Jonathan Byers

**This article or section needs to be updated.**Info from *Stranger Things: Flight of Icarus* needs to be added.

## Jonathan Byers

* 1986
* 1985
* 1984
* 1983

## Biographical information

### Age

16 (Season One)
17 (Season Two & Three)
18 (Season Four)

### Residence

Hawkins, Indiana
(1967 - 1985):* Byers house
(19?? - October 1985)

Lenora Hills, California
(October 1985 - March 1986) :* Byers house

### Family

Will Byers (brother)
Joyce Byers (mother)
Lonnie Byers (father)
Darlene (great-aunt)
Eleven (foster sister)

### Other relations

Nancy Wheeler (girlfriend)
Argyle (best friend)
Steve Harrington (former enemy, friend)
Mike Wheeler (friend)
Lucas Sinclair (friend)
Dustin Henderson (friend)
Max Mayfield (friend)
Robin Buckley (friend)
Jim Hopper (friend)
Bob Newby † (friend)
Murray Bauman (friend)
Tommy Hagan (enemy)
Carol Perkins (enemy)
Tom Holloway † (former boss, enemy)
Bruce Lowe † (former co-worker, enemy)
Agent Harmon † (protector)
Agent Wallace (protector)

### Affiliation

The Byers family
*The Hawkins Post* (formerly)

### Occupation

Student at Hawkins High School (1982-1985)
Intern at The Hawkins Post (1985)
 Student at Lenora Hills High School (1985-)

## Portrayal

### Episodes

This article is lacking images. You can help by adding some.

— Jonathan to Will, March 27, 1986

**Jonathan Byers**, portrayed by Charlie Heaton, is a main character in *Stranger Things*. He is the oldest son of Joyce Byers, the older brother of Will Byers, the eventual boyfriend of Nancy Wheeler, and the best friend of Argyle.

In the fall of 1983, Jonathan's younger brother, Will, vanished without a trace due to Jonathan working late. Will's disappearance made Jonathan guilt-ridden for not being there and would soon take a toll on his relationship with his mother, who insisted Will was trapped in the walls and taken by a monster with no face. Jonathan dismissed Joyce's claims as a sign of a mental breakdown and took it upon himself to take care of the funeral arrangements upon Will's "body" being recovered from the town quarry. However, he realizes his mother was telling the truth after his classmate, Nancy Wheeler, began claiming her best friend was also taken by said monster. After reconciling with his mother, Nancy and Jonathan turned the Byers home into a booby trap to lure and kill the monster. With the help of Jonathan's former bully and Nancy's boyfriend, Steve Harrington, the trio lit the monster on fire until is vanished. Soon after, Will was rescued from the dimension and was reunited with his brother and mother.

In the fall of 1984, Jonathan struggled to both see the appeal in his mother's boyfriend, Bob Newby, and comfort his traumatized brother. After seeing Nancy struggling to keep secret of the government agents responsible for Barbara's death, Jonathan bands together with her to expose Hawkins Lab alongside journalist Murray Bauman. In the process, the two slowly begin to embrace their romantic feelings for another. Returning home, Jonathan and Nancy assist Joyce in freeing a possessed Will from another entity from the Upside Down known as the Mind Flayer. A month later, Nancy and Jonathan have become an official couple.

In the summer of 1985, Jonathan and Nancy have gotten summer jobs as interns for *The Hawkins Post*. Jonathan tried his best to comfort Nancy, who was subjugated to sexism by their co-workers, but believed that pursuing a story about "diseased rats" wouldn't prove anything and would only get them in trouble. Despite this, he reluctantly joined his girlfriend in investigating Mrs. Driscoll's claims that sick rats are eating fertilizer, only to get fired by their boss, Tom Holloway. This puts a strain on Nancy and Jonathan's relationship, as Jonathan angrily tells her that she doesn't understand how important a job is to his family compared to Nancy, who is very privileged. The next day, however, Nancy calls Jonathan to tell him that the rats are connected to the Mind Flayer, causing him to join her, their siblings and friends to defeat the Mind Flayer once again. During this, Jonathan profusely apologizes to Nancy, and they reconcile. Three months after killing the Mind Flayer, Jonathan moves out of Hawkins with his family, and tearfully says goodbye to Nancy.

In the spring of 1986, Jonathan resided in Lenora Hills, California, where he began to smoke weed alongside his new best friend, Argyle, due to stress about college. He and Nancy agreed to both attend Emerson College in Massachusetts despite his acceptance putting him in financial debt. Jonathan reveals to Argyle he got accepted to Lenora Hills Community College and is struggling to break the news to Nancy, saying he doesn't want her to follow him and ruin her life while also not wanting to go to Emerson to chase a dream that isn't his. When Eleven is taken to get her powers back to fight a new threat that's killing people in Hawkins, Jonathan hails a ride from Argyle and escapes a military raid of his home alongside Mike and Will. The quartet make a cross-country roadtrip to Utah and Nevada to locate El. While traveling, Jonathan takes notice of his brother Will struggling emotionally to show his feelings towards Mike. He eventually apologizes to his brother for being absent in his life and telling him he'll always be his supporter no matter what. After creating a sensory deprivation tank at a Surfer Boy Pizza in Nevada, El temporarily defeats Vecna, and the crew returns to Hawkins. Reuniting with Nancy, the two are happy yet seem in denial that their relationship doesn't have any problems, with Jonathan fibbing to Nancy that his acceptance letter has yet to arrive. After reuniting with his mother and Hopper, he witnesses along with his family the beginning of the Upside Down invading Hawkins.

## History

### Background

    Jonathan was born to Lonnie and Joyce Byers in Hawkins, Indiana, in 1967. Jonathan has mentioned that although "Joyce and Lonnie loved each other at some point, he wasn't around for it", meaning his parent's marriage was already a mess to begin with. On March 22, 1971, Jonathan's younger brother, William "Will" Byers, was born. By 1973, six-year-old Jonathan desired to go NYU to study photography. Although Jonathan and Will were close to both each other and their mother, Lonnie was extremely unsupportive of both of his sons' interests. On Jonathan's tenth birthday, around 1977, Lonnie made Jonathan go hunting with him, forcing his son to kill a rabbit and making him cry for a week, mentioning to Nancy that he was "a fan of Thumper" from the movie, *Bambi*. By 1982, Lonnie abandoned his family and moved to Indianapolis. The day he left, Jonathan and Will spent the day building Castle Byers in the woods, using Will's drawing as a blueprint. The fort took time to built due to Will struggling to use the hammer, and despite it beginning to rain, the boys managed to finish the fort, and the two eventually got sick for a week afterward. One day, after Lonnie skipped out taking Will to a baseball game, Jonathan played a mixtape he made for him, including the Clash single, "Should I Stay or Should I Go", a song Will loved. Hearing their mother arguing on the phone with Lonnie, Jonathan shuts the door. When Will asks if Lonnie is coming, Jonathan asks if he even likes baseball. Will says no, but explains that sometimes it's fun to go with his father. But Jonathan asks if he ever lets Will do what *he* wants to do, like the Arcade. Jonathan then tells him that he shouldn't be forced to do things because people want him to, *especially* not their father. But Jonathan asks if he likes the Clash, to which Will happily says yes. Jonathan cranks up the volume, and the two jam out together on his bed.

### 1983

#### November

##### Will's disappearance

On November 6, 1983, Jonathan decided to work late to cover a shift for his co-worker, Eric, thinking that he and his mother could benefit from the extra cash. That same night, Will mysteriously disappeared.

The next day, as Jonathan was making breakfast, Joyce told him he should've woken Will up which Jonathan apologized for. However, Joyce noticed that Will wasn't in room and called Karen Wheeler to see if Will had spent the night at her house. However, when Karen declined and said that Will had left to go home, both Jonathan and Joyce began to worry that Will had gone missing.

Later, Jonathan went with Joyce when they looked for Will, in and around, Castle Byers. Jonathan made a missing poster for Will and made photocopies of it, putting them up at various locations around town. Jonathan blamed himself for the disappearance, saying that he should've been around at home to look after him. When the Byers's telephone rang, Joyce answered it and Jonathan saw his mother getting frantic until the phone suddenly got fried up. Crying, Joyce tearfully told Jonathan she heard Will's voice on the other end before Jonathan comforted her.

On the next morning, Jonathan and Joyce were visited by Jim Hopper whom Joyce called to inform him of the strange phone call from last night. Hopper also informed them that Will had not been found last night. When explaining about the phone call last night to Hopper, Jonathan asked if it was possible to trace the phone call, but the police chief said it wasn't possible. As Hopper started to leave to continue the search for Will, Jonathan asked if he can go visit Lonnie as he knows his father would run if he is approached by the cops. Hopper refused to have Jonathan go to Lonnie's house, telling Jonathan he needs to be with his mother right now.

Jonathan went to school to hang up some missing posters for Will where he was approached by Nancy Wheeler, the elder sister of his brother's best friend, Mike. Jonathan was reassured by Nancy that Will's probably okay as he is a pretty smart kid. Jonathan thanked her and watched her go to class with the other students. However, instead of joining his classmates, Jonathan left school and went to drive out of Hawkins to go see Lonnie, thus disobeying Hopper's orders. As Jonathan drove out of Hawkins, he let his car's radio play "Should I Stay or Should I Go" to think about Will as it was his brother's favorite song.

When Jonathan arrived in Indianapolis, Jonathan went straight into Lonnie's where he was left in by Lonnie's girlfriend, Cynthia. As Jonathan looked for Will, he was suddenly greeted by Lonnie who informed him that Will wasn't with him. At the sound of that, Jonathan confronted his father for not getting in touch with him or Joyce for not helping them look for Will. This led to Jonathan getting into an argument with his father over living with his mother where Lonnie wants Jonathan to live in the city with him instead of in Hawkins. Jonathan, realizing now it pointless to visit his father, bitterly gave him one of the missing posters of Will to remind him what his other son "looks like" before leaving.

