Steve and Dustin in Stranger Things: the most unlikely friendship in Hawkins
Characters · Steve and Dustin · Seasons 2 to 5
A middle schooler nobody calls back, a high schooler whose girlfriend has just admitted she doesn't love him. In this article: the two worlds of 1983, the meeting in “Dig Dug,” the Scoops Ahoy summer, Eddie and the lake in 1986, the 1987 falling-out and the epilogue, then what the writing and the actors made of this duo. Key scenes are given with their episode.
Dustin and Steve have nothing in common in 1983: one is the bard at a Dungeons & Dragons table, the other is the popular high schooler dating Nancy Wheeler. In the fall of 1984, Dart, the creature Dustin has just locked in his basement, brings them together outside the Wheeler house, and their friendship lasts until the spring of 1989, falling-out included.
The essentials
- First meeting: season 2, episode 5, “Dig Dug”
- The pretext: Dart, the demodog locked in the Henderson basement
- The secret: Farrah Fawcett hairspray, shared in “The Spy”
- Summer 1985: Scoops Ahoy, the Russian code, Robin, and Erica
- The falling-out: a punch, season 5, “Shock Jock”
- The reconciliation: “Escape From Camazotz,” then “The Bridge”
- May 1989: Dustin valedictorian, Steve baseball coach
- Played by: Joe Keery and Gaten Matarazzo
Contents
1983: two worlds that never cross
In November 1983, Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson live through the same days without ever teaming up. Dustin is the bard at Mike's Dungeons & Dragons table; in “The Flea and the Acrobat,” he notices that compasses no longer point north. Our Dustin Henderson profile tells the story of that investigation.
Steve, for his part, is the popular high schooler dating Nancy Wheeler. He fights Jonathan Byers in “The Monster” and loses. In “The Upside Down,” he comes back to the Byers house to apologize and hits the Demogorgon with the bat Jonathan studded with nails.
The two stories only touch at the end of that episode, at the hospital, outside Will's room. Steve waits with Nancy; Dustin sleeps, leaning on Lucas. They don't speak to each other.
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November 1983 Two stories
Dustin follows his compass; Steve fights at the Byers house. They don't work together.
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Fall 1984 Dig Dug
Dustin stops Steve outside the Wheelers' house and asks him for his nail bat.
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December 1984 The dance
Steve drives Dustin to the middle school dance, with Dustin's hair done Steve's way.
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July 1985 Beneath Starcourt
The Russian code, the secret base, Robin, and Erica.
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March 1986 The lake
Dustin's compass finds the gate; Steve dives in.
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November 1987 The falling-out
A punch in the Upside Down lab, then the reconciliation.
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May 1989 The epilogue
Dustin is his class valedictorian; Steve coaches a baseball team.
The women's oversized Harrington Babysitting Services T-shirt, for the party's babysitter.
In the shopWomen's oversized T-shirt Harrington Babysitting Services41,90 €See the product
1984: a demodog, hairspray, and a junkyard
In the fall of 1984, each of them is alone. On Halloween night, a drunk Nancy tells Steve that their relationship is fake. Dustin, meanwhile, is hiding Dart, a pollywog he found in his trash can, until the day the creature eats his cat: the story of Dart and the demodogs is told separately.
They meet in “Dig Dug,” the fifth episode of season 2. Dustin can't reach anyone and rings the Wheelers' doorbell. On his way out, he runs into Steve, who has come to make peace with Nancy. He asks Steve whether he still has his nail bat, and gets a ride home.
In “The Spy,” the Henderson basement is empty: Dart has dug a tunnel. On the railroad tracks, Steve advises Dustin to play it cool with Max, then gives away the secret of his hair: Farrah Fawcett hairspray. At the junkyard, he steps out of the bus alone to face Dart, then three more demodogs. Steve's bat has its own article.
In “The Gate,” Steve lets Nancy leave with Jonathan and stays with the kids. He sums it up himself: “turns out I'm actually a pretty damn good babysitter.” After Steve's loss to Billy, Dustin hands him an ice pack and talks him into going down into the tunnels. On December 15, Steve drives him to the middle school Snow Ball, with Dustin's hair done Steve's way.
1985: Scoops Ahoy, the Russian code, Robin, and Erica
In the summer of 1985, Steve, who didn't get into college, serves ice cream at Scoops Ahoy, at Starcourt Mall, with Robin Buckley. Dustin comes back from Camp Know Where with a radio antenna and a girlfriend, Suzie. In “The Mall Rats,” he brings Steve a Russian message picked up by the antenna; Robin, who speaks four languages, starts translating it. Our article on Scoops Ahoy breaks down the code.
In “The Sauna Test,” Dustin asks Steve whether he has ever won a fight. Erica crawls through the vents in exchange for free ice cream for life. When Steve opens a suspicious crate and tells him to step back, Dustin refuses: “If you die, I die.” Our collection of quotes by character gathers more of them.
In “The Flayed,” Steve finally takes down a Russian guard, and Dustin is ecstatic: “You won a fight!” In “E Pluribus Unum,” Steve and Robin are captured; Dustin and Erica come back to free them. In “The Battle of Starcourt,” Steve finds out that Suzie is real when he hears her duet with Dustin. After the fire, he heads off with Robin to the Family Video store.
