while taking a shower in the locker room, Steve was mocked by his former friend, Tommy Hagan about his breakup with Nancy and how she was starting to hang out with Jonathan as the two of them skipped fourth period yesterday and neither of them had shown up to school today. Steve, who was unaware of this, was mocked even further by Tommy and Billy tauntingly advised him that there were plenty of "bitches in the sea" before turning off the watering system. Steve was unnerved by this and turned back on the watering system to continue his shower.

Bonding with Dustin and locating Dart

When Steve went to the Wheelers’ house to reconcile with Nancy, he was intercepted by Dustin, who urged Steve to come with him and to bring his spiked bat. On the way to his house, Dustin explained Dart to Steve, who initially believed that what Dustin found was some sort of lizard. When they entered the cellar, they discovered that not only had Dart molted again, but it had also escaped through a tunnel it had dug in the earth.

As they were walking along the train tracks, Dustin explained to Steve he had kept Dart in hopes of impressing “a girl”. Steve then gave him relationship advice, telling him to “act like he doesn't care”. He also disclosed his hair-styling secret: Farrah Fawcett hairspray but stated not to reveal it to anyone. They eventually arrived at the junkyard where they were soon joined by Lucas and Max. Together, they fortified the abandoned bus and created a trap to lure in Dart.

Steve weilding his bat

Steve armed with his bat faces a Demodog.

As the group was waiting in the bus, they suddenly heard a screeching sound. The sound's source was revealed to be Dart, who arrived at the junkyard but didn't take the bait. So, Steve decided to confront him while telling Dustin to remain prepared. However, when Steve approached Dart, it was revealed that he wasn't alone and was joined by several other Demodogs. Steve, almost overwhelmed, managed to get back in the bus with the group after defending himself from the attacking Demodogs. As the pack attacked the bus and nearly overwhelmed them, they suddenly stopped, leaving the junkyard. Following the Demodogs, they realized they were heading to Hawkins Lab. Arriving at the lab, they discovered Nancy and Jonathan, who were looking for Mike and Will. They were all forced to wait outside the lab, due to the lab's power being out. Eventually, the power came back and the group was finally able to get passed the gates. They reunited with Joyce, Hopper, Mike, and Will, and together they all escaped the lab.

Once it was determined that they’d have to interrogate Will in order to discover the Mind Flayer’s weakness, Steve assisted in remodeling the Byers’ backyard shed. During Will’s interrogation, he signaled in Morse code the way to stop the Mind Flayer: closing the Gate.

Protecting the kids

Soon after, the phone in the Byers' kitchen rang, allowing the Mind Flayer to know their location and send a pack of Demodogs their way. However, Eleven arrived and eradicated them. Together, the group came up with a plan: Joyce, Jonathan, and Nancy would exorcise the Mind Flayer from Will's body while Eleven and Hopper would go to the lab and close the gate. Meanwhile, Steve stayed behind at the Byers’ house, along with Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Max.

When Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Max decided they’d burn the tunnels as a distraction to lure the Demodogs away from the lab for Eleven and Hopper’s safety, Steve refused to let them enact their plan. Just then, Billy arrived looking for Max and confronted Steve. Steve tried to conceal her location by replying that he had no idea of her whereabouts. But Billy discovered his lies and aggressively pushed him away before entering the house. As Billy tried to forcefully bring back Max by threatening Lucas, Steve intervened and the two ended up in a fistfight.

Initially, Steve had the upper hand and dealt some quick blows, before Billy countered and brutally beat him repeatedly. With one of the syringes used to sedate Will, Max was able to puncture Billy's neck, making him lose consciousness.

Burning the tunnels

Using Billy's car, Max drove the group to the pumpkin patch where the entrance to the tunnels was located. Steve came to his consciousness and realized that the kids were already entering the tunnels, despite his refusal. Even though Steve protested, Dustin ultimately managed to convince him to help them. Making their way to the hub, they doused the entire area in gasoline and set it ablaze. On their way out of the tunnels, the group encountered Dart. Recognizing Dustin, Dart did not attack and was easily distracted by Dustin giving it another Three Musketeers bar, allowing the group to escape.

November-December

Sometime later, Hawkins Lab was shut down as a result of Nancy and Jonathan presenting evidence to Murray Bauman on their involvement with Barb's death through a recorded confession made by Sam Owens. After the lab was closed, Steve attended Barb's funeral with Nancy, Jonathan, Nancy's parents, and Barb's parents to show his respects.

The Snow Ball
Steve taking Dustin to the Snow Ball

Steve drives Dustin to the Snow Ball.

On December 15, Steve drove Dustin to the Snow Ball, giving him another pep talk on how to win the hearts of girls. After Dustin left, Steve waited and saw Nancy through the window of the middle school gymnasium, serving drinks at the dance and slowly accepted their failed relationship, before driving away.

December 25

On Christmas Day, Steve picked Dustin up from his house where they then drove to the Wheeler house to pick up Mike and Lucas before driving their way to the Byers' house.

While driving to the Byers', Steve remarked to Dustin that he owed him for carpooling him and his friends before jumping into the boys' conversation on Mike and Lucas's Christmas gifts to Max and El, which Steve found intriguing. When Dustin suddenly freaked out, Steve immediately stopped his car and asked what was wrong. Dustin said he saw an unknown creature lurking in the woods, but Steve, Mike, and Lucas did not see anything so they decided to continue their route to the Byers' house.

After arriving at the Byers' house and meeting with Hopper and El, Steve decided to not come inside the house, knowing Joyce was upset about the dead Demodog that was in her refrigerator a month ago, something which Hopper agreed with. Steve insisted that keeping the dead Demodog was Dustin's idea, but Dustin defended himself by saying he had no idea the dead Demodog would turn into sludge overnight. At this, Steve left as Dustin, Mike, Lucas, El, and Hopper were welcomed by Joyce and her sons to celebrate Christmas with them.

1984-1985

Employment at Scoops Ahoy

By the time summer arrived, Steve graduated high school. However, because he had been so focused on popularity during his years in high school, Steve did not have the grades to go to college. Sometime after the inauguration of the shopping center Starcourt Mall by the mayor of Hawkins, Steve began working in one of its food courts, the Scoops Ahoy, alongside Robin, his former classmate.

1985

The Summer

S3E1-Steve as Scoops Ahoy employee

Steve working at Scoops Ahoy.

On June 28, 1985, Steve helped Mike, Lucas, Will, and Max sneak into the mall's movie theater through the back exit of Scoops Ahoy as he warned them that they would be in big trouble if they were caught. When the power suddenly went out, Steve tried to fix the problem by flicking the light switch, much to Robin's annoyance. Steve kept flicking the switch until the power came back on and Steve went back to work with Robin, believing he fixed the problem.

Steve flirting (7)

Steve constantly failing to get a date.

The next day, as Steve served ice cream to customers, he tried to flirt with numerous female customers, only to fail each time. As a result, Robin would tally up his failures and mock him, much to his annoyance. Though Steve blamed his failures on his sailor hat, claiming it to be hiding his hair, Robin believes his failures are a result of him not having a future for himself. When Steve picks up another group of girls, he takes off his hat, saying "screw company policy," and goes to flirt with the girl. But as he's flirting miserably, Robin tallies his attempt as a failure behind his back.

Russians in Hawkins

As Steve worked in the backroom of Scoops Ahoy the next day, he saw that Dustin had arrived, as the latter had returned from Camp Know Where yesterday. Steve happily greets Dustin who congratulates him for getting the job at Scoops Ahoy and introduces him to Robin who sarcastically asks how many of his friends are children when witnessing the two do a special handshake.

As Dustin eats some ice cream, he recounts his time at Camp Know Where to Steve, while revealing that he managed to pick up a girlfriend named Suzie who in Dustin's opinion, is "hotter than Phoebe Cates." Though Steve is unsure of Suzie's existence, he tells Dustin how proud he is of him, not wanting to hurt Dustin's feelings. As they converse more, Steve becomes shocked to hear that Dustin's friends ditched him yesterday, but made an amazing discovery: he had intercepted a secret Russian communication through his homemade Cerebro. Steve becomes interested when Dustin proposes that they could be American heroes with Steve getting all the girls and agrees to help Dustin translate the message.

