When Netflix debuted Stranger Things in 2016, few could have predicted how much of a global phenomenon it would become. The series felt like a love letter to '80s horror and sci-fi, with nostalgic nods to classic genre writers like Stephen King and Rod Serling.
One of the show's most intriguing characters has been Noah Schnapp's Will Byers, the young boy who was kidnapped and taken to the Upside Down, a supernatural realm that's actually a dark mirror reality of the real world. However, over the show's first two seasons, Will has proven to be quite the hero even when he's been trapped in the scary realm. With that in mind, let's look at his journey so far as we prep for Season 3's fast-approaching premiere in July.
WILL'S STORY IN STRANGER THINGS
Season 1 saw Will getting snatched biking home after a game of Dungeons & Dragons with his friends. The beast known as the Demogorgon took him to the Upside Down where he was stored and his lifeforce was drained like a leech. He was one of the many victims the Demogorgon claimed as food, since humans made it stronger and hungrier, which is why it kept coming through the rift created by the government program MKUltra in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana.
That season ended with his friends Eleven and Mike killing the creature, and his mom Joyce and Chief Hopper actually struck a bargain with MKUltra to come over and get the boy. After bringing Will back to the real world, thinking the threat was extinguished and the portal was no longer a danger to the town.
However, Season 2 revealed he was possessed by the Mind Flayer, the Upside Down's big boss, and the team had to perform an exorcism of sorts to expel it and bring Will back from a pseudo-demonic trance. Using her telekinesis and telepathy, Eleven purged the creature from the boy, which meant that he was finally back safe and sound, and feeling like his old self again.
WILL IN THE STRANGER THINGS COMICS
Well, the comic more or less covers Will's experience in the Upside Down which we didn't see much of in Season 1. In fact, we didn't witness when he was nabbed at all, as that happened off-screen. The best glimpse of Will in the Upside Down came when he was rescued, but other than that we had to fill in the blanks with our imagination.
Thankfully, Dark Horse Comics paints a more detailed account of Will's struggle, indicating when he was kidnapped in his tool shed out back, he used a shotgun to try to thwart the monster off. He'd use this shotgun again when he was teleported to the dark realm as well, finding other victims along the way who we never saw on the small screen.
We saw Will in these pages investigating when Barb was taken by the Demogorgon, and how he also had to save Nancy when she got trapped by distracting the Demogorgon. The highlight, however, was seeing him using the lights on the other side with his electrically-charged hands, and then running away so the creature would follow him rather than attack his mom. In other words, we truly saw how selfless and heroic he was.
WILL BYERS IN STRANGER THINGS SEASON 3
While the teasers for the next season of the show have been very cryptic, it looks like Will and the gang is growing apart. It's understandable, since they'll be maturing from adolescents to full-fledged teenagers, but while Season 3 won't be torturing Will, we know the Mind Flayer is still alive and well, targeting the town from the Upside Down. This means it might have him in its crosshairs yet again.
Will's past connection might be the key to expunging it for good, and who knows, we may even see him developing powers like Eleven has when it comes to expelling these beasts from the real world. As healthy as Will is and as reluctant as he may be, there's also the possibility people might have to go inside the dark dimension and destroy from the inside, so as he knows the lay of the end, this too may fall under his jurisdiction and he might be due for a return trip there.
Either way, while we wait to see if he has any residual tether to these monsters, we're eager to see how his relationship with Mike and Eleven (who are now a couple) has evolved as they try to protect their little town together amid all of their growing pains.
Created by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Priah Ferguson, Cary Elwes, Jake Busey and Maya Thurman-Hawke. Season 3 will debut on Netflix on July 4.