Billy Hargrove (Stranger Things): Max's stepbrother, from the Camaro to the Starcourt sacrifice
Character · Max's stepbrother · Seasons 2 and 3
Billy Hargrove is the human villain of Stranger Things before becoming, for the length of one scene, its most unexpected hero. Max's stepbrother, arrived from California at the wheel of a Camaro in the fall of 1984, brutal with her, obsessed with Steve, he becomes in 1985 the body the Mind Flayer chooses to invade Hawkins. He dies on July 4, in the Starcourt mall, putting himself between the creature and Eleven. This page brings together everything: his past, his two seasons, the possession, the sacrifice, and the shadow he leaves on Max.
The essentials
- Name: William “Billy” Hargrove, son of Neil Hargrove
- Origin: California; arrives in Hawkins in October 1984
- Tie: Max Mayfield's half-brother, through their parents' remarriage
- Car: a blue Chevrolet Camaro
- Job: lifeguard at the Hawkins municipal pool (summer 1985)
- Played by: Dacre Montgomery
- Status: dead on July 4, 1985 at Starcourt, saving Eleven
Contents
Played by
Dacre Montgomery
It is Dacre Montgomery who lends his face to Billy Hargrove on the show.
Image: Stranger Things series, via static.independent.co.uk.
Who is Billy Hargrove?
He pulls into Hawkins High in October 1984 in a cloud of dust, behind the wheel of a blue Camaro, long hair, earring, shirt open. In a week, he dethrones Steve Harrington at basketball, at the Halloween party, and in the imagination of every girl in the school. Billy is the new king, and he does not plan to reign kindly.
He comes from California, like Max. His mother left when he was a child; he grew up alone with his father, Neil, a man who humiliates him and hits him. When Neil remarried Susan, Max's mother, and moved the whole family to Indiana, Billy inherited a stepsister he did not choose and a town he hates. He takes out on Max, and on her friends, the violence he suffers at home.
The show never excuses him, but it explains him. Billy is a broken teenager who breaks others in turn, and that is exactly what the Mind Flayer is looking for in summer 1985: a solid body, a bottomless anger, nobody to worry about his absences.
The surf sceneBilly's only happy memory is a day of surfing with his mother, on a California beach, when he was seven. Eleven finds it while searching his memory during the battle of Starcourt, and tells it to him out loud. That memory, and nothing else, gives him control of his body for a few seconds. Enough to die a free man.
In the shop: a piece from the show's universe that goes with this file, chosen by us.
In the shopMen's 3/4-sleeve baseball Welcome to Hawkins Indiana crest T-shirt44,90 €See the product
Billy season by season
1984Season 2: the new king
Billy imposes himself at Hawkins High by humiliating Steve on the basketball court and baiting him at every chance. At home, he watches Max, forbids her from seeing Lucas, and terrorizes her. The night of the battle against the demodogs, he shows up at the Byers house looking for his sister, beats Steve, and only stops when Max plants a sedative syringe in his neck and makes him swear, nail bat in hand, to leave her alone. He swears.
1985Season 3: the possessed
Summer 1985, Billy is a lifeguard at the municipal pool, courted by every mother in Hawkins, including Karen Wheeler. One night, on his way to a date, his car is pulled into an old steelworks where the Mind Flayer is waiting. The creature enters him. Billy becomes its main host, and its recruiter: he abducts residents, including his coworker Heather, to grow the army of the Flayed. The group unmasks him in a sauna, where the heat reveals the creature. On July 4, at Starcourt, he hunts Eleven to deliver her to the monster. Eleven gives him back his surfing memory. Billy stands up, puts himself between the creature and her, and holds it with his arms while it impales him. He apologizes to Max and dies in her arms.
1986Season 4: the shadow
Billy is dead, but he has not left Max. She has never forgiven herself for hating him, or for standing still while he died. Vecna knows it, and uses it: in Max's trance, Billy appears, gray-skinned, to blame her for his death and tell her she should have died in his place. It is in front of his grave, at the cemetery, that the curse takes her. The show does not bring him back afterward: Billy remains the ghost who almost killed his sister.
What defines him
Neil hits Billy, Billy terrorizes Max. The show shows the chain without justifying it: it is the hardest portrait of a teenager it has made.
His car is his armor and his weapon: he almost runs the boys over in it in 1984, he slams it into Starcourt in 1985.
Athlete, lifeguard, brawler: the Mind Flayer chooses him for his strength. It is the only time Billy's body serves something he does not control.