Jonathan looked through and around the woodlands of Hawkins, taking photos in an attempt to find and capture evidence relating to Will's disappearance. He eventually got distracted and captured many pictures of Steve Harrington's party in motion including a shot of Nancy in her undergarments. He unintentionally took a picture of Nancy's best friend, Barbara, with her feet dangling in Steve's pool whilst something strange stood behind her. Barb was abducted only seconds after, but Jonathan failed to notice, as he was too busy adjusting his camera.

##### Helping Nancy Wheeler

The next day, Jonathan developed the photographs in the Hawkins High dark room. Nicole sneaked a glance at his photographs of the party, but Jonathan rushed to pull them off the dryer and bolted. Nicole told Steve and his friends about his photos, who then assaulted Jonathan and forcefully snatched his shoulder bag to see the pictures for themselves. Carol and Tommy H. mocked Jonathan by making comments about the topless photos of Nancy and calling him a stalker. Steve ripped up the photographs and dropped Jonathan's camera, breaking it. Jonathan scrambled to salvage remnants of his camera and photos where he was helped by Nancy. After Nancy saw Barb in the ripped photo pieces, she decided to collect as many pieces of the photo as possible before leaving with her friends.

Jonathan heard about a discovery at the local quarry, where Will's body had been found. As he drove to the quarry, he came across Joyce in the middle of the road. He got out and they embraced, sharing their grief and shock.

At the Byers household, Chief Hopper attempted to console Joyce. Joyce was struggling to cope with the news, saying Will was hiding in the wall and that an "animal" that "didn't have a face" had chased her, and that this same creature was stalking Will. Jonathan and Hopper dismissed her, believing she was being hysterical.

The next day, Jonathan and Joyce went to see the body at the coroner's, but Joyce exclaimed the body wasn't Will's and refused to sign a document. Jonathan argued with her on the street, with Jonathan accusing her of being out of her mind.

Jonathan went to a coffin shop, where Nancy found him. She asked about an inconspicuous feature of the photograph he took of Barb, which she had pieced back together. He speculated this feature could have been produced as a result of "some kind of perspective distortion", although he was unsure and admitted it was "weird". Nancy mentioned that when she went to look for Barb near Steve's house, she saw a man with no face. In that moment, Jonathan realized that maybe his mother wasn't being as delusional as he had thought. Jonathan and Nancy went to the dark room to enlarge the photo, and Nancy was certain it was the same creature she had seen earlier.

At Will's funeral, Jonathan and Nancy decided to look for the creature in the forest. Jonathan took a gun from his father's car and together they practiced shooting. In the forest, Nancy and Jonathan talked about the photos he took and ultimately ended up lashing out at each other.

After dark, they found a wounded deer. They agreed to kill it out of mercy, but before they could it was suddenly dragged away into the darkness. Following the blood trail, Nancy entered a portal in the base of a tree and found herself in the Upside Down. She saw the Monster appearing to feed on something and ran away as it gave chase. Following Jonathan's voice, Nancy made her way out of the dimension unscathed. Jonathan watched in wonder as the portal resealed.

Traumatized by the experience and wanting company, Nancy had Jonathan sleep over.

The following day, she theorized about the Monster's nature based on her knowledge of animals, and they bought weapons to face it again. While downtown, they found Steve and his friends tagging slurs about Nancy. They realized that Steve had seen Jonathan in her room the previous night and tried to explain that he misunderstood. Jonathan and Steve ended up in a fist fight, which led to Jonathan's arrest and their weapons being confiscated.

##### Finding Will

Hopper and Joyce found Jonathan and Nancy at the police station and enlisted their help in trying to find Will's friends Lucas, Dustin, Mike as well as the escaped test subject Eleven. They eventually assembled at the Byers household, where they decided to build a makeshift sensory deprivation tank which Eleven could use to look for Barb and Will using her psychic abilities. The group broke into Hawkins Middle School, and Jonathan assisted Hopper in collecting de-icing salt. They learned through Eleven that although Barb had been killed, Will was still alive.

###### Fighting the Monster

The group separated, with Jonathan and Nancy deciding to lure the Monster to the Byers household. They went to the police station, taking back their weapons, before setting up a trap at the house. The two cut themselves, drawing blood so that the Monster would be attracted. Steve came to the house to apologize to Jonathan, although they were distracted by the Monster breaking through the ceiling. With Steve's aid they caught the Monster in the trap, setting it alight and maiming it. The Monster escaped into the Upside Down and would later be destroyed by Eleven.

Hopper and Joyce were successful in their attempt to find and save Will; Jonathan was the first visitor at the hospital.

### December

#### A family reunited

One month later, on Christmas Eve, Jonathan went to the Wheeler household to pick up Will after his *Dungeons & Dragons* game. As they were leaving, Nancy handed Jonathan a Christmas gift and affectionately kissed him on the cheek. While Jonathan turned on his car engine, he let Will open the gift for him. The gift turned out to really be from Steve who wanted to give him a new camera to replace the one he broke as a token of good will and turning over a new leaf. They drove home, and before their meal, Jonathan tested out the new camera, taking photos of his mother.

### 1984

#### October

##### Helping Will and Nancy

On October 30, as Jonathan and Nancy were leaving class, they received a flyer for Tina's Halloween party. Nancy tried to convince Jonathan to attend, however, he refused. Later, Jonathan went to Will's room to get him to come out to see a movie with him, their mother, and her boyfriend, Bob Newby.

    When Jonathan noticed Will drawing an illustration of his cruel nickname "Zombie Boy", Jonathan tried to have a conversation with Will, but his brother snapped as he was tired of being treated like a baby and feeling like he's a freak. Wanting to cheer Will up, Jonathan tells Will that being a freak is the best and he shouldn't let it or anyone bother him about it. After making Will better with those words of wisdom, Jonathan joins his family in watching *Mr. Mom*.

The next morning, Jonathan photographed Will in his *Ghostbusters* costume. That evening, after being lent Bob’s video camera, Jonathan and Will left to go trick-or-treating. While he was originally supposed to stay with Will, Jonathan decided to instead let him go by himself. Now having nothing else to do, Jonathan decided to go to Tina’s Halloween party. When he arrived, he spotted Nancy and Steve dancing among several other people. He was then approached by Samantha, another party attendee, and had a brief conversation with her. Sometime after Steve had left the party due to Nancy's intoxicated confession that she did not have feelings for him, he asked Jonathan to take her home, which Jonathan accepted upon noticing how upset Steve was. Jonathan drove Nancy home where he laid her on her bed before taking off her boots and covering her with a blanket. A drunken Nancy reached out to Jonathan before she passed out where Jonathan took one last look at her as he closed the bedroom door.

#### November

##### Exposing the lab

    During lunch the next day, Nancy spoke with Jonathan for confirmation of the party’s events where he revealed that he did take Nancy home after the party due to Steve asking him to do so when Nancy revealed she did not love him while blaming him and herself for Barb's death due to being intoxicated. Jonathan tried to comfort and reassure Nancy that people say and do things they don't mean when getting drunk, Nancy revealed she wondered if she meant what she said to Steve and confided in Jonathan, telling him how hard she pretended to feel like everything was fine while really it was not. When Jonathan expressed he felt the same way, Nancy pointed out it was different for him as Will was able to come back alive while Barb did not. However, Jonathan revealed to her that despite Will being brought home, his brother had changed greatly in personality and behavior, making it difficult to try to help him. When Nancy started to express her anger towards the people of Hawkins National Laboratory, blaming them for ruining other's people's lives and being able to get away with what they done. When Jonathan tried to reassure her that the people at the lab are dead, he is unable to answer her question of whether he truly thinks the people at the lab are truly dead. When Nancy asked if his mom's boyfriend works at RadioShack, Jonathan tells her that Bob does and asks her what she has in mind. She informs him that she has an idea to possibly expose the lab and Jonathan decides to help her in her plan where they both skipped fourth period, going to RadioShack to buy a Walkman.

    After school and buying the Walkman, Jonathan accompanied Nancy to her house and had a brief short conversation with Mrs. Wheeler where he and Nancy told her they have to study for a test before they proceeded upstairs to Nancy's bedroom. When they go into her bedroom, both Jonathan and Nancy express their doubts on the plan, but they proceeded to do it anyway. Jonathan watched Nancy hesitantly call Mrs. Holland, telling her that she hasn’t been honest about Barb and to meet her at Forest Hills Park the next morning while knowing the lab would be listening to Nancy's phone conversation with Mrs. Holland before watching Nancy ended her chat with Mrs. Holland and hang up the phone.

Later that night, Jonathan returned home after helping Nancy with their plan to expose the lab. Upon entering the house, Jonathan could not find his mom or Will. Concerned, Jonathan started searching for his family until he found Will and their mom sleeping together. Deciding not to wake up them up, Jonathan closed the bedroom door to let his mom and brother sleep before going to bed himself.

After waking up the next morning, Jonathan left a note to his mom, saying he would be out most of the day, as he could not inform her himself due to his mom still being fast asleep. After leaving home, Jonathan met with and picked up Nancy on Maple Street after the latter had finished eating breakfast with her family. When Nancy got into Jonathan's car, she tried to convince him that he did not had to help her with the plan, but Jonathan said he wasn't backing down and that he will stand by her no matter what. With that said, Jonathan and Nancy proceeded to head to Forest Hills Park.

After they arrived at the park, Jonathan and Nancy waited to meet Mrs. Holland, only to find their waiting was taking longer than they expected it to be. As they viewed their surroundings, they had a suspicion of being watched, prompting them to leave. Once they got inside his car, Jonathan tried to start the engine, only to find that his car had been tampered with. He and Nancy were then approached by government agents, disguised as civilians, who proceeded to take Nancy and Jonathan to Hawkins Lab.