However, Steve has a hard translating the message due to recognizing a song that's being played in the recording of the message. When Robin stumbles upon their efforts, she reveals that she knows what they are up to, much to their surprise. Steve stops Robin from taking the recorder, but she reveals that she wants to help them due being fluent in Spanish, French, Italian, and pig Latin while having been in band for twelve years. Steve is hesitant, but after being convinced by Robin and Dustin, he finally relents, giving Robin the recorder. Much later, as Steve sells ice cream, he hears from Robin that they got their first sentence "The week is long." He then serves ice cream to Max and Eleven whom he is surprised to see and asks if she's allowed to be here, but shrugs it off after the two girls run off, laughing.

S3E2-Didn't come from Russia

Steve realizing the Russians broadcasted the message in Hawkins.

By the time the mall closes, Robin completes translating the first part of the message and Steve, with her and Dustin, reads the communication which says "The week is long, the silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west." Steve believes the translation could wrong and is a bunch of nonsense. However, Robin assures him she translated it correctly and both she and Dustin theorize that the message could be some kind of code. As they discuss what the message could mean, Steve suddenly stops at one of the mall's toy carousel horses and activities it by inserting a quarter. He advises Robin and Dustin to listen the carousel's music which leads Dustin to recognize it from the recorded Russian communication as Steve recognized the song earlier. Though Robin believes Russia could have carousel horses like this one, Steve is not convinced as the carousel horse is an "Indiana Flyer" made in America and believes the message did not come from Russia, but rather in Hawkins within the mall.

Discovering an Underground Base

Steve, Dustin and Robin approached Lucas's younger sister, Erica and asked her if she can crawl through the mall's air duct to get into the secret room. Though Erica assures the group she can fit through the vent, Steve and Robin offered Erica dozens of Scoops Ahoy ice cream treats in exchange for her cooperation. While Steve went to get more fudge for Erica, Dustin and Robin debrief Erica on the plan to have her sneak into the mall's secret room while assuring there won't be any booby traps and the Russian guards won't be guarding the room by the time, she breaks in. Erica eventually agreed to help, in exchange for a free lifetime supply of Scoops Ahoy ice cream which Steve, Dustin, and Robin accepted.

S3E5-Good shape

Steve, Dustin, Robin and Erica finding themselves in a Russian base.

The next day, Steve finds Dustin back on the elevator roof, trying to get in touch with his friends through his supercom where Steve advises him to not waste his supercom's batteries. When Dustin expresses optimism over someone coming to their rescue, Steve, who stayed up all night trying to open the elevator door with Robin, voices his doubts as he goes to a corner on the roof of the elevator and unbuckles his belt. Once Dustin asks Steve what he is doing, Steve tells him that he has to go to the bathroom before he informs his friend to look away. As Steve goes to the bathroom, he hears Robin's voice asking him to redirect his urine somewhere else due to it seeping into the elevator, which Steve does, leaving a trail of urine in his attempt much to Robin's disgust. Later, Robin informs Steve and Dustin that someone is approaching the elevator where they, along with Robin and Erica hide onto the elevator roof while watching two Russian men enter and take some Imperial Panda boxes. As they hide, Steve notices Erica holding a container of the green substance which gives him an idea on how they can escape the elevator. When the Russians leave, Steve quickly drops back into the elevator and uses the container to hold the door open. Steve guides everyone out of the elevator before he manages to escape where the door crushes the container, revealing green substance to be radioactive material when dissolves into the floor, much Steve's shock as he managed to avoid it. When Steve and his allies notice they have entered an underground base, they have no choice, but to walk into the base.

Torture & Escape

The next day, Steve was taken to a chamber where he was brutally tortured by a soldier as he was questioned by General Ozerov. Though Steve answered Ozerov's questions honestly, the Soviet general did not believe Steve's story of how he managed to get into the facility and kept having Steve beaten up, even when he attempted to strike a deal with Ozerov, promising to keep the base a secret in exchange for his freedom. Once Steve was beaten into an unconscious state, he was dragged to an interrogation room with Robin where they were both tied up together before their captors left them alone.

ST3 Steve Injured

Steve tortured and injected with truth serum.

Steve was later woken up by Robin's cries for help and assured her that he was doing okay despite his injuries. Noticing a pair of scissors on a table, Steve and Robin attempted to get to the table by hopping over in order to grab the scissors and escape, but they ended up falling to the floor upon their third attempt at hopping. Lying on the floor, Steve tried to assure Robin who was beginning to lose hope that they will be able to escape somehow. He then listened to Robin recount their time in Mrs. Click's history class while also hearing her reveal that even though she despised him, she wanted to be popular and accepted just like him. Steve confessed to Robin that popularity isn't as great as she thought due to having been influenced by others in doing bad things and not paying attention in what you're going to do after high school. At this, Steve expressed his wish of knowing Robin more in school, but was happy he got to spend time with her while they worked at Scoops Troop. Suddenly, Ozerov returned and upon noticing the two teens on the floor, he taunted them for failing to escape before ordering his men to pick them up. Steve was threatened by Ozerov into telling the truth before having Dr. Zharkov painfully inject him and Robin with truth serum.

After being rescued, Steve and Robin boarded in a loading car that Erica and Dustin had stolen. While sitting in the back of the car, the high Steve and Robin complained about the speed of the car and asked if they were in the Indy 500, despite Dustin not driving so fast before laughing hysterically. When Dustin crashed the car into some barrels near the elevator, the collision caused Steve and Robin to get their heads banged against the car. As the high Steve and Robin recovered from the collision, they were urged by Dustin and Erica to get out of the car, before Dustin proceeded to use a keycard to open and activate the elevator so they could escape from the base.

S3E7-Steve's eye and pupil

The drugged Steve getting his eyes examined by Dustin.

However, once in the elevator, the high Steve and Robin began to play around where Steve pretended to surf on a dolly, much to Dustin and Erica's confusion. When Steve fell off the dolly, his temperature was checked by Dustin who started to examine him, causing Steve to get into a struggle with him. Upon seeing Steve's eye pupils being dilated, Dustin and Erica realized the Russians had drugged Steve and Robin. As Dustin tried to snap Steve out of the drugs' effects, the high Steve played around with Dustin and jokingly called him "Dad." When Dustin asked him where he had parked his car, the high Steve asked if he and Robin could get some food at the mall's food court. Though Dustin promised to give the older teens as much as food as they want, on the condition Steve revealed where he parked his car, Steve revealed the Russians had stolen his car keys before he and Robin laughed hysterically again as Dustin and Erica worried how they were going to escape from the mall.

When the elevator reached the surface, Steve, Robin, Erica, and Dustin exited out of the elevator, where the high Steve and Robin enjoyed the fresh air. When Dustin and Erica saw two Russians guards approaching them and armed with guns, they grabbed the high Steve and Robin and retreated into the mall. Upon entering the mall's movie theater, Steve grabbed a bag of popcorn from the trash and was ordered by Dustin, along with Robin, to sit in some seats and not go anywhere so they could lay low from the Russians.

Steve and Robin then leave for water and then subsequently throw up from the drugs. In a heartfelt confession, Robin reveals that she envies Steve's ability to naturally charm women, as she wishes she had the same pull, coming out to Steve, who accepts her. Dustin and Erica discover them and set out to leave, only for the Russians to trap them within the mall by blocking off the exits.

Defeating the Mind Flayer

As they hide out from the Russians in the food court, the display car in the middle surprises the Russians who were about to find them when it suddenly honks. On the second floor, the Party reveal themselves where Eleven telekinetically throws the car at the Russians, saving Steve, Robin, Erica and Dustin. However, before they can catch their breath and share their stories, El collapses in pain from a bite in her leg, which is revealing to be congealing into a small monster from within her. In panic, Robin, still not understanding what is going on, tries to recount a story about her soccer teammate Beth Wildfire getting injured, but Steve tells her she is not helping, which Robin apologizes for. After a failed attempt to cut it out by Jonathan, El instead pulls it out psychically, which the group watches in shock and awe. The monster is then killed off by the arrival of Hopper, Murray, and Joyce.

