I need to talk about the amazing Steve & Dustin stuff from Vol 2. Because it was amazing and both Gaten and Joe deserve acting awards for it already.
I need to talk about Steve and Dustin because I feel like people are missing where the actual emotional heart of this volume is, and it’s driving me a little insane.
They have been at each other’s throats all season. Not playful bickering. Not tension you wink at. Real, ugly conflict. Grief turned outward. Fear curdled into anger.
And it finally explodes into a physical fight.
Steve says Eddie was stupid. That he got himself killed. That he warned them not to go into the Upside Down.
Because this is exactly what we thought it was. Dustin loves Steve, but Steve is acting like a fake asshole. Eddie knew who he was. Knew he wasn’t perfect. Didn’t pretend to be above it all. And when Steve says that about Eddie, Dustin attacks him.
And here’s the thing that broke me:
Steve doesn’t hit back.
He dodges. He tries to calm Dustin. He tries to hold him. He lets Dustin rage. And when they crash into the hall of the lab in the Upside Down and Dustin is wiped out, Steve just lets go.
He stands up and says, “I’m done. I’m just done.”
And he walks away.
No yelling. No monologue. Just resignation.
Dustin throws out the weakest little “Yeah. Dumb.” you’ve ever heard, and he’s crying, and Steve is already gone. And you can see it hit Dustin that this time he might have actually lost him.
Then we finally get context for the hug from the trailer.
They’re trying to get to Jonathan and Nancy at the top of the Hawkins lab in the Upside Down, which is literally melting. Steve is focused on getting there, but he’s not thinking. He’s about to do what Steve always does: throw himself into danger without considering the cost.
Dustin tells him to stop being selfish. To stop always putting himself in danger. To stop trying to get himself killed. Because Dustin cannot deal with that again. Not Eddie. Not Steve. Not his best friend.
And the irony is brutal, because Steve’s plan would have failed. They literally watch it collapse. If Dustin hadn’t stopped him, Steve would have died right there.
The looks on their faces when they realize it.
Dustin realizing he almost lost him.
Steve realizing how much that would have destroyed Dustin.
That’s when Steve finally understands that he’s not just “the babysitter.” He’s not just the protector. He’s someone whose loss would be catastrophic.
And later, before the next battle, Dustin gives Steve Eddie’s spear. The one they made together in season 4.
That is trust. That is grief being handed over.
And Steve apologizes. Really apologizes. He admits he was angry because it felt like Dustin was moving on from him. That he missed his best friend.
And Dustin says he missed his best friend too.
No jokes. No undercutting. Just truth.
They say the “you die, I die” thing again.
They hug again.
And I need people to understand this:
This reconciliation has more emotional weight than most endgame romances.
It has conflict.
It has rupture.
It has jealousy.
It has fear of abandonment.
It has accountability.
It has repair.
It’s about choosing each other again after hurting each other.
So yeah, I kind of love that the Duffers said “fuck most of the ships” and put the emotional center of the season here. In Will’s interiority. In Steve and Dustin breaking apart and finding their way back. In Jonathan and Nancy deciding that even though they love each other, being together romantically is just not going to work and choosing to stay close anyway! That is good shit.
This is love that isn’t consumable.
Love that isn’t a prize.
Love that survives anger and grief and fear.
And honestly? That’s the stuff that stays with me.
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