    After being taken to the lab, Nancy and Jonathan were locked in an interrogation room where they waited for hours to meet with someone. Eventually, they were greeted by Dr. Sam Owens, the new head of scientist of the lab who proceeded to give them a tour of the lab. When Owens admitted his predecessors' nefarious deeds, calling them "mistakes," Nancy countered his predecessors had killed Barb and when asked by Owens how long he had been in a relationship with Nancy, Jonathan corrected him by explaining he and Nancy are not dating. As Owens showed Jonathan and Nancy the Gate to the Upside Down, Owens admitted he cannot fix his predecessors' mistakes, but he can stop them from spreading, giving off the example of what would happen if the Soviet Union learned about the Upside Down and tried to open a portal to the dimension. Jonathan and Nancy then watched in silence as a worker burned some vines surrounding the Gate while Owens grew confident that he gave the two older teens a valid point in why the Upside Down must be kept a secret before releasing them. Once in the car, Nancy revealed the Walkman, having recorded everything that Owens had said.

Jonathan and Nancy then traveled in the direction of Bauman's location, spending the night in a motel. While there, they showed each other their matching scars, reminiscing about their previous adventure. Nancy asked what happened between them, saying that she waited for Jonathan before ultimately ending up with Steve again. Jonathan retorted by saying she only waited a month and he was busy looking after Will. No more was said and the two went to sleep.

When they arrived at Bauman's residence, they presented the recording of Owens. Bauman claimed it wouldn’t be enough evidence to shutdown the lab, as it could easily be destroyed and the details of the story would be too extraordinary for the public to accept. He then proposed to Jonathan and Nancy that they "water down" their story in order to make it more appealing to the public. After altering their story to say that Barb died from a chemical leak originating from the lab, they placed the evidence in several envelopes to be sent to the *Chicago Sun-Times*.

When Bauman offered his guest room to the two of them, Jonathan asked if he could sleep on the couch instead. Bauman questioned them on their 'relationship' to which they denied being romantically involved. He easily deduced there was sexual tension between them, and suggested to forget their issues and finally get together. Jonathan and Nancy were both left restless, mulling over what Murray had said. Eventually, they gave into the sexual tension and Jonathan kissed Nancy, which was reciprocated and the two slept together, consummating their relationship.

##### Saving Will

Jonathan and Nancy woke up the next morning, after Bauman had served them breakfast. When they arrived back in Hawkins, they found the Byers household abandoned, strewn with Will's drawings of the underground tunnels. They traveled to Hawkins Lab to investigate, where they were met by Steve, Dustin, Lucas, and Max. When they gained access to Hawkins Lab, they were unaware that they were in the midst of a Demogorgon outbreak, with Hopper, Joyce, Bob, Mike, and Will in the lab attempting to evacuate. After Bob was killed by Demodogs, the group fled Hawkins Lab and took refuge at the Byers' house.

The group formed a battle plan on how to stop the Mind Flayer. Everyone helped to free Will from the influence of the Upside Down. Jonathan, along with Joyce and Mike, attempted to free Will by sharing nostalgic stories with him. While Will was still controlled, he subconsciously tapped out Morse Code to signal a message to the group, deciphered to be "CLOSEGATE".

With this information, Hopper and Eleven traveled to Hawkins Lab, Steve stayed and watched the kids, and Jonathan, Joyce and Nancy traveled to Hopper's cabin to force the entity out of Will. Jonathan found it incredibly difficult to watch his brother being tortured but was ultimately reunited with Will after the Mind Flayer his expelled from his body.

#### November-December

Sometime later, Hawkins Lab was shut down after being forced to acknowledge their involvement in the coverup of Barb's death after Murray revealed the evidence Jonathan and Nancy presented to him. Although Jonathan did not fully know Barb, he attended her funeral to show his respects and support Nancy.

#### A new relationship

##### December

On December 15, Jonathan attended the Snow Ball, volunteering as a photographer for dance photos. He and Nancy were still together and appeared to be happy, sharing a smile with one another, showing they have finally started a relationship.

On Christmas Day, Jonathan and his family welcomed Mike, Lucas, Dustin, El, and Hopper who came over to celebrate Christmas with them. Jonathan and Will presented Eleven her present from all of the boys which was a walkie-talkie from Radio Shack that the gang had all saved their money for. Jonathan and Will then revealed that they had collected several Christmas specials in VCR form to help make Eleven's first Christmas celebration extra-special. The gang then took turns in explaining the plot of each VCR special to Eleven where Jonathan helped Will explain the plot of *A Christmas Carol* after their mother mentioned it. Dustin then began to insist that there was a creature outside in the snow, referencing Dart, a creature Dustin took care of before finding out it was an adolescent Demogorgon.

However, the kids had found out the creature turned out to be a rabbit caught in a trap which they took back to the house so they can help tend to his injuries. Once they got back to the house, Jonathan and the others watched his mom attended to the rabbit and shortly after, they all sat down to watch all of the Christmas specials together.

### 1984 - 1985

Sometime before the summer of 1985, Jonathan and Nancy got jobs as interns at *The Hawkins Post*, getting the position as the newspaper's photographer. However, despite this, Jonathan disapproved how his male colleagues coldly treated Nancy as they were all misogynists expect for Jonathan. Whenever Nancy was cruelly insulted or belittled, Jonathan always came to Nancy's aid and comforted her, but did not stand up to his co-workers as Jonathan feared of getting fired if he tried to stop his girlfriend's cruel treatment inflicted by his co-workers.

### 1985

#### June-July

##### Working at the Post

On the morning of June 29, Jonathan and Nancy (who had spent the night) awoke late for work, due to a power outage occurring in Hawkins last night. They quickly got ready and rushed over to their job at *The Hawkins Post*. As Jonathan started to leave, Joyce tried to get him to eat something, but Jonathan refused as he did not want to be late. His mother noticed a lipstick stain on his cheek and wiped it off, as she was happy for Jonathan to have a girlfriend. Jonathan said good-bye to his mom and Will and left with Nancy, managing to get to their jobs on time.

The next day, Jonathan accompanied Nancy to Doris Driscoll's residence to investigate her claim about diseased rats. While there, she explained how the rats had eaten several bags of fertilizer and subsequently showed them a rat that she had captured in a cage, which Jonathan attempted to photograph. When Nancy found a lead regarding the "rabid" rats, she and Jonathan departed from the residence. Immediately after they had left, the rat exploded into a pile of flesh and escaped its cage.

After Jonathan developed his photos of the rat, Nancy tried to convince their boss, Tom Holloway, and the other journalists at the *Post* to print the story to no avail. Following a prank involving a plastic rat set up by Bruce, Nancy and Jonathan decided to return to Doris's residence to retrieve the rat in order to prove Nancy's story. When they arrived at her house that evening, they found Doris devouring fertilizer. They promptly called the police and Doris was loaded into an ambulance and taken to Hawkins Memorial Hospital.

    The next morning, on July 2, Jonathan and Nancy sat outside Tom's office at the Post as their investigation at Doris's house had reached word to all of their co-workers. After Officer Callahan finished talking to Tom, Jonathan and Nancy were called into his office and were berated for their actions and disobeying his orders. Jonathan watched as Nancy tried to justify their actions, but she was interrupted by Tom who told them that Doris was in a bad state and that her family was furious. After Tom claimed that Doris's family would be suing the Post, he immediately fired Jonathan and Nancy on the spot.

On their way home, Nancy began to suspect Tom was on drugs due to acting strange and sweating heavily, but Jonathan laughed it off and angrily berated his girlfriend for not listening to him and costing him his job and means to support his family. The couple argued in the car, with Jonathan continuing to berate Nancy for her reckless decisions and getting them fired, only for Nancy to accuse him of being just like the Post's reporters. With both Jonathan and Nancy on the verge of tears, they concluded that they no longer understood each other. After their argument, Jonathan dropped Nancy off at her house and presumably drove back home.

##### Return of the Mind Flayer

    Arriving at the Holloway residence, Jonathan, Nancy, and the kids find nobody home, the temperature in the house to be super cold, and destroyed household chemical products that the Holloway family must have eaten. Jonathan then listens to his brother, Mike, and Lucas recall a science lesson they learned from their teacher, Mr. Clarke on how chemicals could create new substances when mixed together, leaving Mike to theorize that the Flayed could making a new type of material with the chemical they are eating. When the group investigated further, Jonathan and Nancy discovered a blood stain on a carpet, causing them to remember Tom having a bandage on his forehead when he fired them. They surmised that Heather’s parents had been attacked, tied up, and taken to an unknown location where they were flayed. Will then proposed that they use Driscoll to find the source--the location where the flaying was taking place, in order to stop the Mind Flayer.
Jonathan, along with Nancy, Eleven, Mike, Will, Lucas and Max, went to visit Doris at the hospital. However, they were all told by the receptionist that only two visitors at a time could see Doris. This resulted in Jonathan and Nancy volunteering to go see Mrs. Driscoll first while the others waited in the lobby. While going up an elevator, Jonathan and Nancy apologized to each other and reconciled. When they exited the elevator, Jonathan and Nancy arrived at Doris's room, only to find the old woman gone. The teens were then confronted by a Flayed Tom, covered in blood, who began to menacingly approach them. Nancy tried to reason with Tom to no avail, leaving Jonathan to strike him with a flower vase. However, once they exited out of Doris's room, they were confronted by Bruce Lowe who is revealed to also be Flayed, leaving the teens to run as the Flayed Bruce began pursuing them, with the intent of killing them.

