Gone but not forgotten, Stranger Things season four has seen the phantom of Billy haunting some of the characters still, most specifically his step-sister Max, who slipped into a deep depression following his brutal death at the hands of the Mind Flayer. While looking back it can be easy to overlook some of the worst parts of someone and project your ideas of what could have been, but some fans are adamantly against showing any sympathy for Billy’s character.
When we first met Billy we knew he was a dick, he bullied his younger step-sister at every turn, threatened to run over her friends, racially assaulted her boyfriend, and physically threatened her at times as well. He has no qualms about having affairs with the bored married women of Hawkins, and his general attitude towards women is firmly undesirable. But despite all this, there are still many who sympathize with the character.
Though a lot of it comes from the understanding that he simply mirrors the abuse he faces at the hands of his father, thanks to Eleven searching through his memories we see that Billy was once a well-adjusted kid, one who loved his mom and surfing on the coast of California, one who hadn’t yet been warped by the abuse of his father and death of his mother. Billy also becomes somewhat of a hero, in the end, sacrificing himself to protect Eleven, which allowed her to take on and destroy the Mind Flayer saving the town from its evil. For others, it’s a little more straightforward and a tad shallow, they find him hot and are charmed by the actor, Dacre Montgomery.
A Reddit thread was started when one fan took to the platform to remind people that “Billy was a racist, abusive, womanizing piece of garbage” and a heated debate on the cycle of abuse got underway.
Many were in agreement, citing that just because he was abused it doesn’t make it okay to continue the cycle.
Though we can understand why Billy acts the way he does, it doesn’t mean we can’t also admonish the behavior. If abuse begets abuse, it will never stop.
This user feels that any sympathy one might feel for the character stems from Max’s guilt and wishful thinking, as she wonders if Billy could have been better had he not died at the hands of the Mind Flayer whilst she watched on.
One fan feels like the OP is more likely addressing a certain subgroup of Billy sympathizers, who believed his death was enough to overlook his previous transgressions.
It seems some would struggle to separate the charming Dacre Montgomery from his character. Even if he’s evil, if he’s hot he gets a pass.
It can be said that understanding is not excusing and many of the fans here seem to be taking that stance with Billy; yes his death was a tragic and heroic one at that, but it simply doesn’t wipe the slate clean of what he did before. The long-lasting effects of his abuse can be seen in Max’s case in season four, and are testament enough to how his actions have continued to torture her from beyond the grave.