Once everyone is reunited, it is explained to Robin how Will Byers got trapped in and got rescued from alternate dimension called the Upside Down where the former Hawkins National Laboratory was responsible due to opening a Gate to the Upside Down through Eleven who was a former test subject at the lab. The group also explains to her that last year Will was possessed the monstrous ruler of the Upside Down, the Mind Flayer until he was freed from his possession with the help of his friends and family before the Gate to the Upside Down was closed. Now, the Mind Flayer had returned to Hawkins through the Gate the Russians are opening under the mall and built itself a body for his severed fragment to kill the Party where it had managed to injure Eleven by biting her leg. After coming up with a plan to stop the Russian key to cut off the Mind Flayer's mind from its makeshift body, Steve, along with Robin, Dustin and Erica, head back to Dustin's transmitter to help Murray navigate the ducts of the Russian base, joined by Joyce and Hopper. Around the same time however, the Mind Flayer's proxy body, the Spider Monster arrives to kill the Party, Nancy, and Jonathan, leading to Steve and Robin returning to the mall. Steve crashes the car against the flayed Billy's car, incapacitating him momentarily, in a move that stuns Robin. When the Mind Flayer's proxy body comes out of the mall by climbing onto to the roof, Steve is horrified at the sight of the abomination before he and Robin leave with Nancy, Jonathan, Lucas, and Will to escape from the creature. As they drive with the creature in pursuit, Dustin finally manages to get in contact with Suzie in order to get Planck's constant, he is just as shocked as Robin that she is real. Noticing the Monster has turned around, the gang follow it back to Starcourt and save Eleven using Lucas' fireworks. The Monster is finally killed upon Joyce closing the Gate. With the military arriving, the mall is closed down and the event is covered by a fake story of a fire that had killed the fallen people inside.

Joining Hawkins Family Video

Three months later on October 4, Steve and Robin went for a new job together in downtown Hawkins at the Family Video store. While Robin easily won the position, Steve was not immediately hired, until Robin pointed out Steve's charm will attract "dozens" of women to their store.

1986

Struggling to find love

S4E1-Vickie is definitely not the wrong girl

Steve advising Robin to pursue her new crush, Vickie.

On March 21, while driving Robin to school, Steve talked to her about his recent date, Heidi going out of state for college and did not want to commit a relationship with a girl that only involved having sex. Robin, who was barely paying attention, told Steve his love life was getting more complex due to him getting tons of dates from female customers while working at Family Video. When Robin expressed concern about having to attend a basketball pep rally, Steve did not buy she was concerned about the rally, but rather on impressing Vickie, a girl in her band class whom Robin developed a crush on. Though Robin did not know for sure what Vickie's sexuality was, Steve advised Robin to pursue her, believing Vickie to be the right girl and a lesbian, due to having paused and returned the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High at fifty-three minutes and five seconds, much to Robin's disgust.

After their talk, Steve dropped Robin off at Hawkins High and left to go work at his job at Family Video.

Searching for a Dark Wizard

While working at Family Video the next day, Steve listened to Robin describe her brief talk with Vicki last night during the basketball game where she laughed and agreed with Tammy singing like a Muppet. Steve then listened to Robin discuss how she was nervous on how to speak to Vicki as she knew she had a problem in talking too much and being unable to stop talking until someone tells her to stop. After Steve pointed she was doing it right now during their talk, he made her feel better by saying he felt hopeless too in trying to find a new girlfriend. He then heard Robin expressed how she wished she and Steve could just "combine" so their problems would be solved as Robin had trouble with interacting the girl of her dreams while Steve had trouble figuring what type of girl he wanted despite going on lots of dates. When Robin picked out Doctor Zhivago as Family Video's morning movie, Steve disagreed as it was a double VHS until Robin pointed out the movie was about doomed love, something which they were both experiencing. Before they could the movie on the store's TV, Steve and Robin watched a live news coverage of a Hawkins High School student being found dead at Forest Hills Trailer Park this morning.

After Nancy finished speaking with the new Police Chief Calvin Powell, Steve and the others took her to the trailer park where they told her about Vecna being Fred and Chrissy's killer and their theories on how he attacked his victims with curses or spells while being unsure if he was doing the Mind Flayer's bidding or not. When Nancy began to question why Fred and Chrissy were killed, Steve listened to Dustin and Max list all of the last locations Fred and Chrissy were before their deaths, including the trailer park, something which made Steve nervous. When Nancy revealed how Fred immediately began acting scared, nervous, and upset when the two of them arrived at the trailer park yesterday, Steve heard Dustin reveal Max said Chrissy was also was upset as she had found Chrissy crying in the girls' bathroom at school hours earlier before her death. After Robin noted how serial killers usually stalk their prey before killing them and theorized Fred and Chrissy could have seen Vecna before they died, Steve commented on how he would mention seeing a monstrous killer to someone. At his comment, Steve heard Max reveal she had also noticed Chrissy leaving the office of their school counselor, Ms. Kelley before finding her in the bathroom, making Steve and her friends realize Ms. Kelley might had information on Chrissy encountering Vecna before her death.

S4E4-Steve learning how someone gets the curse

Steve learning how someone gets the symptoms of Vecna's curse.

Upon entering Ms. Kelley's office, Steve and Dustin waited for Max to look for Chrissy's medical file in a file cabinet, only to become surprised when Max also brought out a file for Fred, revealing Fred had also been seeing Ms. Kelley as well. While looking over Fred and Chrissy's files, Steve and Dustin noticed Max suddenly becoming unresponsive, leaving them concerned only to witness Max suddenly snap back to reality. By the time Nancy and Robin arrived at the school, Steve and his friends heard Max reveal that she saw a mysterious grandfather clock in one of the hallways while she had been under a trance. After Dustin noted how Max's trance was similar to the state Chrissy was in before she died from Eddie's descriptions, Steve and the others heard Max state that her trance was not the only thing they should be concerned about. Back inside Ms. Kelley's office, Steve heard Max reveal Fred and Chrissy consulted in Ms. Kelley for help as they both were suffering both extremely bad headaches, sleep deprivation, nightmares, and night sweats. In addition, Max revealed later on, both Fred and Chrissy started having terrifying visions of any dark secrets and trauma they had experienced which had gotten worse over time before they were eventually killed. Steve then heard when Fred and Chrissy started suffering from these symptoms before hearing Max confess she too had been having these same symptoms for five days now. This made Steve and the others realize Max was Vecna's next target and because of Fred and Chrissy dying twenty-four hours after their first vision, Max would likely be killed tomorrow.

The revelation was cut short when Steve and his friends hear a noise outside the lobby. Ordering the others to stay in the office, Steve grabbed a lamp and went out into the hallway to investigate while being followed by the other. However, when Lucas revealed himself, Steve scolded him for scaring him and the others while noting he could have knocked him out with the lamp he had grabbed. Steve then watched Lucas warn Dustin of his basketball teammates, Jason Carver, Patrick McKinney, and Andy hunting for Eddie before he and the others tell Lucas about Vecna and how Max was now in danger of being murdered by the entity.

The next morning, Steve, Lucas, and Robin were woken up by Nancy who told them they had to go to Victor Creel's house due to Max having drawn a picture of it as she had seen it in Vecna's minds cape while being cursed by the entity. Upon arriving at the abandoned Creel house, Steve and Nancy started removing the boarded up door with hammers they had brought. When Steve asked what they are looking for at the house, Nancy responded she wasn't sure, but knew the house hold some significance to Vecna, with Dustin backing up that the house could hold some clues to why Vecna killed the Creel family, why he has returned, and how to stop him before he tries to kill Max again.

S4E5-Finding the grandfather clock

Steve and his friends investigating the abandoned Creel House.