     Jonathan and Nancy ran throughout the hospital, passing by corpses of doctors and patients who were killed by Bruce and Tom. Jonathan and Nancy tried to call for help through a speaker and a phone to no avail before the Flayed Bruce was able to find them. Jonathan tried to fight the Flayed Bruce, only to be overpowered by his super strength. Just before the Flayed Bruce could kill him, Jonathan was saved by who stabbed Bruce with a pair of scissors. Jonathan urged Nancy to run just as the Flayed Bruce set his eyes on killing her, leaving Nancy to flee as the Flayed Bruce started chasing her. Just as the injured Jonathan recovered, he was attacked and ambushed by the Flayed Tom. Despite Jonathan's best efforts, he was knocked unconscious by the Flayed Tom who proceeded to kill him with the scissors. However, Tom was stopped when he felt Bruce's pain during an attack by Nancy through the hive mind, leaving Jonathan to wake up and stab Tom in the throat with the scissors, killing him.

Just after killing Tom, Jonathan witnessed his corpse melt away where his remains crawled to meet the melted corpse of Bruce who had been killed by Nancy. Jonathan and Nancy watched in horror as the melted remains merged together to create a monster. When the creature began chasing Nancy, Jonathan tried to get its attention to no avail, leaving him to follow the creature. However, when the creature entered a room by oozing underneath the door, Jonathan was unable to open the door due to it being locked from the hospital. Luckily, Mike, El, Max, Lucas, and Will arrived to help where El used her powers to fight the monster and push it out of a window. After that, Jonathan checked on Nancy to see if she was alright before they joined the kids in witnessing the wounded monster escape into the sewers.

##### Battle against the Spider Monster

Jonathan later accompanies the kids, Nancy, Steve, Robin, Joyce, Hopper and Murray at the Starcourt Mall on the 4th of July to try and kill the Mind Flayer. Jonathan succeeds in saving Eleven by throwing fireworks at The Mind Flayer and evacuates the mall just in time before it is completely destroyed.

#### October

##### Moving out of Hawkins

Three months later, Jonathan helped to pack up his house as his family prepared to leave Hawkins. Jonathan shared a passionate kiss with Nancy in his empty bedroom. As Jonathan and Nancy said goodbye, Nancy cried, as she was upset about Jonathan leaving. Jonathan, Joyce, Will and Eleven then leave the Byers house for good as Nancy, Mike, Dustin, Max and Lucas watch them leave.

### 1985 - 1986

#### A new home

With the assistance of Dr. Owens, the Byers family had been relocated to Lenora Hills, California, as a way for them to lay low and stay safe. Jonathan, Will, and El - who now went as Jane Hopper publicly - became enrolled at Lenora Hills High School, with Jonathan becoming a senior and Will and El becoming freshmen. Within his time in Lenora Hills, Jonathan befriended a lonely stoner named Argyle, who delivered pizzas for Surfer Boy Pizza. Shortly after his family's move, Jonathan's car broke down, causing Argyle to carpool him and his siblings to school. The two became quick friends, and Jonathan began to smoke marijuana alongside Argyle due to stress about his future and relationship with Nancy. In addition, Jonathan and Nancy had agreed to both apply and attend Emerson College in Massachusetts, despite the university putting Jonathan in financial jeopardy while also not being where he wanted to go.

### 1986

#### March

##### Life in California

On the morning of March 21, Jonathan took a hit from a bong in his bedroom when he heard Argyle pull into his driveway honking the horn. Panicking, he fanned the smell away using a record album cover and quickly throwing his bong underneath his bed before running out the door with Eleven and Will. Arriving at school, Jonathan put sunglasses on to hide his dilated eyes as he headed to class for the last day of school before spring break.

    At wood shop class, Jonathan and Argyle worked on their projects where Argyle attempted to show off his marijuana-themed birdhouse, only to notice that Jonathan looked glum. Jonathan denied feeling upset at first, but then revealed to Argyle that Nancy would not be visiting him in California during spring break. When Argyle said Nancy was definitely ditching him, Jonathan protested, claiming that she wasn't and that she had to work as she now worked for the Hawkins High School newspaper now. A confused Argyle then attempted to break down Jonathan's flawed plan to go with Nancy to Emerson College despite it putting him in financial stress and ultimately not being what he truly wanted to do. Jonathan defended Nancy, saying that she was incredibly ambitious and hardworking and that he loved her and his relationship with her was perfect, but Argyle remained suspicious.

#### Dealing with stress

The next day, Jonathan, Will, El, and Argyle arrive at the Lenora Hills Airport to pick up Mike who would be visiting them for spring break. When El spotted Mike amidst a crowd of people exiting from his plane, Jonathan greeted him along with El and Will. Jonathan then introduced Argyle to Mike and watched some awkwardness develop between the two of them when Argyle said the shirt Mike was wearing was "shitty knockoff", but told him that he would hook him with the "good threads" and heard a lot about Nancy before they all decided to leave. As the crew left the airport, Jonathan once again put on his sunglasses to hide being stoned.

Pulling into the Rink-O-Mania parking lot, Jonathan and Argyle dropped off El, Mike, and Will. Jonathan called out to Will to tell him they'll be back by 6:00, smiling at him as he told him to have fun. Will flatly said he would as he followed behind a cheerful Mike and El, leaving Jonathan worried as Argyle drove off. Jonathan and Argyle drove off to a deserted car junkyard, where they aimed at cars on a cliff using golf clubs. Jonathan told Argyle that though a part of him hoped Nancy had surprised him by joining Mike on his trip, another part of him felt this intense relief. Argyle dismissed it as his "Purple Palm-Tree Delight" working its charm, Jonathan admitted it was something else, asking his friend if he'd keep a secret and not tell anyone. Argyle replied that Jonathan was his only friend so he couldn't tell anyone, causing Jonathan to show him his acceptance letter to Lenora Hills Community College, where Argyle had been accepted to as well. Jonathan revealed that he never even applied to Emerson, and was planning on ending his relationship with Nancy, believing it'd be for the better since he didn't want to abandon his family and that sacrificing their dreams would cause them to become like Joyce and Lonnie. Argyle criticized his flawed plan of lying to Nancy, and when Jonathan asked what to do, Argyle ordered him to get more Purple Palm-Tree Delight. Jonathan nervously complied as he bolted to the van and hopped in to get it. By evening, Jonathan and Argyle, now high, returned to Rink-O-Mania to find a commotion; El had struck Angela, a student at Lenora Hills High School that routinely bullied her, with the heel of a rollerskate, causing her nose to crack open and give her a grade 2 concussion. The boys take the solemn El, Mike, and Will home, where the high pair attempt and fail to make El feel better by saying she could've hit Angela with an ice skate. Arriving at the Byers house, the kids are surprised to find Murray Bauman cooking in their kitchen, where Jonathan happily greeted him and was giddy to eat his rissoto.

While eating dinner with Murray, Argyle, Mike, and his family, a high Jonathan listened to Murray explain he arrived in California on a business trip and decided to stop by the Byers's house to spend the night. Jonathan and Argyle barely paid attention to the conversation at the dinner table as they were still high from the weed they smoked. When Joyce told him he was in charge, Jonathan expressed confusion on what was going on. Jonathan was then told by Argyle that his mom was leaving tomorrow to go to Alaska to for a business trip, much to his surprise. When his mom questioned why he was acting strange, Jonathan hid his high behavior as feeling stressful, but Murray was able to see past his lie and chose not to say anything about it. Jonathan and Argyle then mentioned the incident of Angela getting injured at the roller rink where they described it to Joyce and Murray. When Argyle stated he believed Angela was going to be fine, this caused Mike to make an offhand comment about it as he had been deceived by El earlier and for El to abruptly excuse herself from the table and storm off into her bedroom. As Joyce and Murray looked confusion over the tension between the children, the high Jonathan and Argyle assured Murray that the problem was not his dinner and that they found it delicious.

The next morning, Jonathan's attempts to coax a glum Mike and Will to get out of house by showing him an ad for the movies is unsuccessful. While Mike brought a dish of waffles to El in her bedroom, Jonathan read the newspaper while Will watched T.V., until they were interrupted by the doorbell. Jonathan opened it to find two police officers asking if Jane Hopper lived there. Jonathan, addressing himself as El's brother, said that their mother was out of town, and was shocked when the officers said they had a warrant for El's arrest due to the incident at Rink-O-Mania. As El was arrested, Jonathan asked if the cuffs were necessary as she was placed in the police car. Will asked Jonathan if Joyce's flight had left yet, causing Jonathan to bolt inside and call, but it had been too late.

At the police station, Mike, Will, and Jonathan speak to the front desk, with the woman explaining that El was being processed and would be transferred to juvenile hall. Despite Will and Jonathan telling her that they were El's brothers, the woman said that since Joyce was El's legal guardian, they couldn't release her. Leaving, Jonathan and Will bickered about what to do, until they notice Mike bolting into the street to chase the car escorting El out of Lenora Hills.

As Jonathan tried to get in touch with the airlines and the juvenile detention center, he, Will, and Mike were surprised by the arrival of government agents, Ellen Stinson and her two colleagues. Letting the agents inside his home, Jonathan, Will, and Mike were told by the federal agents that they, along with Dr. Owens, had rescued El and dropped the charges against her. However, they also revealed to the boys that Dr. Owens has escorted El away to help her regain her powers as there was a murder spree connected to the Upside Down occurring in Hawkins. While completely shocked by these turn of events, Jonathan asked the agents how it will take for El to get her powers back, which Stinson theorized it would probably take weeks or months. Jonathan the listened to Will and Mike object to the agents about staying safe in California by pointing out their friends lived in Hawkins. However, Jonathan, Will, and Mike heard Stinson that there was another faction within the government hunting for El right now as they wrongly believed El to be the culprit behind the murders. In addition, Jonathan, Mike, and Will were told they could not risk contacting their friends as it would endanger them and their loved ones. After Stinson asked the boys to trust her, Owens, and the agents, Jonathan watched Stinson give Mike a letter from El, causing him to go into another room to read it. As Jonathan and Will took a moment to accept these new developments, Stinson left them in the care of her colleagues, Agents Wallace and Harmon.

