I'd like to give a shout out to anyone who thinks a dated fantasy series needs to be woke in 2019.
Jim Hopper is a very complex character who isn't exactly known for showing his feelings to people let alone controlling them. It is a stepping stone for him to be able to confront people without getting too violent or angry. But when people, like Mike Wheeler, turns his stepping stone into a stumbling block that's when he starts to come unhinged a bit.
First of all, he shows a trait that a lot of dads, both in TV and movies and in real life, share. He feels very protective of Eleven, and this little daughter-stealer thinks he's a bumbling idiot. So he emits fear into the child and drives the two apart. Thinking that he has won, he decides to celebrate with Joyce over dinner only to be stood up himself by Joyce. She didn't mean to, but he doesn't take it lightly. What he did was not right, I admit. But the hostility he shows to Joyce, the following day, will be something that you would expect from a guy like him. It could have been a lot worse. He could throw her against the wall beat her, hit her, but he doesn't appear to be THAT kind of guy. He was just hurt and angry. Plus, he feels like he's fighting a losing battle because he doesn't want Joyce to leave Hawkins.
Joyce has probably known hostility from the opposite sex for much of her life given the relationship she has with her ex-husband, Will and Jonathan's father. So she was likely used to Hopper's behavior. Bob, in Season Two, was probably the most normal boyfriend she ever had, and his sudden demise really rattled her. She is likely not in the mood to get back into the dating game so soon. Plus, she was too interested in what would drive the main plot of the season to focus on starting a relationship with Hopper.
Now, Mike isn't exactly in the clear in this situation. If you really think about it, he's a bit of a dictator. He has considered himself the leader of the group, and he feels a little threatened when anyone tries to challenge his authority. That is shown several times throughout Season Two when Max keeps butting into the group despite him saying no to her. But it nearly destroys Mike when Eleven dumps him. And she wasn't convinced by Max either; that was her own decision. Even when Mike tells the truth about why he was distant, Eleven defends Hopper, and it scares the hell out of Mike. For the first time, the one person that depended on him for everything from food and shelter to just being a friend, the one person he cared about suddenly had a mind of her own.
Both Mike and Hopper learn to trust and respect Joyce and Eleven respectively. Hopper realizes Joyce had a reason for standing him up, and she was not going to apologize and beg him for forgiveness. Mike learns that Eleven isn't going to join him when she finds out they've been duped.
Eleven learns to be a strong independent woman, and that she isn't going to let anyone hold her back. She still loves Mike, but she needs to make sure that he can trust her and respect her. Mike, fortunately, learns that pretty quick, which may explain his behavior in the season finale, for which I hate with a burning passion. He was terrified of losing her again, and he is treading lightly. He lost her trust when he lied to her; he wouldn't want to do it again. I hope that's the reason. He could just be an a-hole for all I know.
Joyce has evolved from a stressed-out single mother to a woman who won't take no sh*t from anyone, supernatural or not. She has a soft spot for Hopper, but she needs to make sure that he knows that she isn't some floozy that he can push around. That, I think, may have helped hit Hopper's departure harder, because he trusted Joyce to do the right thing.
Were Hopper's actions justified? Probably not. But what would have if he hadn't gone this route? If he had remained calm, would Eleven still do everything Mike said? Would Joyce get on her knees and beg for Hopper's forgiveness? These are choices made by the writers, by the directors, by the actors, and by the people who represent Netflix. I gotta be honest. The show's pretty woke as it is.
Go ahead and hate all you want. I still think Steve Harrington is a d-bag for his actions in Season One, even though I see him grow and change every day.
Jim Hopper is a very complex character who isn't exactly known for showing his feelings to people let alone controlling them. It is a stepping stone for him to be able to confront people without getting too violent or angry. But when people, like Mike Wheeler, turns his stepping stone into a stumbling block that's when he starts to come unhinged a bit.
First of all, he shows a trait that a lot of dads, both in TV and movies and in real life, share. He feels very protective of Eleven, and this little daughter-stealer thinks he's a bumbling idiot. So he emits fear into the child and drives the two apart. Thinking that he has won, he decides to celebrate with Joyce over dinner only to be stood up himself by Joyce. She didn't mean to, but he doesn't take it lightly. What he did was not right, I admit. But the hostility he shows to Joyce, the following day, will be something that you would expect from a guy like him. It could have been a lot worse. He could throw her against the wall beat her, hit her, but he doesn't appear to be THAT kind of guy. He was just hurt and angry. Plus, he feels like he's fighting a losing battle because he doesn't want Joyce to leave Hawkins.
Joyce has probably known hostility from the opposite sex for much of her life given the relationship she has with her ex-husband, Will and Jonathan's father. So she was likely used to Hopper's behavior. Bob, in Season Two, was probably the most normal boyfriend she ever had, and his sudden demise really rattled her. She is likely not in the mood to get back into the dating game so soon. Plus, she was too interested in what would drive the main plot of the season to focus on starting a relationship with Hopper.
Now, Mike isn't exactly in the clear in this situation. If you really think about it, he's a bit of a dictator. He has considered himself the leader of the group, and he feels a little threatened when anyone tries to challenge his authority. That is shown several times throughout Season Two when Max keeps butting into the group despite him saying no to her. But it nearly destroys Mike when Eleven dumps him. And she wasn't convinced by Max either; that was her own decision. Even when Mike tells the truth about why he was distant, Eleven defends Hopper, and it scares the hell out of Mike. For the first time, the one person that depended on him for everything from food and shelter to just being a friend, the one person he cared about suddenly had a mind of her own.
Both Mike and Hopper learn to trust and respect Joyce and Eleven respectively. Hopper realizes Joyce had a reason for standing him up, and she was not going to apologize and beg him for forgiveness. Mike learns that Eleven isn't going to join him when she finds out they've been duped.
Eleven learns to be a strong independent woman, and that she isn't going to let anyone hold her back. She still loves Mike, but she needs to make sure that he can trust her and respect her. Mike, fortunately, learns that pretty quick, which may explain his behavior in the season finale, for which I hate with a burning passion. He was terrified of losing her again, and he is treading lightly. He lost her trust when he lied to her; he wouldn't want to do it again. I hope that's the reason. He could just be an a-hole for all I know.
Joyce has evolved from a stressed-out single mother to a woman who won't take no sh*t from anyone, supernatural or not. She has a soft spot for Hopper, but she needs to make sure that he knows that she isn't some floozy that he can push around. That, I think, may have helped hit Hopper's departure harder, because he trusted Joyce to do the right thing.
Were Hopper's actions justified? Probably not. But what would have if he hadn't gone this route? If he had remained calm, would Eleven still do everything Mike said? Would Joyce get on her knees and beg for Hopper's forgiveness? These are choices made by the writers, by the directors, by the actors, and by the people who represent Netflix. I gotta be honest. The show's pretty woke as it is.
Go ahead and hate all you want. I still think Steve Harrington is a d-bag for his actions in Season One, even though I see him grow and change every day.
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