Though Steve and Nancy were able to remove the board covering the door, they found it locked until Robin suggested they use a brick to get into the house. After throwing the brick at the front door's stained glass window, shattering it, Steve was able to get the door open by opening it from the inside, allowing him and his friends to enter the house. When discovering the house's electricity to be dead, Steve was surprised to see all of his friends having brought flashlights with them, leaving him to chastised by Dustin that he did not need to be told everything as he was not a child. After getting a spare flashlight from Dustin's backpack, Steve and his friends found an old grandfather clock in the hallway which Max recognized as the one she saw in her visions, leaving Steve to question why Vecna was obsessed with clocks. When the gang decided to split up in groups of two, Steve found himself partnered with Dustin, much to his slight annoyance as the two of them climbed upstairs to the second floor of the house.

Escaping the Upside Down

Upon finding Eddie at Skull Rock in the woods, he confirmed the time when Patrick was killed, which proved to be the exact same time when the flashlights in the Creel House exploded, allowing the group to realize Vecna was using the Upside Down version of the Creel mansion as his base of operations.

When Dustin suddenly announced he was right about Skull Rock, Steve started getting annoyed until Dustin revealed his compass had been going haywire since they walked to Skull Rock. Steve heard Dustin and Lucas reveal that strange electromagnetic activity was causing his compass to malfunction, which he revealed the possibility of a new gate being opened somewhere nearby as they have strong electromagnetic fields. Though reluctant to find the gate as Eddie is still labeled as a criminal, Steve eventually joined his friends in searching for the gate once Eddie said he was willing to find it. Nancy, Robin, and Eddie watched Steve volunteer to swim down to find the gate at the bottom of the lake.

Upon arriving at Lover's Lake, later that night, Steve, Nancy, Robin, and Eddie hopped onto a canoe to investigate whereas Lucas, Dustin and Max would remain on guard. Steve swims down to look for the gate as he has lots of swimming experience. After he finds it, he swims up to tell the others, failing to notice a tentacle slowly following him. Steve resurfaces, telling Nancy, Robin, and Eddie about the gate. However, he felt a tug on is leg before being dragged under the water. He desperately tried to escape but was unsuccessful. The tentacle pulls Steve into the Upside Down where he is dragged several feet. Once the tentacle lets go, Steve is left alone in the Upside Down. Steve heard screeches in the distance as several demobats fly towards him. Seeing the demobats, he runs towards a boat and grabs an oar Steve is able to fend off the demobats until one manages to wrap its tail around his neck and pull him to the ground. Steve struggled on the ground, choking from the tail wrapped around his throat. Two other demobats began to bite and claw at him, feeding while the third attempted to strangle him. Steve flails, desperately trying to free himself to no success. Nancy, however, arrived in the nick of time along with Robin and Eddie. She uses the oar from the boat to hit the demobats off of Steve. While the two feeding off of him let go, the one around Steve's neck proves to be a bit of a challenge. Eventually, Steve managed to grab the creature by its tail and slam it into the ground multiple times before tearing it in half.

Steve, with Nancy's help, check his wounds and the two are dumbfounded when Robin asked if the bats have rabies as she has a fear of them. Steve and his friends then see more Demobats arrive and guard the gate before witnessing lots more bats approaching, forcing them to retreat into the Upside Down's forest. As they walked through the dark forest, Eddie began praising Steve for his struggle against the Demonbats, cimparing him to Ozzy Osbourne, and reassured him that Dustin continued to "worship" him in spite of his close friendship and brotherly bond with Eddie. He then gave him some advice in how to rekindle his romance with Nancy. Upon arriving at the Upside Down Wheeler home, they discovered the Upside Down was stuck in November 6, 1983-- the date Eleven opened the "Mothergate" and when Will went missing. Through some golden particles and Eddie's knowledge in SOS, the four managed to get in touch with the younger kids in the other side. Through bicycles stored in the Wheeler garage in both dimensions, the Party and their allies travelled to the Munson trailer, where a gate had formed following Chrissy's murder.

Upon arriving, a broom was used by the teenagers to fully open the gate and the younger kids tied bed sheets together to create a rope before placing a mattress to support the fall of their older allies. Robin and Eddie successfully pass through and return to the real world, deeming the experience "fun." However, Nancy became trapped in Vecna's curse before she and Steve could escape, causing the group to frantically search for music in order to free Mike's older sister from the trance. Fortunately for them, Nancy was spared by the creature, who gave her an ominous message to deliver to her friends.

Fighting Vecna

In the next morning, a disturbed Nancy revealed Vecna's true identity as Victor Creel's son Henry, who acquired impressive psychokinetic abilities and murdered his own mother and sister in cold blood, leaving his father to be blamed for their murders and incarcerated in Pennhurst Hospital. Henry was subsequently kidnapped by Dr. Martin Brenner, who turned him into test subject One of Hawkins Lab, which would eventually include other children with the same abilities as One, including Eleven. Afterwards, Nancy detailed the future Vecna had shown her - dark clouds taking over the sky, downtown on fire, a giant creature with a gaping mouth, which was believed to be the Mind Flayer, and hundreds of monsters slaughtering her family, friends and fellow citizens. Steve tried his best to comfort her by insisting those visions could only be a demonstration of the creature's ability to conjure illusions, only for Nancy to insist that the events he had shown her could still become real. Upon mentioning four gates tearing Hawkins apart, Lucas and Max deduced Vecna was communicating his master plan through his grandfather clock which was to open four gates to the Upside Down and he only needed one more victim to trigger the apocalypse.

S4E8-Or he'll kill us

Steve telling Nancy the stakes they have against Vecna/Henry/One before they decide to attack his physical body when he attacks his next victim.

After failing yet again in reaching the Byers' home in California, Nancy realized that the lack of communication of the California crew was somehow linked to Vecna's actions there in Hawkins. Dead-set on saving the lives of her family and the rest of the planet, she insisted they needed to acquire weapons and equipment and return to the Upside Down to destroy Vecna. Steve and the others immediately rejected this idea and he and Robin pointed out there was no way they could match Vecna in strength and power due to him being a test subject like Eleven. However, Dustin and Lucas deduced that like Eleven, the dark wizard's true body was vulnerable whenever he was chasing his victims in their minds and decided to attack him in the Creel House's attic within the Upside Down when he had possessed his final victim. Steve reminded him that the Creel House in the Upside Down was guarded by Demobats, making Dustin realize they will have to find a way to distract the bats. When Robin pointed out they do not know when Vecna will attack or who will be his next victim, Max admitted that she still felt the creature's influence inside her and offered to lure his attention back to her by removing her Walkman. Lucas deemed this idea too dangerous but Max insisted that she would be alright as long as the others killed Vecna before he could kill her. Everyone was uncomfortable with this plan but it was the only one they had.

The Beginning of the End

Personality

While attending Hawkins High, Steve was initially the typical popular boy that; gained attention from everyone near him, though this caused him to fall out of favor with the lesser-known kids at school who labeled him as a "douchebag". Despite having a charming personality, he eventually fell into the wrong crowd of the snarkier popular kids, although his compassion lay underneath his superficiality.

When beginning to date Nancy Wheeler, Steve displayed his softer side and revealed himself to be hopelessly in love with her, though this in turn revealed his insecurities, as he instantly believed Nancy was sleeping with Jonathan Byers when seeing them together in her bedroom, and soon caused him to vandalize property with graffiti featuring slurs of Nancy and Jonathan. It's not until Jonathan physically beats up Steve in rage that he realizes how awful his behavior was and immediately went to the Byers's home to apologize, only to be sucked into protecting them from the Monster. At Christmas, 1983, Steve and Nancy purchased Jonathan a new camera to replace the one he and Tommy broke.

Between his breakup with Nancy and Billy quickly taking over his status as "King Bee" and most popular boy, Steve was at a low point emotionally. While trying to make amends with Nancy, Dustin intercepted him and asked Steve to help catch D'Artagnan. The boys quickly bond, and Steve is shown to have a more parental or mentoring side as he gives Dustin relationship advice. Steve took on the role of 'babysitter' for the kids and was willing to put himself in danger to protect them. He had matured and became far more kind and responsible than he used to be.

