Something far more wicked than the Demogorgon is coming to Hawkins, Indiana. In an interview with TV Guide, the cast and crew revealed Stranger Things Season 2 will have a human villain who will stand as a reminder that evil exists beyond the realm of the supernatural. Season 1 featured its share of bullies and shady government agents, but it sounds like newcomer Billy will be even more insidious in his normalcy.
Billy is one of two new young characters coming to Season 2. Played by Dacre Montgomery, the teen character is the older brother of Max, a young girl set to befriend Will and company. However, fans shouldn't expect the newest addition to the gang to be ready and willing to join in the monster-hunting and Dungeons and Dragons games. This kid is the definition of bad news, and his primary purpose is to cause trouble for everyone he meets. As director Shawn Levy told TV Guide,
"He is a mean guy. He has prejudices that are ugly. He treats his younger sister in a mean, controlling, bully-ish, domineering fashion. So he's is just bad."
I suspect it won't be easy to sit through Billy's scenes, but the addition of a character who is villainous in a real, human way could add a new depth of emotion to Season 2. At times, it seemed like Steve would play the role of the bully in the Stranger Things universe, but by the end he stepped up and took responsibility for the way his actions affected others. It seems unlikely that Billy will have a similar awakening — at least not anytime soon.
It's no secret that Season 2 is going to be darker in tone, but knowing some of that darkness is coming from a young man who torments his sister is so much more unsettling than any monster ever could be. At its core, Stranger Things is a story about outsiders. From Eleven to Jonathan, these are kids who have to deal with a world that labels them as weird. The one thing they can always count on is their family and friends to provide them with a safe place — now it seems Max may not have such a luxury, not with Billy at home.
"It was important to us to have a human villain in there that could disrupt the lives of our characters," series co-creator Ross Duffer said to TV Guide. "And Billy, really, he disrupts the world of the teenagers and stuff."
Bullies are an unfortunate fact of life that all too many people have to deal with. Hopefully, Billy's presence will only reinforce the beauty of the strong bonds that exist between the characters, and stand as a reminder that monsters don't always come from the Upside Down.