The next morning, Jonathan was asked where he was going by Harmon and Wallace, who hogged the living room sprawled out watching golf on T.V. Jonathan said he was going to get a soda, sarcastically asking if it was allowed since he was under "house arrest". Harmon and Wallace said they weren't under arrest, causing Jonathan to remark further that they were there to protect him, muttering under his breath that all they do is watch television. In the kitchen, Jonathan stared sadly at a picture of Nancy, before noticing a coupon of Surfer Boy Pizza, and soon came up with a plan. Finding Mike and Will in his bedroom, Jonathan told the boys that if what Owens' friends said about contacting their friends in Hawkins would put El in danger, the next best solution was to go to Hawkins themselves. Will asked how they could sneak out, causing Jonathan to remark that "Ponch and John" were too distracted by the T.V. to notice. Will further pointed out they didn't have a car or money, to which Jonathan held up the Surfer Boy Pizza coupon and said they'll hail themselves a cheap ride. The boys soon told the agents they were hungry, having them call Surfer Boy Pizza to have Argyle deliver food, where the trio would sneak out to the van. When the boys hear honking from outside, they attempted to climb through the window when shots began ringing out. Jonathan instructed the boys to stay there, bolting up the stairs to find Harmon shooting down army officers. Jonathan then ran down the stairs, saying they had to leave, only for the window to get smashed in by an army officer. The boys then run back up and hide behind Harmon as a shootout ensued, destroying their house in the process as Jonathan shielded his brother and Mike. Harmon told the boys to run as he shot to give them an opening, only to get a gunshot wound in the gut. Outside, Argyle was stopped by Jonathan as he, Mike, Will, and a bleeding Harmon climbed in. The group screamed at a scared and confused Argyle to drive as an armed officer began to approach the van as they sped off.

##### On the Run

While on the road, after escaping from the soldiers, Jonathan, Will, and Mike tended to the wounded Harmon as Argyle continued driving his his van. Jonathan instructed Argyle to drive to St. Mary's Hospital so they could help Harmon get proper treatment for his wounds. However, Harmon told the boys to not take him to a hospital and revealed to them that the soldiers would soon figure out where El was located and that they had to warn Dr. Owens. At this information, Jonathan questioned Harmon on how they would find Owens where he heard Harmon mutter the name "Nina". Jonathan, Will, and Mike were then given a pen by Harmon, making them realize Harmon had a phone number that could be used to contact Nina. The boys tried to get Harmon to write down the phone number as Jonathan tried to keep Harmon alive, only to become horrified to watch Harmon succumb to his injuries and die. As the boys let the moment sink in, they spotted a car tailgating them, prompting them to yell at the paranoid Argyle to drive off road. Once Argyle did what he was told, Jonathan and his friends were able to lose their pursuer and escape into a desert.

By the afternoon, the boys pulled off to an abandoned junkyard to bury Harmon's corpse. Argyle began to have a panic attack upon being told of Eleven's true identity and why the boys were on the run, fearing they will all be killed. Jonathan yelled to Argyle that things would be okay if they opened their minds, causing Argyle to spiral even further as he pointed out the open grave in front of him. Jonathan grabbed Argyle and shook him to calm down, soothing him by telling him to smoke more Purple Palm-Tree Delight. As Argyle apologized and went to go smoke, Will scolded Jonathan for encouraging him to have more weed, but an exhausted Jonathan said he didn't have any better ideas and instructed to just finish burying Harmon. Later, Jonathan was looking at a map when Argyle asked what Harmon's name was, making a headstone out of a pizza box titled "Unnamed Hero Agent Man". Jonathan pointed out how making a headstone with their names on it defeated the purpose of them hiding Harmon's body, but gave up and cursed under his breath. When the pen Argyle used wasn't working, Mike realized that Harmon gave them a pen that didn't work for a reason, unscrewing it to find a note with a number for Nina.

The boys had Argyle pull off at a phone booth by the side of the road. Will and Jonathan stood by as Mike put the number into the phone, only to get robotic noises on the end. Will and Mike noticed that it sounded like effects from the movie WarGames. causing Jonathan to realize they were calling a computer. Opening up the van's trunk, Mike laid open their map, pointing out that if Nina was a code, they'd need a hacker, and the only hacker he knew lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. Will began to chuckle when he realized who Mike was talking about. Jonathan, confused, asked what Will was talking about, but soon began to cringe when Will started to sing "The NeverEnding Story", realizing the hacker was Dustin's girlfriend, Suzie Bingham. Though Jonathan was skeptical, Mike explained that Suzie saved the world last year and could help them save it again.

    On March 26, Jonathan and his friends were able to reach Salt Lake City, Utah by morning and arrived at Suzie's house, tired and exhausted from the drive. Knowing Suzie and her family were Mormons, Jonathan told everyone to be on their best behavior before he and Mike tried to explain the Binghams' religion to Argyle. When Mike rang the doorbell, they were greeted by Suzie's younger brother, Cornelius whom Mike asked if Suzie was home, only for the boy to shoot a toy arrow into his forehead. Entering the house uninvited, Jonathan and his friends saw all of Suzie's siblings engaging in various activities, but none of the younger children were willing to help the boys as they were too engaged with their hobbies. Seeing Suzie's older sister, Eden putting Cornelius on a time out, Mike and his friends followed her upstairs and asked her where Suzie is where she gave them directions to Suzie's bedroom. When the boys entered Suzie's bedroom, Jonathan was disappointed to see Suzie wasn't around until Mike realized she was outside upon noticing an opened window. Once they spotted Suzie on the roof of the house, Jonathan and his friends told her they were friends of Dustin's and that they needed her help. After settling down, the boys lied and explained that Nina was a code name for a 16-bit top secret video game system named the "American-tendo", and that they needed Suzie to find its location since it was for the promotion. Suzie’s interest peeks when the boys told her it was an early birthday present for Dustin, though she revealed that her father had taken away her computer system to his locked study after she confessed to helping Dustin change his grades and was dating an "agnostic". The boys were disappointed, but Suzie began hatching a plan when Cornelius once again turned off the circuit breaker. Distracting her father by having her siblings harass him with their antics, Suzie brought Mike, Will, and Jonathan to his study, though Jonathan and Will realized Argyle was missing. Suzie soon used the a software named the Internet to locate Nina. When Jonathan asked what the Internet was, Suzie simply told him it would change the world. Typing in Nina’s number, the location was revealed to be in Ruth, Nevada. Suzie printed out the coordinates and led the trio downstairs to the front yard, sniffing the air and saying that they might've spooked a skunk. Noticing smoke and music coming from the Surfer Boy Pizza van, the group opened it to find a high Argyle and Eden laying on one another, much to Suzie's shock.

##### Helping El fight Vecna

By the morning of March 27, the boys had arrived to Nevada. Jonathan, taking over the drive due to Argyle remaining high, struggled to stay awake as he smacked his face. Argyle perked up when he noticed Surfer Boy Pizza had expanded to Nevada and joked that they would take down Dominoes, annoying Jonathan. But Jonathan's annoyance melted when he noticed Will revealing to Mike in the back of the van the painting he worked so hard on. Will lied that Eleven had commissioned the painting, and used El's name to orchestrate how he felt about Mike. Will explained that "El" felt like a mistake due to being "different", and Mike’s heart caused "El" the courage to go on. Cheering up Mike, Will turned away to silently sob in his hand, leaving Jonathan disheartened as he he continued to drive.

Nine hours later, the boys were in the outskirts of the desert, with Jonathan skeptical of Suzie's coordinates being accurate despite Mike and Will saying she was a genius, with Jonathan saying even geniuses made mistakes. Argyle's commentary that Nina was a small woman hiding caused Jonathan to slam down on the van brakes and reassess the map before they got more lost. Jonathan was left frustrated after the measurements remained the same, but he and the boys were alerted by Argyle that he found something: large tire tracks, which meant military were close to finding Nina as well. The boys climbed back into the van and followed the tracks.

Soon, Jonathan honked the horn when discovering Eleven, her head now shaven, surrounded by dead bodies and a looming helicopter over her. Seeing his sister in danger, Jonathan accelerated on the gas, but El used her returning powers to bring down the helicopter, causing Jonathan to swerve and stop the van. The boys climbed out and reunited with Eleven, with Jonathan telling her they had to get her out of here. Suddenly, a collar locked around El's neck was released through a dying Dr. Martin Brenner via remote control. After coldly parting ways with him, El joined her friends into the van and headed back onto the road before the military came. El told the boys they needed to get to Hawkins by that night, but Jonathan said it'd be impossible since it was over 2,000 miles. El informed them they had to find a way as all of their friends back in Hawkins were going to die tonight.

Eleven explained to the boys that the true perpetrator of the murder spree plaguing Hawkins was an entity named Vecna by their friends. Vecna originally was the very first child test subject of Hawkins Lab, being named "One", and went on a murderous rampage before Eleven banished him to the Upside Down back in 1979. Now activated, Vecna's plan was to kill four people in Hawkins using his abilities, with Max Mayfield being the fourth and final victim targeted that will cause portals to the Upside Down to rip open and destroy the world. As the group stopped at a gas station to fill up the Surfer Boy Pizza van, Jonathan called up numerous airports and pleaded for a last-minute flight to Hawkins, claiming he had a sick relative in need. With no success, he informed Mike and Will the earliest flight would be the next morning, which they all agreed would be too late. The trio grew bothered when Argyle suggested asking if they could sit in the baggage department, forgetting they would suffocate. Eleven interrupted and explained that she had a way of protecting Max from Nevada. Drawing a blueprint on the van's windows with fog, she explained to the boys that both Vecna and her have the ability to go into Max's mind at the same time. Just like how she infiltrated both her mother and Billy Hargrove's minds, El could protect Max from their current location using a bathtub of some kind as a substitute for a sensory deprivation tank. Mike, Will, and Jonathan struggled to figure out where they could find a place to have a tub of water and enough salt for Eleven's buoyancy. Argyle, taking Eleven's measurements, told the group he knew a place where they could get all the salt they needed, and climbed into the van to drive off.