In 1985, Steve was a shadow of what he once was. Aside from his sarcasm and recklessness, a lot of his traits that; he displayed in his high school years have disappeared. He was incredibly awkward and unsuccessful; with the girls he serves at Scoops Ahoy, and the only positive female relationship he seems to have is with his co-worker, Robin. His friendship; with Dustin is still strong, if not stronger and he seems to be on good terms; with the rest of the Hawkins gang. Steve is also shown to be more kind-hearted and tolerant of things he used to poke fun of. Aside from engaging in nerd culture, he is also shed his homophobic views; which is shown when he still accepted Robin as a friend after she came out to him.

In 1986, Steve began working at a local movie rental store Family Video, with him finding it difficult to find a suitable girlfriend for himself and started developing romantic feelings towards Nancy again. He also helped Robin deal with her crush, Vickie, and advised her to pursue her as he wanted Robin to be happy. He became jealous of Eddie and Dustin's growing friendship as he felt Eddie was taking over his brotherly role. However, Steve later softened when Eddie told him Dustin was always talking about him and worshipped him. When formulating a plan to kill Vecna, Steve had a heart to heart about his dreams with Nancy, having five or six kids and traveling around in an RV and he later told Nancy the dream included her.

Abilities

  • Athleticism: Harrington has demonstrated to have many athletic talents as he played for Hawkins' basketball and swim team. These skills have aided him in going against threats in many occasions either from the Upside Down or military personnel.
  • Baseball Bat Proficiency: One of Steve's incredible skills is his proficiency with his spiked bat. His adeptness with his bat was revealed when he displayed significant prowess in fend offing the vicious Demogorgon that was attacking the Byers house. Steve used his spiked bat again during the events at the junkyard where he was almost overwhelmed in an ambush by the demodogs, if not for defending himself with it.
  • Hand-To-Hand-Combatant: Although Steve isn't the most capable fighter around, he was shown to be physically robust during his showdown with Billy, dealing some quick blows to defend Lucas, before being defeated and receiving major injuries in the process. Steve was able to knock out a Soviet soldier with a phone in a fight.

Relationships

Familial

It is implied Steve doesn't have a close relationship with his parents, particularly his father. While inviting Nancy and Barb to his party, he mentions his mother attending his father's business trip because she doesn't trust him, possibly meaning Mr. Harrington is unfaithful, therefore causing tension. He throws a party at his home without his parent's knowledge, drinking beers, and smoking along with his friends. He later fears Nancy revealing this to the police, knowing he'll get in trouble, saying to Nancy that his father is a "grade-A asshole". When Nancy later asks Steve if he got in trouble with his parents, Steve says it doesn't matter and to "Screw them". In 1984, Steve struggles with his grades, not wanting to work under his father, but tells Nancy that maybe it wouldn't be bad since it means having insurance and "adult stuff". By the summer of 1985, Steve doesn't have the proper grades to attend college, and Mr. Harrington forces his son to get a job at Scoops Ahoy at the Starcourt Mall to teach him a lesson, angering Steve. After being drugged by Russians, Steve is asked by Dustin if he's on drugs, to which Steve sloppily replies, "How many times, Dad? I don't do drugs . . . it's only marijuana.", possibly Mr. Harrington confronting his son on his issues with partying too hard. By October of that year, Steve and Robin apply for jobs at Family Video, putting his mother down as a reference on his resume because she is "super well-respected".

Non-familial

In the fall of 1983, Dustin, along with the Party, perceived Steve as nothing more than a douchebag.

By the fall of 1984, however, Dustin used Steve as a last resort to help tame a rogue Demodog after failing to find Nancy and Mike at the Wheeler home. Steve dismissed Dustin as overreacting and threatened Dustin if his claims were a Halloween prank, but he's proven wrong upon Dustin saying that the Demodog ate his cat and the boys' discovery that the creature tunneled his way out of Dustin's cellar. The next day, while throwing raw meat on the train tracks, Steve told Dustin dating advice since he explained he kept the Demodog to impress a girl he had a crush on. After explaining that the key to men winning girls was acting like they didn't care, Steve sheepishly admitted that his luscious hair routine involved Farrah Fawcett hairspray, threatening to end Dustin if he told anyone. The boys soon form a brotherly bond, with Dustin proclaiming that Steve was awesome as he watched him battle Demodogs in the junkyard. Dustin cheered for Steve as he fought Billy, and was the only one that wanted to take him with the Party to the pumpkin patch after Steve was knocked unconscious, giving him an ice pack as Max drove. Steve protested against the kids going underneath the tunnel system, but reluctantly agreed after Dustin said he could keep them safe. As the plan to close the Gate came to fruition, the kids climbed up the hole while Steve picked Dustin up to protect him from the Demodogs, showing his fierce protectiveness. One month later, Steve gave Dustin his Farrah Fawcett hairspray, with Dustin using it on his hair for the Snow Ball. Carpooling him there, Steve fist bumped Dustin while boosting his confidence before sending him in.

Six months later, in the summer of 1985, Steve and Dustin have grown to be best friends, with Steve being especially giddy upon Dustin's return from Camp Know Where and greeting him at his job at the Starcourt Mall, Scoops Ahoy. Steve's advice for girls had shown to score Dustin a girlfriend from the camp named Suzie Bingham from Salt Lake City, Utah. Explaining that he picked up Russian communication on his homemade radio, Dustin recruited Steve to help him translate it after insinuating that their fame to stop the Russians could score him women. When their attempts to translate fails, Steve's sarcastic co-worker, Robin Buckley, offered her help due to being fluent in multiple languages, eventually discovering Russians delivering packages in the back of the mall with high security. As their attempts to decipher the code continue, Dustin encouraged Steve to ask Robin out, noting that he shouldn't have to worry about his popular status now that he was out of high school. After getting into the room with Erica Sinclair's help, Dustin stayed by Steve's side as Steve opens a box of unknown chemicals, not wanting him to die, which touched Steve. When they are spotted by the Russians, Steve, along with Robin, helped Dustin and Erica escape before Dustin told him that he'd come back for him. Eventually, Dustin came to Steve and Robin's rescue and helped them escape the Russian base while looking out and protecting them as they were drugged with truth serum. After Steve and Robin were cured, Steve revealed to Dustin that he told the Russians his name while being drugged, much to Dustin's shock, as Steve apologized. When Dustin revealed Suzie's existence by contacting her on Cerebro, Steve was shocked as he secretly did not believe that she existed and awkwardly listened to Dustin and Suzie singing Neverending Story together.

Eight months later, in the spring of 1986, their friendship remained stable, though Steve held slight jealousy that Dustin, now a freshman at Hawkins High, began worshipping repeated senior, Eddie Munson, leader of the controversial Hellfire Club. Dustin's attempts to have Steve sub for Lucas for their D&D campaign were unsuccessful, with Steve hanging up on him due to him having a date, causing Dustin to flip the phone off as he walked away. When the mutilated body of Chrissy Cunningham was discovered at Eddie's trailer, Dustin and Max made a mess of Family Video getting access to the store's computer, much to Steve's and Robin's anger. When Steve sarcastically referred to Eddie as Dustin's new best friend, Dustin insisted that he never said that. Steve reluctantly helped Dustin, Max, and Robin track down Eddie at a lakehouse near Lover's Lake, where a paranoid Eddie held Steve down with a broken bottle to his throat. Dustin deescalated the situation by explaining Steve was his friend and that they came to help. Discovering a new evil entity from the Upside Down was killing teenagers - dubbed "Vecna" by Dustin and Eddie - Steve assisted rounding up Nancy and investigating. While waiting for Max, Dustin poked fun of Steve being so insistent to be by Nancy's side, causing Steve to become flustered and insist that his concern was platonic. As Dustin laughed at Steve blushing, Steve unknowingly threatened to knock Dustin's teeth out, causing Dustin to say he went too far. Steve immediately apologized, with Dustin immediately accepting, and the two fist-bumped one another. While Steve, Nancy, Robin, and Eddie traveled through the Upside Down, Eddie revealed that Dustin constantly insisted that Steve was a "bad-ass" and constantly praised him, much to Steve's surprise, showing that Dustin holds Steve in a high place.