Seven years old, a board, a beach, his mother. All that remains of the child, and what is enough to free him.
Key moments
-
The high-school parking lot
The Camaro that slams to a stop, the door that slams, the look toward Steve. Billy sets the tone in ten seconds.
-
The syringe
At the Byers house, Max takes him down and makes him swear. The only time someone imposes a limit on him, and it is a fourteen-year-old girl.
-
The steel mill
The car that skids, the door that opens, the scream. Billy is taken before season 3 has even really begun.
-
The sauna
Locked in by the children, the heat reveals the creature under the skin. The party's first real fight against him.
-
Starcourt
He stands up, he holds out his arms, he holds the monster. Thirty seconds of redemption for two seasons of anger.
Another piece from the selection: a piece from the show's universe that goes with this file.
In the shopLego gray open-flower Demogorgon mini figure14,90 €See the product
Their ties
| Person | What he or she is to Billy | The key moment |
|---|---|---|
| Max Mayfield | The stepsister he terrorizes, and the only one he asks forgiveness from | His last words, at Starcourt, are for her |
| Neil Hargrove | The father who hits him and teaches him fear | The bathroom scene, before the Halloween party of 1984 |
| Steve Harrington | The fallen king he humiliates, then beats | The basketball court, then the Byers kitchen |
| Karen Wheeler | Mike's mother, whom he seduces at the pool | The missed date at the motel, the night of the steelworks |
| Heather Holloway | His lifeguard coworker, the first victim he delivers to the monster | The bathroom filled with ice, July 1985 |
| Eleven | The enemy named by the creature, and the one who frees him | The surfing memory, at Starcourt |
None of these ties is tender, and that is on purpose: Billy is the only main character on the show who, while he was alive, had no friend. The surfing scene is the only one where you see him happy, and it takes place in his head, fifteen seconds before his death.
Not to be confused
| People often say | In reality | The landmark |
|---|---|---|
| Billy is Max's brother | Her stepbrother by marriage: Neil's son, Max's stepfather's son | No blood tie |
| Billy comes back in season 4 | It is a vision created by Vecna to torture Max | The cemetery, March 1986 |
| Billy is possessed by Vecna | No: it is the Mind Flayer that possesses him, in summer 1985 | The steelworks, then the sauna |
| Billy dies killed by Eleven | He dies holding back the Mind Flayer, which impales him | He apologizes to Max before dying |
A rarer confusion: Billy was never a member of the party. Unlike Steve, who switches to the kids' side as early as 1983, Billy remains an antagonist to the end. His redemption sits in one scene, and the show does not claim it erases the rest.
Our Billy Hargrove products
Billy remains one of the most striking characters on the show: Camaro posters, T-shirts and accessories inspired by the Hawkins pool and the summer of 1985. We pick every piece ourselves, and claim nothing beyond our passion for the show.
To go with your reading: a piece from the show's universe that goes with this file.
In the shopXiaomi case motif 2 741419,90 €See the product
Frequently asked questions
Who is Billy in Stranger Things?
Billy Hargrove is Max's stepbrother, arrived from California in Hawkins in 1984 with his father Neil, a violent man. Steve's rival at Hawkins High, brutal with his sister, he becomes in the summer of 1985 the Mind Flayer's main host and dies on July 4 at Starcourt saving Eleven.
How does Billy die in Stranger Things?
During the battle of Starcourt, Eleven gives him a happy memory of his mother, which gives him back control of his body. Billy puts himself between the Mind Flayer and her, holds the creature with his arms, and is impaled. He apologizes to Max and dies in her arms.
Why is Billy possessed by the Mind Flayer?
One night in summer 1985, his car is pulled into an old steelworks where the creature is waiting. It chooses Billy for his physical strength and his anger, and because nobody would notice his absences. He becomes its main host and abducts other residents to grow the army of the Flayed.
Does Billy come back in season 4?
Not really. He appears in Max's trance, at the cemetery, as a vision created by Vecna, who exploits Max's guilt since his death. That gray Billy blames her for letting him die. It is that vision that nearly kills her.
Are Billy and Max brother and sister?
Not by blood. Neil, Billy's father, married Susan, Max's mother. They are stepbrother and stepsister by marriage, and have lived under the same roof since the move from California to Hawkins in 1984. Their relationship is one of the most violent on the show.
Who plays Billy Hargrove?
Dacre Montgomery plays Billy in seasons 2 and 3, then for the length of a vision in season 4. The images on this page come from the show and its promotion; they remain the property of their rights holders.