1986: Eddie, the lake, and the race against Vecna
In the spring of 1986, Dustin, at Hawkins High since the fall, belongs to Eddie Munson's Hellfire Club and looks up to Eddie; Steve is a little jealous. In “Vecna's Curse,” Eddie, hiding in a boathouse, lunges at Steve, and it's Dustin who calms him down.
In “Dear Billy,” at the cemetery, Lucas and Dustin play Max her favorite song, then Steve and Dustin wrap them in a hug. In “The Dive,” Dustin's compass goes haywire over Lover's Lake; Steve dives in, finds the gate, and gets dragged into the Upside Down.
On the other side, in “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab,” Eddie tells Steve that Dustin worships him. In “Papa,” Dustin realizes that Vecna's body is vulnerable while he hunts inside someone else's mind. In “The Piggyback,” Steve walks toward the Creel house while Dustin and Eddie lure away the demobats. Eddie speaks his last words to Dustin. Two days later, at Hawkins High, Dustin shows Wayne, Eddie's uncle, his nephew's guitar pick, and breaks down.
The buildable big-head Steve Harrington figure, bat in hand.
In the shopBuildable big-head figure Steve Harrington and his bat19,90 €See the product
1987 and 1989: the falling-out, the pact, the epilogue
In the fall of 1987, Steve and Robin work at radio station WSQK, which secretly coordinates the expeditions into the Upside Down. Dustin is grieving Eddie. In “The Crawl,” beaten up by Andy and his gang, he misses the expedition. In “The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler,” Steve blames him for not showing up and for lying about his bruises.
In “Shock Jock,” in the Upside Down lab, Steve coldly says that Eddie's sacrifice was for nothing. Dustin lunges at him, damages the radio in the scuffle, then punches him in the face; Steve walks off. In “Escape From Camazotz,” Steve wants to cross a gap on a rickety ladder; Dustin, in tears, begs him not to risk his life. They hug, and the ladder falls into the void.
In “The Bridge,” Dustin gives him the spears he made with Eddie; they apologize and say the 1985 line to each other again. In “The Rightside Up,” they attack side by side in the Abyss.
In May 1989, Dustin, his class valedictorian, pays tribute to Eddie and opens his gown to reveal a Hellfire T-shirt. Steve coaches a youth baseball team, teaches sex ed, and is dating Kristen. In the story Mike tells of their future, Dustin goes off to college and keeps seeing Steve, who finally has his RV.
Why the duo works: the writing, Joe Keery, and Gaten Matarazzo
None of it was planned. In the book Worlds Turned Upside Down, published in 2018, the Duffers say Steve was supposed to die in the very first season: it was Joe Keery who changed his fate. On November 1, 2017, in The Hollywood Reporter, producer Shawn Levy explained that Steve's storyline was not in the season 2 outlines. Ross Duffer added that the duo was decided on midway through writing: Steve was suffering from heartbreak, and Dustin, alone too, was headed for heartbreak of his own. The season's after-show devotes its third episode to the duo, “Unlikely Allies.”
In the same article, Josh Wigler calls Steve the breakout hero of season 2, thanks to his budding friendship with Dustin. In the issue of Empire released in October 2025, ahead of the final season, Ross Duffer explains that Dustin is struggling with Eddie's death; the magazine predicts tension with Steve as a result.
Joe Keery was born on April 24, 1992, and had first auditioned for Jonathan. Gaten Matarazzo was born on September 8, 2002, and was going for the role of Mike: ten years separate them. In the French dub, Clément Moreau voices Steve in seasons 2 to 4; Dustin's voice goes from Kaycie Chase to Gabriel Bismuth-Bienaimé in season 3. Our profiles of Joe Keery and Gaten Matarazzo follow their careers.
The buildable big-head Dustin Henderson figure, the other half of the duo.
In the shopBuildable big-head figure Dustin Henderson19,90 €See the product
Frequently asked questions
In which episode do Steve and Dustin meet?
In “Dig Dug,” the fifth episode of season 2, outside the Wheelers' house. Dustin asks Steve whether he still has his nail bat.
Do they cross paths in season 1?
Barely. They wait outside Will's room at the hospital, in the last episode, without exchanging a word.
What hair secret does Steve share with Dustin?
Farrah Fawcett hairspray, revealed on the railroad tracks in “The Spy.” Dustin does his hair that way for the December 1984 dance.
Why do Steve and Dustin fight in season 5?
Because of Eddie. In “Shock Jock,” Steve says that Eddie's sacrifice was for nothing, and Dustin hits him.
Do they make up?
Yes. In “Escape From Camazotz,” Dustin begs him not to risk his life. In “The Bridge,” they renew their pact from the summer of 1985.
What becomes of Steve and Dustin at the end?
In May 1989, Dustin is his class valedictorian and Steve coaches a youth baseball team. In the story Mike tells of their future, Dustin goes off to college and keeps seeing Steve.
Was their friendship planned from the start?
No. On November 1, 2017, in The Hollywood Reporter, Shawn Levy and Ross Duffer explained that it was decided on midway through writing season 2.
What is the age gap between Joe Keery and Gaten Matarazzo?
Joe Keery was born on April 24, 1992, Gaten Matarazzo on September 8, 2002: ten years apart.