Steve and Nancy first began seeing each other shortly before the disappearance of Will Byers. While Nancy initially believed that Steve wasn't serious about their relationship, this turned out to not be the case. In truth, Steve really loved Nancy, claiming she's “not like other girls”. After having sex at a party held at Steve's house, they officially entered a relationship. However, when Nancy became distant due to the disappearance of her friend Barbara Holland, Steve grew worried. When he visited her house to check on her, he witnessed Nancy and Jonathan together in her room, making him believe she was cheating. When Nancy confronted him, Steve gave her a chance to explain herself, though, due to the extraordinary nature of the events, she was unable to. After realizing his mistakes, he went to the Byers' house in order to apologize. There, he unexpectedly helped Nancy and Jonathan fight the Demogorgon. A month after these events, Steve and Nancy had gotten back together.

The two had dated for nearly a year when their relationship was once again put in jeopardy; no longer being able to bear the guilt of Barb's death, Nancy told Steve they should tell the Hollands the truth. Steve rejected this idea, reminding her that doing so would put them and their families in danger. At a Halloween party, Nancy became intoxicated, leading her to reveal that she did not have feelings for him. This emotionally crushed Steve, and he broke up with her the following day. Yet, Steve still had feelings for Nancy, and after being goaded by Tommy and Billy, attempted to apologize to her. He eventually came to terms with Nancy's feelings for Jonathan and told her she should be with him instead. After dropping Dustin off at the Snow Ball, Steve spotted Nancy and accepted she will never love him.

A year later, in 1985, Steve confessed to Robin that he no longer loves Nancy and considers her a friend, as he's now looking for the perfect girl for him.

In the summer of 1985, when asked by Robin if he still had feelings for Nancy, Steve replied he didn't but considered her a friend. He explained he had already found a perfect girl for him, revealing to have feelings for Robin, but was told by Robin that she was a lesbian, causing Steve to immediately discard his feelings for her. Steve would later save Nancy from being rammed by Billy's car after crashing into it with the Tod-Father, and Nancy returned the favor by saving him and Robin from the Mind Flayer.

By the spring of 1986, Steve had feelings for Nancy once again. They worked together on the Creel House mystery. When Steve dove into the water, Nancy was the first to dive back in and help him. Later, Steve admitted that they wished they had stayed a couple, and that he dreamed of one day having Nancy by his side as he toured the country with a camper full of children.

Due to Jonathan and Steve being polar opposites, both in popularity and personality, Steve viewed him as an outcast. While he, Carol, Tommy, Nancy, and Barb watched Jonathan hang up missing posters for Will, Steve called him depressing, but he did smack Tommy on the arm and told him to shut up after he insinuated that Jonathan might have killed his brother. But when Nicole informs him and the others that Jonathan took pictures of them during the party at his house (including a lewd photo of Nancy in her underwear), Steve proclaimed him to be a pervert and broke his camera in retaliation. When he sees Jonathan and Nancy together in her room (not realizing the situation), the next day he, along with Carol, Tommy, and Nicole, wrote horrific slurs about them in graffiti on the theatre's marquee and an alleyway. When Jonathan and Nancy confront him, Steve begins to brutally bully him about his home life, his mother, and his brother's "death" until Jonathan's rage consumes him and causes him to beat Steve repeatedly. After escaping from the police beaten and bruised, Steve comes to the realization that Tommy and Carol are horrible people and drives to the Byers to apologize, only to get sucked into Nancy and Jonathan's fight with the Demogorgon. A month later, Steve and Nancy give Jonathan a new camera for Christmas, showing they're on good terms.

A year later, in 1984, Steve and Jonathan were shown to still get along. During a party on Halloween night, Nancy drunkenly admits that she doesn't love Steve, causing him to storm out and ask Jonathan to take her home, showing that he trusts him. He accepts that he wasn't right for Nancy and allows her to pursue her feelings for Jonathan.

In 1985, Steve and Jonathan were still on friendly terms, as Steve finally got over Nancy. The two worked together as a team to protect the Party from the Mind Flayer. In 1986, Steve and Jonathan reunited after the Party managed to temporarily defeat Vecna. Steve looked happy to see Jonathan reunite with Nancy, but also felt upset as he was starting to have feelings for Nancy again.

Tommy, Carol, and Steve were a trio of friends throughout high school, though it's obvious the couple was more interested in his popularity than his compassion and actual love for Nancy. He invites the couple, along with Nancy and Barb, to his home for a party, and the quartet has fun wading in his pool (while Barb tended to her knife wound inside). Tommy and Carol join in on ripping apart Jonathan's photos and enjoy watching Steve break his camera. When Steve, Tommy, and Carol drive to Nancy's home one night, the two tease Steve for caring about Nancy. When he yells at them to shut up, they quickly do but chuckle quietly in amusement. After Steve sees Jonathan up in Nancy's bedroom, he, Tommy, Carol, and Nicole spray paint slurs of Nancy and Jonathan on the Hawkins theater marquee and in an alley the next day. Soon, Jonathan and Steve get into a fight, while Tommy, Carol, and Nicole watch. The cops arrive and arrest Jonathan while the other teens run away. Tommy, Carol, and Steve stopped at a convenience store where Tommy gives a bloodied-faced Steve a cold soda can and pills for his pain. When Carol and Tommy once again make fun of Nancy and Jonathan, Steve snaps and tells Carol to shut her mouth. Tommy asks what his problem is, and Steve calls them "assholes", saying Nancy isn't miserable like the two of them. Carol calls Nancy "the slut with a heart of gold", causing Steve to yell at her to watch her mouth. Tommy grabs Steve by the collar and tells him he doesn't talk to Carol like that and attempts to instigate a fight, but Steve silently climbs into his car and drives off, all while Tommy calls Steve a "pussy" and yelling at him to run away.

A year later in the fall of 1984, Tommy still holds a grudge against Steve, tormenting him alongside Billy about Nancy skipping school alongside Jonathan.

In July of 1985, Steve mentions to Robin how he regrets not paying attention to her in high school out of fear of being made fun of by people like Tommy.

Billy Hargrove was an antagonist to Steve and quite provocative from the day they met. After Billy's arrival to Hawkins High School, he was quick to gain a reputation from the other students and ignited a rivalry with Steve after breaking his keg standing record. Even though Steve didn't bother much about his fame, Billy was always quick to taunt him for his failures, such as losing against him in basketball and failing to deal with his broken relationship with Nancy. Ultimately, Steve realized Billy's violent nature; when he came to the Byers residence to forcefully take Max and threatened Lucas. This prompted Steve to intervene and a fistfight ensued. Steve managed to protect the boys, as overpowered Billy quite easily, it was only; due to Billy cowardly using dirty tactics that; the latter got the upper hand; before he was sedated; by Max.

In 1985, after learning that; Billy was one of the very people possessed by the Mind Flayer, Steve protected the kids from him by crashing into Billy's car before Billy could ram over the kids as they tried to escape Starcourt Mall. After the Mind Flayer's defeat, it is unknown how Steve felt about Billy's sacrifice to protect the kids.

Around 1984, Steve attended Miss Click's history class alongside sophomore Robin Buckley in Hawkins High School. Though Steve didn't know her during his years in school, Robin disliked Steve incredibly due to him being late to class, making a mess by eating food, and causing her crush, Tammy Thompson, to ignore her. A year later, in the summer of 1985, Steve is forced by his father to be employed at the newly-built Starcourt Mall's ice cream parlor, Scoops Ahoy, alongside Robin, due to not having the grades to go to college. Initially, Robin takes joy in watching Steve fail to impress female customers and failing school while Steve disliked Robin for snarky behavior and attitude towards him. But when Steve's friend Dustin claims that to have intercepted a secret Russian communication, Robin assists the pair by decoding the Russian language. Throughout the next few days, Dustin keeps suggesting to Steve to make a move on Robin, believing she's cool, but Steve holds onto his high school mindset, believing her alternative personality could jeopardize his image.

