'Stranger Things': The Top Relationships We Want to See Again in Season 5

It’s hard to believe that Netflix introduced the world to Stranger Things six years ago, and with it, the characters we’ve come to know and love. Created by the Duffer Brothers and Shawn Levy, the series about eight people in a small town looking for a missing Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), has gone on to be a global phenomenon.

Besides the nostalgia for the 1980s, what has endeared audiences to the series is the dynamics found between the characters. The Hawkins chosen family made up of Jim Hopper (David Harbour), Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder), and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) to name a few, have become our surrogate streaming family. These characters have come from their own broken relationships to create something new and strong enough to fight evils from an alternate dimension for four seasons.

With each season, the series has brought in others to fill out the party, such as Max (Sadie Sink), Robin (Maya Hawke), and Murray (Brett Gelman). As the group has gotten larger, the character dynamics have shifted along with it, focusing on different friendships that have emerged, like fan favorites Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) and Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo). In its wake, some Season 1 relationships have lost their luster.

In a recent interview, the Duffer Brothers have said that they want to get back to the original dynamics from the first season. With the final season looming and all eight of the original members back in Hawkins, now is the time to revisit some of these Season 1 dynamics in order to bring the series full circle (while continuing to have moments with the new pairings we’ve come to love). As we wait for the final season, here are some of the relationships we hope to see spotlighted in Season 5.

Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair, & Mike Wheeler

Season 1 made audiences fall in love with these boys as they spearheaded the search to find their missing friend. Since Will’s return from the Upside Down, this trio has not had much time for each other, instead drifting towards other relationships in their lives. In particular, Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) and his individual friendships with Dustin and Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin) have been lacking since that fateful day in November 1983. In Season 2, Lucas and Dustin’s attentions were focused on impressing the new girl in school, Max Mayfield, while Mike was still holding on to losing El; even within that season, Dustin begins to bond with Steve, which becomes his primary friendship during Season 3.

Now in Season 4, Mike is only in Hawkins for an episode before he travels to California to visit Eleven and the Byers. The boys seem to still have a friendship through Hellfire Club, led by the charismatic Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), but it’s not as strong as it once was. These three boys brought two adults, two teenagers, and a super-powered girl together to bring home their lost friend. Though their original Dungeons & Dragons party has grown, they were the heartbeat behind it. Before we say goodbye to Hawkins, we need these three friends to bond and work together once again to bring down Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower).

Mr. Clarke & His Former Students

In a cast of characters, we’ve come to know and love, a fan favorite who made his debut in Season 1 is Mr. Scott Clarke (Randy Havens). A science teacher and head of the AV club at Hawkins Middle School, he acted as a mentor to the boys. He championed their scientific curiosity and offered the boys comfort when Will was presumed dead. In fact, Clarke was the one who theoretically explained the nature of the Upside Down. Now that the portal to the Upside Down has been opened, it’s time for Indiana’s best science teacher to make a proper comeback, offering aid to his former students once more.

Eleven, Lucas Sinclair, & Dustin Henderson

Since reuniting with the group in Hawkins during Season 2, El has stayed pretty close to the hip with her boyfriend Mike. Even though in later seasons she grows closer with Max and Will, we haven’t seen many scenes with her interacting with Dustin or Lucas outside the larger group. Both Lucas and Dustin were two of her first friends when they, alongside Mike, discovered her in the woods at the end of the series premiere. Outside of Mike, Dustin was the first person to embrace Eleven into their group; Lucas was skeptical (understandably so) at first but grew to care for her. With Max in a coma and Suzie (Gabriella Pizzolo) in Utah, the boys could really lean on their platonic female friend as they prepare for the final battle that awaits them in Season 5.

The Byers Family

Stranger Things kicked off with the disappearance of the youngest Byers. From there, th family is trying to keep it together while desperately searching for Will. Without their father in the picture, a mother and her two sons are a close-knit unit, fiercely loyal to each other and defending each other when the going gets tough. What makes Joyce a great mom is her passion and devotion to her sons, trying to balance being present to them while being a working single mom. Since Season 2, audiences have been lacking that close bond in favor of other pairings, like Joyce Byers working with Murray Bauman and Hopper. For instance, in Season 4, Episode 2’s “Vecna’s Curse,” Joyce leaves her sons and adopted daughter to go find Hopper in Russia with Murray. After everything Joyce experienced in Season 1, you’d think she’d never let her boys out of her sight.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton) has been drifting from his family since dating Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer). Since moving to California, he spends more time getting high with his new friend Argyle (Eduardo Franco) than being there for his family. Though we do get Jonathan and Will having a heart-to-heart during the Season 4 finale “The Piggyback,” those moments are few and far between considering Jonathan used to consider Will his best friend. Before Season 5 is said and done, we would love to see this family work together or have their own quiet moment together, bringing us back to the family that first experienced the terror of the Upside Down.

Jonathan Byers & Nancy Wheeler

Before these teens were dating, Jonathan and Nancy were the first duo to team up in Season 1 to hunt down the Demogorgon after Barb Holland (Shannon Purser) went missing. Through this experience, the two begin to see each other in a new light and for who they are, which is why in Season 2 during a new investigation, they give into their feelings and start dating. When these two work together, there’s nothing in Hawkins that can stop them. While it was great that Jonathan and Nancy paralleled each other by leading their subsequent groups in California and Hawkins, it would be great to see the two back on their own adventure once more.

The space has grown between them, and there are some important conversations that need to be had, like their future. Yes, they’ve been in a long-distance relationship and have done the best they could under those circumstances. Now that they’re reunited in Hawkins, it’s time for Jonathan and Nancy to have those hard yet honest talks and take on the evils of the Upside Down together as the dynamic duo they’re known to be.

Mrs. Wheeler & Her Kids

Back in Season 1, Karen Wheeler (Cara Buono) was a concerned mother watching her kids grow up in different ways and attempting to support them the best way she could. For Mike, he was dealing with frustration and grief as his best friend was missing; for Nancy, she lost her virginity and her best friend went missing. Mrs. Wheeler tries comforting her children, reminding them that she’s here, and they can talk to her. Between her and her husband, Ted (Joe Chrest), she’s the only concerned parent when Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine) comes searching for the kids.

Since then, Mrs. Wheeler pops up a handful of times, showing brief concern when her kids are nowhere to be found, but continues on. Besides the temptation of a fling with Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery) and a touching scene between her and her daughter in Season 3, Mrs. Wheeler has not done much. Season 1 made great use of drawing parallels between mothers and their children – Mike hugging Karen while Jonathan hugs Joyce. It’s time to bring back Mrs. Wheeler into the fold for the final season.

Jim Hopper & Florence

With Hopper back in Hawkins and reunited with both of his two favorite ladies, Joyce and Eleven, it’s time for the former police chief to reunite with the woman who used to keep him afloat – his receptionist, Florence (Susan Shalhoub Larkin). In Season 1, Flo reminds him of the concerns the Hawkins people have, even if Hopper would reserve that time in the morning for coffee and contemplation. Before Hopper had the stability of his adopted daughter, the police station receptionist was his rock, keeping him in line when he’d show up late to the station. As much as he needs to reunite with his fellow officers, Phil Callahan (John Reynolds) and Calvin Powell (Rob Morgan), Hopper owes it to Flo to have a brief reunion before the final battle for Hawkins begins.