The following contains spoilers for Stranger Things Season 4, Volume 1, now streaming on Netflix.
For a show that started out following a group of boys, Stranger Things has come a long way in shining a spotlight on its female leads and their friendships. Not only do they take center stage more frequently, but they are also portrayed as healthy and supportive, a far cry from how TV has historically represented these important bonds. Even longtime favorites like NBC’s Friends and HBO’s Girls have not always gotten it right, with the latter depicting them as downright toxic.
Over the course of the series, Stranger Things began to incorporate more female leads with the introduction of Max (Sadie Sink) in Season 2 and Robin (Maya Hawke) in Season 3. Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) has been the star from day one, but her budding romance with Mike (Finn Wolfhard) was the relationship that took center stage. The pair even shared a kiss in the Season 1 finale, long before Eleven established any female friendships.
Buddy films have been around since the inception of film itself, but have historically centered around men and their friendships with each other. Audiences were first introduced to Abbott and Costello in the 1930s, but didn’t meet Thelma and Louise until the 1990s. TV hasn’t fared much better, but even more troubling than the lack of female friendships is how unhealthy they are portrayed with what little representation they have. They lack the drama of the “will-they-or-won’t-they” so common in romantic tropes and are often depicted disproportionately negative, and unrelatable, as a result.
Girls started out with a lot of promise, but after a lot of backstabbing and sleeping with each other’s exes, the series finale made clear that the friendships had completely disintegrated. Even comedies like Friends and New Girl fail to show friendships surviving big life changes, with both series coming to an end when the main characters move out of their apartments. Stranger Things is the rare show that has successfully pulled off developing healthy female friendships not just once, but twice. Eleven and Max’s blossoming friendship was highlighted in Season 3, while the latest season spotlights Robin and Nancy (Natalia Dyer).
Stranger Things Season 4 sets the stage for the possibility of rekindled romance between Nancy and hero-babysitter Steve (Joe Keery), which could have easily led to friction between Nancy and Robin over Robin’s close friendship with Steve. The show cleverly confronts this expectation from the beginning, paving the way for a genuine bond to form between the two women. It captures the realistic social awkwardness that inevitably comes with making new friends, making their friendship that much more relatable and endearing.
Unlike Nancy and Robin, the relationship between Eleven and Max did start out mired in jealousy over a love interest. The animosity between the two builds over the course of Season 2 when El worries that she’s losing Mike to new girl in town Max. The girls go on to become the best of friends in Season 3, solidifying the fact that Max’s friendship is of equal importance to El as her romantic relationship with Mike. El’s influence on Max is also highlighted in Season 4 when the happy memories of their time together help save Max’s life in escaping Vecna’s evil grip. Stranger Things continues to impress with its portrayal of healthy female friendships and sets a powerful example for other shows to follow.
Stranger Things Season 4, Volume 1 is now available on Netflix. Volume 2 will premiere on the platform on July 1.