Stranger Things roundup: Maya Hawke talks Robin, fans come up with new Hopper theory

The third season of Stranger Things saw Eleven and the gang growing up, but it also introduced a few new characters — one of whom added some LGBTQ+ representation to the show, along with plenty of humor and sass. Maya Hawke’s character, Robin, begins as Steve Harrington’s clever coworker at the Scoops Ahoy ice cream shop, but she quickly becomes one of the season’s major characters as the episodes continue.

While many fans believed Robin and Steve would wind up together, Stranger Things managed to surprise them once again. Steve does own up to developing feelings for Robin, but instead of returning them, she tells him that she’s a lesbian. It’s a shock at first, but a pleasant one — and one that allows Steve to finally have a platonic friend his own age in the series.

Hawke spoke about Robin’s coming-out story in an interview with Variety, revealing that it wasn’t always cemented into the script. According to Hawke, she and the Duffer brothers went back and forth with the idea before finally adding it as an official storyline, something the actor admitted to being very pleased with. “Sometimes we can have empathy for people on screen that we wouldn’t normally have empathy for in real life,” she said. “If I can hope for anything, it’s that maybe some people fell in love with Robin and that helped them fall in love with girls who love girls and boys who love boys.“

And Robin’s character certainly did have an impact on fans. She became a fan favorite in the span of a few episodes, and even Hawke herself was taken aback by the positive reactions. “When you bring a new character onto a TV show that is already so beloved, it’s very rare that it’s received that well, and I’m so grateful that people fell in love with Robin the way that I did.”

David Harbour, Winnona Ryder – Stranger Things (2019). Photo Credit: Netflix

On an almost-as-sentimental note, Stranger Things fans have come up with a new theory about the fate of Sheriff Jim Hopper. Hawkins’ former police chief was caught in the explosion that accompanied the closing of the gate to the Upside Down, and most characters on the show believe him dead. However, after a mid-credits scene where Russian soldiers not-so-casually mentioning someone called “the American,” fans have begun to think otherwise.

Now let’s draw some improbable connections. Throughout the first few episodes, Hopper laments that Mike and Eleven spend too much time together — and especially that they’re often in her room with the door closed. He insists that Eleven leave the door to her room open “three inches” whenever she’s with Mike. It seems like an expression of Hopper’s fatherly nervousness, but could there be more to it? After all, Hopper repeats the phrase a lot this season.

Fans have noted that, while Eleven closes the gate all the way during the season 2 finale, there’s still a crack of light shining through when Joyce closes it this season — a crack that might just be three inches wide. This could mean that Hopper managed to survive the gate’s closing but is currently trapped in the Upside Down — though we suppose he also could have been transported to the other opening to the Upside Down that we see in Russia, bringing both theories about his survival full circle.

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Either way, we’re betting he makes a return in season 4. It just wouldn’t be Stranger Things without him.

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