Stranger Things: 10 Things That Make No Sense About Jonathan

Jonathan Byers, Will’s sensitive and troubled older brother in the Netflix hit Stranger Things, has definitely been forced to grow up too quickly, both from his lower-middle class upbringing and broken home to the terrible events that ultimately forced his family to move away from Hawkins in the third season of the show.

Even so, that doesn’t excuse some of the weird and downright insensitive things Jonathan has done. As an artist, he ought to have known better in many circumstances, and given his temperament and personality, many of his actions simply don’t make a whole lot of sense.

10 He Doesn’t Listen To Nancy In Season 3

While it does make sense that Jonathan feared losing his job, that didn’t mean he had to scoff at Nancy’s theories. It also, however, makes no sense that they would just drop everything while in the middle of a work day to investigate and not go after work hours instead.

9 He Took A Photo Of The Demogorgon And Didn’t Even Know

Speaking of Joyce, instead of going straight to his mom after practically calling her crazy once he realized there really was a creature, he simply decided to take it down with Nancy instead, claiming Joyce already had too much on her mind. Too much on her mind to hear some validation for what she’d experienced? This makes zero sense.

8 He Let Will Trick-Or-Treat On His Own

His disconnect from Will doesn’t stop there, either. He also didn’t notice the kind of trouble that Will had with this friends during the third season. Even with a job and a girlfriend, Jonathan still should have noticed the kind of agony his brother was

7 He Thinks He Can Talk Sense Into His Dad

Jonathan thinking he can go talk to his dad is just stupid. Not only does he have the experience to know his dad won’t be of any help, but Hopper’s power as the chief of police would be much more compelling to get a man like Lonnie to talk. For a moment, it even appeared that Jonathan wanted to protect his father, which also makes no sense.

6 He Didn’t Notice Will Was Possessed By The Mindflayer

It’s obvious to most people that Will has something wrong with him now that he’s returned from the Upside Down. He is even bestowed with the unfortunate “Zombie Boy” nickname as a result. But the fact that Jonathan doesn’t pry further after everything that’s already happened is surprising. Once he did know, his insistence that his mother stop roasting the Mindflayer out of his brother also made no sense.

5 He Attacks Steve

It also makes no sense for everyone to chalk this up to him fighting over Nancy, since he didn’t even sock Steve over his spray paint or comments about Nancy, but over his comments about Jonathan’s family.

4 He Didn’t Notice Will Was Missing

The brothers are very close, and you would think that they would have some sort of routine in the morning. As parental as Jonathan seems to be, it would also make sense for him (not to mention his mom) to check on Will before going to bed at night. Sure, he’s old enough to get himself to bed, but after not seeing him all evening it would make much more sense just to peek in on the kid.

3 He’s Kind Of The Worst

Jonathan is rather useless, especially next to Nancy and Steve who are able to take care of the kids and at least give them a fighting chance while Eleven fights the big baddies. Whether Charlie Heaton is dreamy or not, his character doesn’t really deserve the kind of love fans throw at him, and it doesn’t make sense to make him and Nancy #relationshipgoals at all.

2 He Took Pictures Of Some Random Party

We’re never given a good explanation, though, which leaves the most obvious explanation: the Jonathan was being a creepo and should feel quite ashamed of intruding on a private party, even if it did lead to a clue.

1 He Took Inappropriate Photos Of Nancy

Jonathan may not have deserved to have his camera destroyed but he certainly deserved to have those pictures torn to shreds for violating the subjects’ privacy. As a reporter, he’ll have to take pics of people on their worst days, so maintaining boundaries and striking a respectful balance will be crucial in his life.

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