Billy Hargrove has been the villain of Stranger Things in number of ways. In season 2, he was the abusive step-brother of Max and served the purpose of tormenting her and her friends. Into season 3, Billy was, for the most part, at the control of the Mind Flayer and suffered a gruesome death in his attempt to defeat the Mind Flayer at the battle of the Starcourt mall.
So, understandably, Max Mayfield is still trying to unpack her feelings on the death of her brother, and in the beginning of the trailer for Stranger Things 4, we see her talking to his grave and telling him about how everyone has tried to pretend like they’re happy since his death, but it feels strange without him there.
Billy wasn’t a perfect character. He wasn’t a good brother to Max and he was a pretty bad guy, but everything that happened with him has clearly affected Max in a way that she hasn’t been able to unpack yet, and if it helps for her to talk it out at his grave, then so be it. But one of the reasons that fans are trying to figure out his connection to the upcoming season of Stranger Things is because there seems to be something going on with his grave stone in the newest trailer.
About this grave
When Max is talking to Billy’s grave in the beginning of the trailer, it says “Billy” as his first name.
What eagle-eyed fans have noticed, through, is that later in the trailer, when Max is floating in the air to the shocked faces of Lucas, Steve, and Dustin, the gravestone changes and says “William” instead of “Billy,” as we previously saw.
For a closer look, fans have cropped the two to show that they are both meant for Max’s step-brother Billy based on the dates.
While, sure, you could explain this away as just an error in the trailer, this is Stranger Things we’re talking about. I don’t think someone just wrote William in one moment and Billy in the next and forgot to make them flow together. If anything, this seems intentional and something that they want fans to be catching, and whether that’s because the Upside Down is changing things in Hawkins or because Max floating in the air isn’t real is what remains to be seen.
A return for Billy?
This being said, I don’t think that Billy is coming back. He died, and it was one of those deaths where it seemed like the end of his arc. So, to have him come back in some way, I think, would do more harm to Max than any kind of good.
His gravestone changing, though, does give me pause in trying to figure out what is going on with Max. Is this a trick from the Creel clock that she sees? Or is it something even more sinister happening to her now that Eleven no longer has her powers? Whatever it all means, there’s still something going on with Billy Hargrove.
(image: Netflix)