However, as they discovered the Russians to be in Hawkins and operating in the mall, Steve and Robin started to form a friendship. While held captive for their interrogation by the Russians, Robin and Steve are clearly seen to care about each other’s well-being and enjoy each other’s company, talking and laughing together while alone. Once rescued, the duo shared an emotional moment on a bathroom floor where Steve decided to confess his love for Robin. Robin awkwardly tells him that while she really likes him as a friend, her romantic feelings belong to a fellow female classmate named Tammy Thompson. Though initially shocked, Steve is not upset in the slightest, rather saying that Tammy Thompson is a total dud due to her hobby and lack of musical talent, causing the two to laugh as Steve accepts Robin for who she is. They remained best friends after the battle at Starcourt Mall and are seen three months later getting a new job at Family Video together, with Robin helping Steve get the job.

Erica was a frequent customer at Scoops Ahoy and Steve served her ice cream. It's possible that Steve was often irritated at Erica for taking advantage of Scoops Ahoy's free ice cream samples, much like Robin. However, when Robin asked for Erica's help to crawl through the air ducts to a secret room that the Russians occupied, Steve agreed to the idea and was willing to give Erica free ice cream treats, in exchange for her cooperation. Once Erica arrived to the room safe and sound, Steve gave out a sigh of relief. Despite that, after being trapped in the room which was revealed to be an elevator, Erica started to sassily berate Steve and the others for getting her in this situation, saying they would be in trouble with her mother. This caused Steve to snap at Erica, telling her that he doesn't care and they would be dead if they remain trapped in the elevator, much to Erica's shock. When exploring the secret Russian base underneath Starcourt, Steve helped Erica and Dustin escape when they were spotted by Russians, leaving him and Robin to be captured. However, Erica and Dustin managed to come to their rescue and escape the base together, protecting the older teens as they were drugged with truth serum until they were cured. Both Steve and Erica continued to work together in helping stop the Mind Flayer.

In 1984, Steve is first told of Max when Dustin discusses keeping Dart to impress her. When preparing to lure Dart and the Demodogs at the junkyard, Steve refers to Max as "Random Girl" who's the only one assisting him. That night, inside the bus, Max curiously asks Steve if he's fought one of "those things" before, to which Steve silently nods. When Steve steps outside to lure the Demodogs, Max calls Steve an idiot. Later on, when hiding out the Byers' home, Steve covers for Max when Billy arrives searching for her. When the plan fails and Billy beats Steve's face in violently, Max protects him by grabbing a sedative injection and stabbing Billy in the neck with it.

In 1985, Max, alongside the rest of the Party, use Steve's job at Scoops Ahoy to sneak into the movie theatre multiple times. When giving El and Max ice cream, Steve questions if El is even allowed to be there. The two giggle and run off, leaving Steve confused.

In 1986, Max and Dustin go to Steve and Robin at Family Video when they sense something from the Upside Down played a part in Chrissy Cunningham's death. The quartet work together to locate Eddie at Reefer Rick's. The next day, when the group splits up, Max offers to drive Steve's car, but Steve tells her it would never happen again after driving Billy's car. Instead, Steve carpools Max and Dustin to Ms. Kelley's home, where Max steals keys to her office at the school and yells at Steve to drive. That evening, the trio look through her files and discover Max is Vecna's next target. Hearing a noise outside, Steve instructs Max to stay there and arms himself with a floor lamp. The next morning, Max spent the whole night writing letters to her loved ones. When she's finished, Steve is surprised when Max hands him one, but instructs him not to open it since it's a "fail-safe" in case things won't work out for her. When Max desires to go to East Hawkins, Steve is adamant in keeping her safe, but Max threatens to press charges against him since keeping her against her will is "kidnapping of a minor". Steve reluctantly agrees and drives her, Lucas, and Dustin, to East Hawkins, where Billy is buried. After waiting a period of time for Max to read her letter, Steve gets impatient, saying Max can "get a lawyer" and runs up the hill to get her. But Steve is horrified to find Max is possessed and stuck in a trance, attempting to shake her out of it and calling for Dustin and Lucas. When Dustin is told by Nancy and Robin via walkie-talkie that music could bring Max back to reality, Steve and the others help put on Max's song Running Up That Hill through her Walkman. As Max hovers in the air, a distressed Steve yells for her. However, Max awakens and escapes Vecna's grasp, falling to the ground as Steve and the others huddle around her and comfort her. When attempting to locate a gate at the bottom of Lover's Lake, Lucas and Dustin take note of how hairy Steve has gotten, causing Max to snatch the binoculars and take a look for a certain amount of time, catching Lucas and Dustin off guard. The attempt to kill Vecna and save Max fails initially; when the clock in the Creel House chimes four times, Steve is horrified when he and the girls realize Max is gone. It can be assumed he was relieved yet saddened that Max was revived but in a coma.

In the fall of 1983, when Dustin commented how Nancy's behavior had changed, Lucas commented that it was due to her beginning to date Steve, who he labeled a "douchebag".

In the fall of 1984, Lucas was surprised when Dustin revealed to have teamed up with Steve to track down Dart. The two worked together, along with Dustin and Max, in setting a trap for Dart. Later, Lucas looked out for Steve while he battled the Demodogs in the junkyard by telling him what direction they were going. Later, Steve looked after Lucas and the kids at the Byers' house, with Steve protecting Lucas due to Billy targeting him. The two later worked together on setting the tunnel system on fire.

In the summer of 1985, Lucas used Steve's job at Scoops Ahoy in the Starcourt Mall to his and the Party's advantage, having Steve begrudgingly help them sneak into the mall's movie theatre through the back rooms. The two reunited when Eleven saved Steve, Dustin, Robin, and Erica from Russian soldiers, and soon worked together in battling the Mind Flayer's avatar.

In the spring of 1986, Steve watched Lucas win the Hawkins High championship basketball game, cheering for him as he scored the winning shot. When hearing a noise while investigating Ms. Kelley's files, Steve armed himself with a floor lamp as Lucas sped into the group, causing everyone to scream as Steve scolded him for almost making him take Lucas out with the lamp. While investigating Vecna, both Lucas and Steve shared the same confusion of how Vecna existed in the 1950s, along with questioning how and why Vecna attacked the Creel family and returned thirty years later to kill traumatized teenagers. After discovering Vecna's true identity and motives, Lucas and Steve, along with the rest of their friends, worked together to try and defeat Vecna and save Hawkins.

In the fall of 1983, Mike perceived Steve as nothing more than a douchebag. Mike used Nancy dating Steve as revenge for Nancy dissing Will at dinner, revealing to their parents that Steve was Nancy's boyfriend. While sneaking out to find Will, Mike watched Steve struggling to climb up to Nancy's window. As they made eye contact, Steve stopped and awkwardly leaned against the house, while Mike simply rolled his eyes and he biked away.

In the fall of 1984, Mike and his friends were looked after by Steve. Steve was adamant that they remained at the Byers' home, using football analogies to prove his point, but Mike insisted that their situation "[wasn't] a stupid sports game". Mike later cheered for Steve as he and Billy fought, and reluctantly agreed on taking an unconscious Steve with them to the pumpkin patch. As Steve slowly awoke hazily, he mistook Mike for Nancy, causing Mike to look at him in disgust. The two would later work together to set fire to the tunnel system, with Steve rescuing Mike from a vine wrapping around his leg.

In the summer of 1985, Mike used Steve's job at Scoops Ahoy in the Starcourt Mall to his and the Party's advantage, having Steve begrudgingly help them sneak into the mall's movie theatre through the back rooms. The two reunited when Eleven saved Steve, Dustin, Robin, and Erica from Russian soldiers, and soon worked together in battling the Mind Flayer's avatar.

In the spring of 1986, Mike and Steve worked together from a distance to save Max and defeat Vecna. When Mike returned to Hawkins, Steve reunited with him, looking happy to see him.