The crew soon drove into a local Surfer Boy Pizza parking lot. Inside, Argyle greeted an equally stoned yet equally friendly Surfer Boy Pizza employee. Argyle explained the situation to the employee, and told him that in order for El to save the world, they'd need his restaurant. The employee was hesitant since he had to meet someone at Taco Bell, but Jonathan had a solution by offering the employee Argyle's Purple Palmtree Delight as payment for giving them the restaurant. After sending the employee on his way, Jonathan put the closed sign on the door and helped the crew get to work. Jonathan and Will poured salt into an empty pizza dough freezer while Mike taped cardboard around sunglasses to block out El's vision.

Later, as Will and Jonathan continued mixing the salt into the freezer, Jonathan noticed Will sadly watching El, Mike, and Argyle have fun in the dining area. Distracting him, Jonathan asked Will if he remembered the time one of his LEGO figurines named Larry got stuck in his nose. Will was initially confused, but began laughing as Jonathan reminisced about how Will begged Jonathan to get it out using tweezers. As the brothers laughed, Jonathan commented how he felt like Will didn't come to him for help the way that he used to, but admitted that he had become distant the past year from being stoned. He took accountability for how hiding from his problems affected his relationship with Will, admitting that he missed talking with him incredibly, and that they needed to talk more than ever. As Will grew emotional, Jonathan emphasized that he didn't want Will to forget that he'd be there for him and love his brother no matter what, and nothing would ever change that. A teary Will agreed and said he'd always be there for Jonathan as well. Jonathan said he knew he would and pulled Will in for a hug as his brother wept. As Will composed himself, Jonathan told him things would be okay, before saying there deprivation tank was finally ready. Alerting El, Jonathan grabbed a radio and changed it to white noise. Soon, El was lowered into the tank as the quartet of boys watched over her as she transported herself into the Void.

In there, El told the boys that Max's plan to bait Vecna into her mind so that the Party can kill him while his body was vulnerable wasn't working, but this changed when Max was soon possessed. Using her abilities, El transported herself into a memory of Max at a skatepark in California during the late 1970s. El eventually found Max, young and unresponsive to her, but soon discovered the memory of the Snow Ball back in 1984 combining with the current memory, causing a dark cloud to rift through. There, El brought herself into the Snow Ball and rescued Max in time by stopping Vecna, causing a battle to break out between the two. Vecna proved to have the upper hand, pinning El with tentacles so she could watch Max be killed by Vecna. El began to hyperventilate in reality, choking as the boys hoisted her out of the freezer and placed her on the table. Jonathan held his sister's arm for comfort as Mike admitted that he loved her, motivating her to fight and stop Vecna from torturing Max. Though Vecna faded from the Void after the Party attacked him in the Upside Down and ultimately disappeared, the damage had already been done to Max, who succumbed to her injuries and died, allowing the four gates to open and tear apart through Hawkins. But El refused to let Max go, and used her telekinesis to restart Max's heart.

##### Return to Hawkins

On March 29, two days later, the Surfer Boy Pizza van had finally arrived to Hawkins, being the only car entering Hawkins as a line of cars exited out. Hawkins had now become a center of hysteria within the news, with the opening of the gates being seen as an earthquake, leaving the townspeople either dead, injured, or homeless. The group drove the car throughout their old town in shock as they saw buildings in ruins and people displaced from their homes. Finally arriving at the Wheeler house, Eleven, Mike, Will, and Jonathan reunite with Dustin, Nancy, Steve, Robin, and Karen. Nancy and Jonathan ran up to one another as Jonathan picked Nancy up to hug her. As they asked if one another was okay, Jonathan explained to Nancy that he knew Hawkins wasn't destroyed by an earthquake and knew a lot more than she thought. Nancy asked how he could since they've been trying to call them, but Jonathan interrupted and apologized, saying they couldn't risk contact. He further explained that he'd tell her everything, but was just happy she was safe, planting a kiss on her head as the couple hugged tight.

Later, El, Mike, Will, Nancy, and Jonathan visited Hawkins Hospital, where Lucas and Erica Sinclair sat with Max, now comatose and her limbs in casts. Lucas informed the group that the doctors weren't sure Max would wake up or not, and that her heart restarting was nothing short of a miracle.

That afternoon, El, Mike, Will, Nancy, Jonathan, and Argyle drove up to Hopper and El's old cabin. As they walk inside, Mike and Jonathan scoffed at the damage the Mind Flayer had left from the house last summer, but Nancy was optimistic they could fix it so they could hide El from the government for the time being. Nancy and Jonathan began boarding up the broken windows when Nancy observed Argyle collecting mushrooms from afar. Jonathan admitted that his friend was a bit on the eccentric side, causing the couple to laugh. Jonathan soon apologized to Nancy for not being there to protect her. Nancy at first said that she was happy he wasn't, before quickly correcting herself and saying she was happy he was there to protect Mike and Will. Jonathan agreed that Nancy was better off staying in Hawkins to make sure everything ran well, jokingly asking if Steve would've been better to take charge. Nancy admitted that Steve had begun to mature, much to Jonathan's surprise. After a moment of silence, Jonathan asked if things between them were okay, and Nancy hesitantly said they were, excusing that life kept getting in their future. Nancy then asked if Jonathan's acceptance letter from Emerson ever arrived, causing Jonathan to lie and say it hadn't. Their conversation was interrupted by a black government car arriving to the cabin, where Joyce had returned alongside Jim Hopper, who was revealed to have been alive and was rescued by Joyce from Kamchatka, Russia, after being held prisoner there since last year. After Will and Jonathan hugged their mother, they watched happily as Joyce reunited with El. However, Jonathan noticed Will staring fearfully at the sky as the group noticed clouds looming and particles beginning to fall from the sky. Joyce, Hopper, El, Mike, Will, Nancy, and Jonathan soon made their way out to the field from the woods, seeing flowers around them as the clouds shoot bolts of red lightning. Jonathan and Nancy held hands in fear as the group realized that the Upside Down was beginning its invasion of the world.

## Personality

Jonathan is smart, introverted, asocial, kind, independent, and brave. Despite being a small-town boy, according to Joyce, he wants to go to college at New York University. He has a strong bond with his family and is implied to have a soft spot for animals, as he cried for a week after his tenth birthday when his father forced him to kill a rabbit on a hunting trip. He also has a keen interest in music, creating several mixtapes for himself and his brother, and is an aspiring photographer.

In 1984, Jonathan's personality managed to change a little bit. He became protective of Will, but not as much as his mother. He even encouraged Will to not let his differences bother him and that it's okay to be different not matter what. Jonathan tries to be by his brother's side despite it being difficult as Jonathan noted that Will has changed a lot since his time in the Upside Down. Jonathan was also not too happy with his mother's relationship with Bob Newby as both he and Joyce suffered from constant verbal abuse from his father than Will ever did. Jonathan also became friends with Steve Harrington and was on good terms with him. Jonathan also developed feelings for Nancy Wheeler who shared his trauma, but struggled to accept them until he was encouraged by Murray Bauman. And by a month later, Jonathan was happy to start a relationship with Nancy.

In 1985, Jonathan had become a devoted boyfriend to Nancy as he was willing to help and take care of her while they both worked at *The Hawkins Post*. Jonathan disapproved of how his co-workers treated Nancy and always comforted after she was insulted while trying to stay loyal to his job. Jonathan was even willing to assist Nancy in gaining respect from their co-workers, but when Nancy started to go through such lengths to earn the approval, she believed she deserved, Jonathan became reluctant and worried that Nancy was not making the right decisions. When Nancy's determination led to the both of them getting fired, Jonathan angrily blamed Nancy for costing him his job and means to support his family, thus putting a strain on his relationship with her. However, when informed that the Mind Flayer had returned to Hawkins and that both of their brothers could be danger, Jonathan did not hesitate to work with Nancy to protect their brothers and friends while stopping the Mind Flayer. This allowed Jonathan to make amends with Nancy for not fully supporting her and Nancy to apologize for criticizing him, as the two rekindled their relationship.

In 1986, Jonathan had grown to be more carefree and relaxed upon meeting his new best friend, Argyle, beginning to smoke weed with him daily and hiding it from his mother by wearing sunglasses. In turn, he became more goofy and unaware of his surroundings, much to his brother's frustration. His smoking of weed stemmed from his strained long-distance relationship with Nancy, as they both originally planned to attend Emerson College in Massachusetts. He eventually revealed to Argyle that he didn't even apply to Emerson, instead choosing to go to Lenora Community College locally in order to be closer with his family. He didn't want to chase a dream with Nancy that wasn't his, and further revealed that he was planning on ending things with Nancy, believing that if Nancy followed him, she would grow bitter and the pair's relationship would form into Joyce and Lonnie's poor marriage. As the search for Eleven progressed, however, Jonathan slowly grew out of his habit, getting easily annoyed by Argyle's antics. He also slowly started to notice how Will was struggling with his sexuality and revealing his feelings to his best friend, Mike. In turn, Jonathan apologized for not being there for Will, saying that he had been distant due to prioritizing his silly antics, and promises Will that he'll always be there for him and love him no matter what, causing Will to weep and embrace him. Upon traveling across the country to save Nancy and his friends, Jonathan displayed his love for his girlfriend when reuniting with Nancy, but still failed to admit the truth about his Emerson acceptance letter, and also becoming worried about their relationship after Nancy admits admiration of Steve's maturity.

