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- Billy Hargrove has been an antagonist for most of his time on Stranger Things.
- But in the last episode of season three, he had a change of heart and decided to sacrifice himself to the Mind Flayer.
- Fans are commending Billy for his redemptive arc.
Thanks to some observant fans, we knew that there was a high probability that Billy Hargrove would get possessed by the Mind Flayer in season three of Stranger Things. The poster for the season showed him hanging out in the Upside Down, and one of the show's trailers featured a scene of him looking at a bite on his arm.
When the season premiered on the 4th of July, fans were delighted to see that they had been proven right: Billy was infected during the very first episode. Throughout the rest of the season, Billy helped find more victims to bring to the Mind Flayer until an entire army of the Flayed had been assembled. The season finale featured a showdown with our favorite kids, and it looked like Billy might succeed in killing Eleven when her powers suddenly went away .
But right when Billy had the chance to give Eleven up to the Mind Flayer, she managed to use what she saw from his past-namely his mother, and visions of his father abusing him as a child-to help Billy snap out of the possession. Instead, he decides to sacrifice himself and have the monster kill him instead, sparing our girl's life and allowing Joyce and Hopper the time to shut down the machine that led to the Upside Down.
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While some fans thought that Billy got what what he deserved (remember when he was a total jerk to Max, and Lucas, and Steve, and...you get the point), other fans thought it was noble that the former bully would lay down his life for the good of Hawkins.
me going into #StrangerThings already having predicted that billy would be killed and then watching the last 30 minutes of episode 8 pic.twitter.com/p518KDxqej - ranch (@Rachelav567) July 5, 2019
Max and Billy deserved better, the way Max was scared for him even though he treated her like shit .. #StrangerThings pic.twitter.com/WnBDyQa5HU - Lydia. (@glydia20) July 5, 2019
Me watching billy sacrifice himself for eleven #StrangerThings pic.twitter.com/AxlGRqlx0r - Shannon (@Shannon107207) July 7, 2019
Me feeling bad for Billy but then remembering all the things he did in season 2 #strangerthings pic.twitter.com/mbQF0qARmv - vero (@VeronicaaLunaa) July 4, 2019
el would have died if billy didnt save her. in conclusion i love u billy. #StrangerThings pic.twitter.com/S9L7RwHUtt - - kenzie misses nct127 (@kissforchuu) July 4, 2019
me towards Billy all season vs me the last episode #StrangerThings pic.twitter.com/d6p67MtG2w - Tajon (@tajonamir) July 7, 2019
Dacre Montgomery on set as Billy holding a dog smiling, lets all pretend this is his happy ending instead #StrangerThings pic.twitter.com/GjmX9udNhB - dacres (@dacregold) July 9, 2019
#StrangerThings Me explaining Duffer why Billy brothers deserved better pic.twitter.com/67fnZflR7O - (@slvtrmyks) July 5, 2019
No one's really talking about Billy in this season and I just want to say he deserved better and it huRT when his last words to Max were only "I'm sorry" #StrangersThings3 #strangerthings pic.twitter.com/RHx18Ql3WY - chey (@cheyface1) July 5, 2019
While Billy's change of heart came a tad bit late-it literally happened 48 minutes into the episode-redemption is still redemption. Or as
one Reddit user
succinctly put it: "RIP Billy. You were a douche, but now you're a hero."