Due to his attitude towards Steve, it's likely Keith was a victim of the former's bullying in high school.

In the fall of 1985, Steve and Robin applied for jobs at Family Video, where Keith worked and interviewed them. While Robin successfully got the job, Steve failed due to Keith's grudge towards his former bully. Robin eventually convinced Keith to hire him after saying Steve could attract multiple female customers, something Keith could benefit from. Though he still found Steve annoying, he reluctantly hired him.

Appearances

Season One appearances
The Vanishing of Will Byers The Weirdo on Maple Street Holly, Jolly The Body
The Flea and the Acrobat The Monster The Bathtub The Upside Down
Season Two appearances
MADMAX Trick or Treat, Freak The Pollywog
Will the Wise Dig Dug The Spy
The Lost Sister The Mind Flayer The Gate
Season Three appearances
Suzie, Do You Copy? The Mall Rats The Case of the Missing Lifeguard The Sauna Test
The Flayed E Pluribus Unum The Bite The Battle of Starcourt
Season Four appearances
The Hellfire Club Vecna's Curse The Monster and the Superhero
Dear Billy The Nina Project The Dive
The Massacre at Hawkins Lab Papa The Piggyback

Video games

Video game appearances
Stranger Things: The Game Stranger Things 3: The Game Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales Stranger Things: The VR Experience
Dead by Daylight Fortnite Smite Roblox

Memorable Quotes

  • "I'm stealthy. Like a ninja."
  • "You're beautiful, Nancy Wheeler."
  • "You're both assholes, that's my problem."
  • "It's finger-lickin' good."
  • "Yeah, Farrah Fawcett. You tell anyone that I just told you that, and your ass is grass, you're dead, Henderson, got it?"
  • "I may be a pretty shitty boyfriend, but ... turns out I'm a pretty damn good babysitter."
  • "Yeah, it's me, don't cream your pants."
  • "Ahoy, ladies! Would you guys like to set sail on this ocean of flavor with me?"
  • "Everything people tell you is important, everything that people say you should care about, it's all just bullshit. But I guess you gotta mess up to figure things out, right?"
  • "I mean, yeah. Tammy Thompson, you know, she's pretty cute and all, but ... I mean, she's a total dud."
  • "People who like boobies, Robin. Boobies! It's not a big deal. I like boobies, you like boobies. Vickie likes boobies! Definitely! It's boobies!"
  • "I'll punch you so hard in the face that your teeth will fall back out."
  • "Academic scholar, really? She's giving you an academic scholar vibe?"

Behind the scenes

Character development

During the development of the show - originally titled Montauk - the character of Steve was less charming and more of a douchebag, with Joe Keery describing him as "more forceful and pushy, and kind of the '80s stereotypical jock you’d see in a John Hughes movie."[4] In early drafts of the script for the first episode, Steve actually went so far as sexually assaulting Nancy.[5] In the first season finale, Steve originally was going to die, with Jonathan and Will's father Lonnie Byers instead being given the redemption arc and helping Jonathan and Nancy fight the Demogorgon in the finale.

The character was reworked because the Duffer Brothers thought Keery had a different look and energy from how they imagined Steve, saying Keery was "incredibly likable and had this charisma about him."[6] In the original plan, Nancy and Steve would not reconcile at the end of the show, but the Duffers decided to give Steve his own arc where he's in with the wrong crowd and Nancy turns him to her side.[7]

During development, Keery and the Duffers spoke about “what kind of family life [Steve] comes from and maybe this girl Nancy is quiet and listens in a way that other people haven't listened to him at this point.”[4]

Costume design and styling

Costume designer Kimberly Adams described Steve as a high school "prep" and summed up his style as "Polo shirts, Levi’s, khakis, and Brooks Brothers basics worn with attitude!"[8]

ST1 Costume Mood Board – Steve

Mood board for Steve's style, created by costume designer Kimberly Adams.

As seen in the mood board Adams created for the character, his style was inspired by Tom Cruise’s characters Joel Goodson in Risky Business (1983) and Stefan "Stef" Djordjevic in All the Right Moves (1983). Both films are referenced by Steve in "The Flea and the Acrobat" and he mentions how Carol said he looks like Tom Cruise, who Nancy has a poster of in her bedroom. Steve wears the same Nike shoes that Cruise wore in All the Right Moves. Other inspirations in the mood board were Johnny Depp as Glen Lantz in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and model John Sommi modeling knitwear in GQ. All of the aforementioned men were considered 80s jocks and heartthrobs.

The stylists spent a lot of time discussing the look of Steve – how they could make him look like "kind of a douche" that "really rubs people the wrong way."[9]

They didn’t figure out Steve’s hair until the second and third episodes when they tried it as a joke style to see if it would go up. To get the look, they used a lot of shampoos a lot of hair spray and a lot of meticulous grooming.[4]

Gallery

View Gallery For this subject's gallery, see Steve Harrington/Gallery.


Trivia

  • Though he was credited as a recurring character throughout the first season, Steve appeared in all eight episodes before being promoted to a series regular from the second season onward.
  • Throughout the first three seasons, Steve's face was bloodied or bruised after losing a fight. He finally won a fight in the third season against a Russian guard, though he still was beaten up later on in the season. The fourth season marked the first time Steve wasn't beaten up, though he was bitten and strangled severely by Demobats, leaving marks on his neck and bloody gashes on his lower sides.
    • In season one's "The Monster", Steve gets beaten up by Jonathan after insulting his family.
    • In season two's "The Gate", Steve is beaten up by Billy Hargrove until he's unconscious after defending Lucas.
    • In season three's "E Pluribus Unum", Steve is tied down and beaten by a Russian guard while being interrogated.
  • While filming the fight between Steve and Jonathan in "The Monster", Charlie Heaton accidentally punched Joe Keery in the face, twice. [10]
  • According to actor Chester Rushing, Steve’s former best friend Tommy Hagan had romantic feelings for Steve, which played into his anger and resentment when Steve cut ties with him in "The Monster". [11]
  • The spiked bat Steve uses throughout the first two seasons originally didn't belong to him; Nancy grabbed a bat and trained to swing with it in her garage in "The Flea and the Acrobat", while Jonathan added the spikes to it in "The Upside Down".
  • In Beyond Stranger Things, the Duffer Brothers revealed that the Steve-Dustin partnership in the second season was surprising because it was never planned before production and organically developed while writing the episodes.[12]
    • Seasons two, three, and four often place Steve to work with Dustin, or to protect the Party, earning him the moniker of "babysitter" and, to Stranger Things fans, "mom".
  • In "The Bite", Steve, in a drugged state, told Dustin that he "[didn't] do drugs ... just marijuana." It's unknown if he's smoked previously or continued this habit.
  • In "The Battle of Starcourt", Steve says his favorite Star Wars film is Return of the Jedi, or as he refers to it, "the one with the teddy bears". It is possible that Dustin introduced him to the series and why they have pretend lightsaber fights in "The Mall Rats".
  • In "The Dive", Steve claimed to have been a certified lifeguard since 1983. Though this fact seems random, Steve was originally going to be a star swimmer. Joe Keery stated that he trained for swimming six weeks prior to the beginning of the first season.[13]
  • Steve, Nancy, and the Demogorgon were announced to be added as playable characters to the indie horror video game Dead by Daylight and were released in September of 2019.
    • In early 2021, Jonathan Byers would be added as a Legendary skin for Steve, making him playable in the game alongside the others.
  • With the exception of one episode from season 2, he has appeared in every episode of a season.

References

CanonCanon hierarchy

  1. Information from Windows 1.11, a Tier 3 source, conflicts with what's presented in the main series.
    • In Steve's application to work at Scoops Ahoy (included in Windows 1.11), Steve lists his age as 19. If the application was written in June 1985 (or earlier), this would mean Steve was born no later than June 1966. However, Steve is in grade 11 in October 1984 (as shown in the second season) - this is only possible if Steve was born between August 1966 and July 1967, unless Steve repeated a year of high school.
      Steve Scoops Ahoy application
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