## Abilities

* **High-Level Intelligence:** Jonathan is shown to have an above-average level of intellect in planning out strategies, options, and tactics in desperate situations. When his brother went missing, he went in the woods to find any clues by taking photos of everything unusual he found and when Nancy asked for his help about her friend Barbara going missing after he edited her picture and saw that the creature known as the Demogorgon took her and Will into the Upside Down and planned to go after it. He used a map to mark all known areas the monster travels and knew it’s next current location then on the day after, Both he and Nancy went to a hunter store for tools and supplies to as a trap to destroy the Demogorgon in his house and took his mother's advice that when the lights go off it would arrive, then when it got caught in the bear trap they set it on fire as their tactic which worked.

* **Expert Photographer:** As a hobby Jonathan is an excellent camera photographer as he prefers to observe people instead of talking to them for he said when he captures the right moments, he could read them better. He sneaks in the woods near Steve Harrington's and takes multiple photographs of everyone in the pool, Nancy and Steve were in his bedroom, including Barbara near the pool alone then edited all of them in perfect shape. He managed to get great pictures at a virus carrying rat before it exploded by the Mind Flayer.
* **Skilled Investigator:** Jonathan is very skilled, in doing detective work. He was capable to reconstruct a crime scene in Heather’s house by mind looking at the blood, chemicals, and materials around the scene of everywhere.
* **Craftsmanship:** When getting in preparation for setting up a trap for the Demogorgon, he took nails and hammered them to a baseball bat creating a spiked melee weapon to use against it with ease.

* **Gunmanship:** He has basic proficiency in wielding a firearm, as he used to go hunting with his father when he was 10 and shot a rabbit as his first kill.
* **Hand-To-Hand Combatant:** Jonathan is very skilled in using his bare fists in fighting against opponents in close combat. He demonstrated this ability when being provoked by Steve and punched him in his face, hits him harder after getting attacked a few times which caused him a concussion, and placed scars/bruises to his face. Jonathan defeats Steve in the process.
* **Melee Weapon Proficiency:** Jonathan is capable to wield melee weapons, any weapon used in direct hand-to-hand close-quarter combat just by putting his hands on ranging blunt, edged, or pointed materials. He quickly grabbed a flower vase to bash against Tom’s face which also affected Ben, then a pair of scissors to stab it in Tom’s neck lethality killing both them due to being Flayed by the Mind Flayer. And he was able to pierce through the Mind Flayer skin with an axe with ease.
* **Immense Human Durability:** Jonathan has been shown to take several blows during battle. However, he tends to regroup and get back into battle with ease. This is presented during his fight with former rival, Steve (who he defeated with ease in a fist fight), as well as his showdown with Tom Holloway and Bruce Lowe, once they became Flayed.

## Relationships

### Familial

**Lonnie Byers**

Jonathan had a complicated and spiteful relationship with his father, Lonnie. Like Will, Lonnie forced Jonathan to do "manly" activities, forcing him to hunt on his tenth birthday and making him kill a rabbit, causing Jonathan to cry for a week. It's implied that Lonnie and Jonathan have gotten in physical altercations, as when Jonathan pushed off Lonnie when searching his house for Will, Lonnie commented that he had "gotten stronger". Upon his parents' divorce, Jonathan took over Lonnie's role as a father figure in Will's life, actively encouraging Will to like what people deem "not normal" and telling him that Lonnie was the last person to tell Will what he should like.

In the fall of 1983, Jonathan took it upon himself to investigate Lonnie's home in Indianapolis, frustrated over his father's lack of urgency that Will was missing and coldly gave him a missing flyer poster. When Lonnie returned to Hawkins for Will's funeral and tended to a seemingly mentally unwell Joyce, Lonnie sternly told Jonathan to stop encouraging Joyce's claims of a monster taking Will, while also telling him to take down his poster of *The Evil Dead*. When Joyce discovered that Lonnie only returned to Hawkins to get lawsuit money off of Will's death, Lonnie lied by saying they could use the money for Jonathan's college fund, only to reveal that he didn't even know that Jonathan wanted to go to NYU since he was six.

In the fall of 1984, when Jonathan met with Murray Bauman with Nancy Wheeler to expose Hawkins National Laboratory, Jonathan confirmed that Lonnie was an asshole, showing his ill will towards his father. Murray also questioned if Jonathan's hesitance to admit his feelings for Nancy stemmed from his trust issues of his father, showing that Jonathan feared becoming like Lonnie.

In the spring of 1986, as Jonathan dealt with the stress of college and continuing his long-distance relationship with Nancy, he revealed that breaking up with Nancy would be the best option since if things kept going further, he and Nancy would end up like Joyce and Lonnie, showing that he continued to fear becoming like his father.

**Joyce Byers**

Though Joyce deeply cared for her eldest son just as she did for Will, she felt guilty that she had been unable to support him more, due to her time-consuming job. Joyce admitted to Jonathan that "I hardly know what's going on with you". After Will vanished, Joyce's sanity was tested, and in turn so was the relationship between her and her remaining son. However, Jonathan does care for his mother greatly, going as far as fighting Steve for insulting her and Will. When Jonathan realized that his mother was telling the truth about Will being alive, he apologized and the two reconciled, where they managed to reunite with Will after his rescue from the Upside Down.

In 1984, Jonathan continued to have a good relationship with his mother as they both became protective of Will (though Jonathan was less protective of Will than his mother). However, Jonathan did not support his mother's relationship with Bob Newby as he did not understand what she saw in him. After discovering Will's possession of the Mind Flayer, Jonathan worked with his mother to free Will from the Mind Flayer by burning it out of him. When putting Will under so much heat did not work, Jonathan begged his mother to stop the process and nearly freed Will until Nancy stopped him by showing the Mind Flayer developing black veins on Will's neck. When a possessed Will started to strangle Joyce, Jonathan tried to save his mother before she was saved when Nancy burnt Will. After Will was freed from the Mind Flayer, Jonathan embraced both his mother and brother. A month later, Jonathan playfully used a video camera to record his mother and Will practice dancing for the Snow Ball.

In 1985, Joyce seemed happy for Jonathan when he has a girlfriend. She wiped the lipstick of his cheek and doesn’t seem to mind that Nancy spent the night with him. When she heard that her kids are in danger, she, Hopper, Murray and Alexei raced back to Hawkins to save them. Jonathan was put in charge by his mother to take care of Will. After the event, Jonathan moved out of Hawkins with his mother and brother.

In 1986, though Jonathan continued to have a good relationship with his mother, he began to smoke weed to deal with his stress over college and his relationship with Nancy. Jonathan kept his use of drugs and stressed feelings a secret from his mother as she was busy with her new job and would not approve of him doing drugs. At the beginning of spring break, Jonathan was put in charge by his mother of watching over Will, Mike, and Eleven as she had to go to a "conference" in Alaska. Though Jonathan was high when Joyce told him this, he accepted this responsibility and managed to hide his high state as feeling tired. When returning to Hawkins, after temporarily defeating Vecna, Jonathan was reunited with his mother and shared an embrace with her.

**Will Byers**

Jonathan is Will's older brother by four years. Due to their father's absence, Jonathan became a role model and a substitute father for Will. After Lonnie failed to take Will to a baseball game, Jonathan gave Will a mixtape with what would become Will's favorite song, The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go". When they heard Joyce arguing on the phone with Lonnie, Jonathan shut his bedroom door. Will asked if their father wasn't coming, and Jonathan asked if Will even liked baseball. Will said he didn't but tried to say it was fun to go with their father sometimes. Jonathan than asked if Lonnie did what Will wanted to do, such as the arcade. Jonathan said that Will shouldn't be forced to like things because people tell him to, especially not their father. Jonathan then asked if Will legitimately liked The Clash, and Will happily confirmed so. The brothers turned up the volume on Jonathan's stereo and began jamming together. In 1982, the day Lonnie left the Byers' home permanently, Jonathan and Will built Castle Byers together, using Will's drawings as blueprints. Jonathan found Will struggling to hammer funny, and the two continued to built the fort even after it began raining and got sick afterwards.

In 1983, Jonathan had picked up an extra shift and failed to make sure Will got home safe, causing Will to be abducted by the Demogorgon. The day afterward, Jonathan and Joyce looked all through the woods for Will. That evening, Jonathan brought out photos of Will to make wanted posters. Joyce, noticing Jonathan sobbing quietly, asked him what was wrong. Jonathan, through his tears, said that he should have been there for his brother, but Joyce comforted him and told him it was not his fault. Jonathan is frazzled and emotional when Joyce believed she heard Will on the end of the phone, only for the phone to shock Joyce and become charred. The next day, Jonathan asked Hopper if he could personally go to Lonnie's home since Will was good at hiding, believing if he saw cops, he would get scared. Jonathan later hung posters of his brother at Hawkins High. Despite Hopper's warning not to, Jonathan ditched school to confront his father, searching his car. Finding nothing, Jonathan defended his brother when Lonnie said Will could never take care of himself, and gave him a missing poster. When a body resembling Will is recovered at the quarry, Jonathan is devastated, locking himself in his room and tearfully listened to music. The next morning, Joyce, Hopper, and Jonathan went to see Will's corpse at the morgue. Jonathan, nauseated, couldn't stay in the room, and left gagging. When he realized through Nancy that Will was alive, he became determined to find him. When Joyce and Hopper finally rescued Will from the Upside Down, Jonathan reunited with his brother at the hospital. When a weak Will finally awoke, Jonathan and Joyce tearfully greeted him. Will asked where he was, and Jonathan told him he was finally home. Will pointed to his bandaged hand and asked if was alright, and Jonathan told him it was just a small cut, laughing that Will was concerned over something so silly. A month later, Jonathan picked up Will from the Wheeler home, and allowed Will to open his present from Nancy and Steve, a new camera. At home, Jonathan used the camera to take pictures of Will looking at Christmas presents. The boys spent Christmas Eve with their mother by eating dinner.

