Here I go again.
There was an ignorant post in the tags a while ago that stated that the OP could not tell the difference between the Mindflayer and Billy, because Billy is already such a ‘sociopath.’ I ignored the post then, because it was just asinine. It’s just absurd, and not grounded in anything real on screen. But.
There’s in fact a clear difference between the Mindflayer and Billy. The fact that some people don’t see it is driving me bananas. Like, I’m really losing my mind at this point with how dense fans can be while watching this show. The worst part is people thinking they’re a better person because they’re fucking dense.
Let’s address this first though - Billy Hargrove is not a sociopath. Those who are insisting he is a “sociopath” are reaching for whatever pseudoscientific term they can to understand his behavior without having to confront the fact that Billy is influenced heavily by his environment, including abuse he’s suffered.
Prejudice and bigotry are learned. His father is the exact same way. Trauma can cause some survivors to develop unhealthy behaviors that you may not expect, including engaging in risky behavior and hyperarousal and impulsiveness in violent situations. All of this you can see on screen. Like, it’s obvious.
He may be an asshole to the people around him, but it’s fucking obvious.
Billy’s behavior is more common among people who have Complex PTSD, and adverse childhood experiences. Trauma can impact the brain, and lead to things like Antisocial Personality Disorder, too, but that’s not really Billy. Again, people reaching for it (or “sociopath,” really) don’t seem to understand what it is.
I don’t have the time or patience to explain that bullshit, though. So...
Okay. Back to the Mindflayer. The Mindflayer took over Will Byers, too. People can believe that they were separate entities, though, because they’re so used to Will Byers being a sweet person. The perfect victim. Someone who has not done a lot of wrong in his life to justify his actions while possessed.
Eleven and Max have a hard time identifying Billy as possessed because Billy is not the perfect victim. Max jokes that being “wrong” is kind of a constant state of being for Billy, which may be an oversimplification but it’s true enough. However, she does not appear to believe that Billy is capable of certain things.
Things that really cross a line. Things you really can’t come back from, easily. Things like abduction and murder.
This is where there is a very clear difference between the Mindflayer and Billy. The Mindflayer is calm. It is manipulative. It is patient. It has no remorse. It’s only purpose is to consume life and destroy worlds. All of these things are quite the opposite of how Will Byers conducts himself. Billy’s not like this, either, though.
He is not calm. He is aggressive and hyperaroused in violent situations. His instinct is to fight, and he actively tried to fight the control of the Mindflayer the entire time. He fought it at the warehouse. He prevented it from attacking Karen Wheeler. He fought it in the sauna. He fought it in the car.
He literally fought it to the very end, and he made the choice to sacrifice himself so that it could not win. Billy also is not very manipulative. He could be mean and bigoted. He could be “charming,” but he’s also brutally honest about what he’s thinking and feeling which pisses a lot of people off.
That’s why the whole scene at Heather Holloway’s house is a dead giveaway that something is wrong. It’s too normal. He’s too controlled. He’s too calm and collected. He’s saying too many of the right things. The Mindflayer waits for just the right moment to make a move on the Holloway family. It is patient.
Billy is not. Billy is impulsive. He doesn’t think his actions through. He doesn’t think about the consequences of his behavior. He takes too many risks. He flies off the handle when it comes to violent situations, because it awakens the fight response in him. He has been conditioned as an abused kid to be like this.
Billy is also very emotional. He cries. More specifically, he cries when he is frustrated, cornered, and/or made powerless. He cries in anger. Several times, he cries while possessed by the Mindflayer. The Mindflayer does not need to cry. There’s no point. It doesn’t gain from crying.
Crying is associated with a lack of power and control. He cries when his dad abuses him, because there’s nothing else he can do. That’s the only way Billy can have any kind of control over his body while possessed, as well. It’s also the biggest sign that he doesn’t want to do what his body is being forced to do.
Then there’s the sauna scene itself.
The sauna scene is not an act of manipulation on the Mindflayer’s part. It’s a fight for control, because Billy divulges information the Mindflayer doesn’t want the children to know. It’s something that gives Eleven power. Now she knows and the Mindflayer is ticked off especially after being subjected to heat.
Eleven triggers impatience and violence from the Mindflayer, because she is it’s biggest threat. That violence isn’t Billy, even though he’s usually impulsive. Billy gains nothing from hurting her. She’s the only one who can save him. She’s the only one who does save him, just long enough so that he could fight back.
Billy’s fucking traumatized by this entire possession. He doesn’t gain any pleasure from the harm he is forced to do. He is terrified. He never wanted this. He may not think about the impact of his own conscious actions enough, but he is wracked with guilt over what he is being forced to do.
Nothing about Billy screams stereotypical “sociopath.” It’s just easier for some of you to write him off as such. There is so much nuance in the acting though, that you’re missing by writing him off as such. It’s so frustrating but some of you would die before admitting that “violent” imperfect people can be nuanced.
Whether you think he’s a “sociopath” or a “psychopath,” you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. Your ignorant posts are pure stubbornness, and it does not explain anything about his behavior and his attitudes. Perhaps stop using bastardized terminology to write people off.