A year later, in 1984, Jonathan has become protective of Will, but not nearly as much as his mother. When talking to Will in his bedroom, he noticed Will drawing himself as "Zombie Boy". Concerned, Jonathan attempted to get Will to open up, but a frustrated Will said that he's grown sick of everyone becoming so attentive of him, saying it makes him feel more like a freak. Jonathan told him he wasn't, and Will reaffirmed that he was. After a moment, Jonathan agreed that Will was a freak, catching Will off guard. But Jonathan said that he shouldn't be like everyone else and being a freak is a best since Jonathan himself is a freak. Will asked if that was because he didn't have friends, causing Jonathan to chuckle awkwardly and say he had friends. Will asked then why does he always hang out with him, causing Jonathan to say that his brother is his best friend, and he'd rather hang out with "Zombie Boy" than some "boring nobody". He asked Will who he'd rather hang out with: Kenny Rogers or David Bowie. When Will reacted to Kenny Rogers in disgust, Jonathan reaffirmed his statement, saying that nobody normal ever accomplished anything meaningful in this world. Bob interrupted them and said that he loved Kenny Rogers, causing the brothers to laugh when Bob left the room. On Halloween, when driving Will to the Wheelers, Jonathan complained to Will that he didn't get what their mother saw in Bob. Will defended Bob, saying that he didn't treat him different than everyone else, noting how lame it was he couldn't go trick-or-treating alone. Jonathan jokingly asked if he was lame, and Will said that he wasn't, but it wasn't like Nancy was watching Mike. Arriving at the Wheelers, Jonathan stopped Will and told him that if he didn't get in any trouble and got back to Mike's by 9:00, Jonathan would allow him to go trick-or-treating alone. After leaving town to assist Nancy in taking down Hawkins Lab, Jonathan returned to find his house in disarray, and realized that Will and his mom was at Hawkins Lab. He would later reveal to Nancy that it was difficult to support Will due to the changes in his behavior after surviving in the Upside Down last year. After rescuing his brother and mother from vicious Demodogs and returning home, Jonathan tearfully rubbed his unconscious brother's hair, apologizing for not being there for him. In the Byers' shed, when interrogating Will, Jonathan attempted to regain his brother's memories by emotionally recollecting the time they built Castle Byers and the first time he showed him The Clash by playing it on his radio. At Hopper's cabin, Joyce, Jonathan, and Nancy attempted to get the Mind Flayer out of Will by overheating him and tying him down. Will's cries of pain proved to get to Jonathan, who hugged Nancy and turned away as tears streamed down his face. When the plan appeared to not be working, Jonathan began turning off the radiators, much to Joyce's protest. Jonathan yelled that she was killing him, but after Nancy pointed out that it was working since the Mind Flayer was beginning to exit Will's body through his throat. After the plan succeeded, Joyce and Jonathan hugged a disoriented yet once again normal Will. A month later, Jonathan video-recorded Will practicing to slow dance with his mother in their living room. Will asked if he always had to record everything, and Jonathan smugly said that he only recorded the "good stuff". Jonathan chaperoned Will at the Snow Ball while he took photos for students.

In 1985, Jonathan left for work while Joyce rubbed a kiss mark from Nancy (who secretly spent the night and snuck out of Jonathan's bedroom window). Will expressed his disgust while Joyce said it would be different when he fell in love. When Nancy discovered Mrs. Driscoll's behavior in the hospital was near identical to Will's the year prior, she called Jonathan and asked if Will was safe, alarming Jonathan. The couple reunited with their siblings and friends at the Wheeler home. Will scolded Jonathan for not being with Nancy, but Jonathan bluntly said that he was here now and that's what was important. While the kids battle the Mind Flayer, Joyce told Will to listen to his brother. In October, Will and Jonathan silently drove together as they (and Joyce with Eleven) moved out of Hawkins, with Will crying in silence.

By 1986, Will was starting to be inadvertently ignored by Jonathan due to him stressing about college and his relationship with Nancy, coping by smoking weed with Argyle. When dropping off the kids at the Rink-O-Mania, Jonathan called out to Will, smiling as he told him to have fun. Will flatly said he would as he trudged in, and Jonathan was shown to be somewhat concerned. Jonathan then revealed he planned to attend community college so he can remain close to Will and his family instead of attending college with Nancy as he did not want to abandon them. After he and Argyle smoked weed to de-stress, they returned to Rink-O-Mania to find an ambulance attending to Angela's broken nose, with Mike, Will, and El sitting glumly. After being picked up by Jonathan and Argyle, Will was annoyed as Jonathan and Argyle joked about the roller-skating incident as they had been smoking weed. The next morning, Jonathan attempted to coax Will and Mike to go see a showing of *Police Academy 3* and not mope around, but Will said it would be better to stay home. Later, the brothers watched television when the doorbell rang with the brothers betting their mom had forgotten something. When Jonathan answered the door, two police officers had arrived to arrest El for attacking Angela. After El's arrest, the brothers attempted to contact their mother, who had flown to Alaska, but they were interrupted by Owen's agents who explained that they rescued El and took her away to help her regain her powers and defeat a new evil in Hawkins. The next morning, Jonathan decided to escape from the agents guarding him, Will, and Mike by hailing a ride from Argyle. Later on, when the army invaded the Byers home, Jonathan protected his brother and Mike by shielding them from the gunfire. Throughout the quartet's days of travel, Jonathan and Will worked together to find El's location. In Nevada, while Jonathan drove, he noticed from the mirror Will lying to Mike that Eleven had commissioned the painting he had worked on, and further noticed how emotional Will became when talking about how "El" felt like a mistake due to being different, but Mike never made "her" feel that way. Though Mike was cheered up, Will began to silently sob into his hand, causing Jonathan to be disheartened over his brother's pain. That night, as the brothers prepared the sensory deprivation tank inside the Surfer Boy Pizza freezer, Will was saddened when observing Mike, El, and Argyle having fun together, Jonathan, noticing, distracted Will by telling him the story of how when they were little, Will had a LEGO figurine named Larry stuck in his nose and Jonathan had to get tweezers to pull him out, causing Will to laugh. Jonathan commented how Will doesn't come to him for help as much as he used to, but doesn't blame him for it since he knows how distance he has grown. He then began to apologize to Will for not being there for him recently, admitting that his problems have affected their relationship, and told him that he missed how they use to talk more. As Will began to tear up, Jonathan told his brother that he loved him and that no matter what, nothing would change that. Will, through his tears, told him he would always be there for him, and Jonathan said he knew he would. The two embraced, and Jonathan told Will that things would be okay as Will wept and composed himself. Two days later, after temporarily defeating Vecna, Jonathan and Will returned to Hawkins where they reunited with their friends and worked to rebuild Hopper's cabin before they happily reunited with their mother. Jonathan was the first to notice a fearful Will looking at the sky and they both witnessed to the invasion of the Upside Down commencing.

**Eleven**

In the fall of 1983, Jonathan first met Eleven when she helped assist his family locate Will in the Upside Down using her telekinetic abilities. In the fall of 1984, Jonathan was shocked upon Eleven's return after saving him and the others from rampant Demodogs.

In the summer of 1985, Jonathan and Eleven worked together alongside Mike, Lucas, Will, Max, and Nancy in taking down the Mind Flayer and Billy. El assisted Jonathan in saving Nancy from the melted form of Bruce Lowe and Tom Holloway. When El was bitten by the Mind Flayer, leaving her ankle punctured, Jonathan assisted in dressing her wound the best he could. When El fainted from exhaustion and began screaming in pain at the Starcourt Mall, Jonathan ran towards a Chinese restaurant and grabbed plastic wrap, a wooden spoon, and a knife heated by a stove. Giving her the spoon to bite down on, Jonathan was honest to El and told her what he was about to do would "hurt like hell", but El allowed him to continue onward with the removal of the infection. El began to scream as Jonathan opened a slit on her leg and riddled through the wound to get the Mind Flayer piece out, but El told him to stop and said she could do it, using the last of her telekinesis to remove the piece. Jonathan later assisted the others in ambushing the Mind Flayer with Lucas' fireworks to save El. Three months later, following Hopper's "death", El had begun living with the Byers, and moved out of Hawkins alongside them.

In the spring of 1986, Jonathan and El have begun to address themselves as siblings or stepsiblings to the public, as they struggled to adjust to their new lives in Lenora Hills, California. El mentioned to Mike in her letter how she discovered Jonathan and his new best friend Argyle smoking "smelly plants" together, and Jonathan told her that they were safe since they came from the earth, but made her promise not to tell Joyce. She also expressed hope that Jonathan could go to Emerson College in Massachusetts with Nancy. When a high Jonathan and Argyle pick up El, Mike, and Will from the Rink-O-Mania after El assaulted Angela, Jonathan attempted to comfort a guilt-ridden El, but made things worse when he and Argyle turned it into a joke. At dinner, El glared at Jonathan when he unintentionally brought up the incident in front of Joyce and Murray. The next day, Jonathan answered the door to find two police officers looking for El. Jonthan addressed himself as El's brother/stepbrother, and was shocked that the police had a warrant for El's arrest after she assaulted Angela. He asked the officers if cuffing El was necessary, and ran back to the house to call Joyce, with no success.

At the police station, Jonathan and Will's attempts to bail El out since they were her family proved to be unsuccessful since they weren't El's legal guardians. After a trio of Dr. Owens' agents arrive at the Byers' home to tell the boys that El has been taken away to reignite her powers in order to defeat a new evil lurking in Hawkins, Jonathan agreed with Mike and Will to sneak away from the agents so they could find El and return to Hawkins. After finding El in Nevada, Jonathan reunited with his foster sister and told her that they needed to get her out of Nevada before the government found her. In the Surfer Boy Pizza van, El said that they needed to get to Hawkins as soon as possible since their friends were in danger, but Jonathan informed her that it was impossible since the drive would be over 2,000 miles. At night, Jonathan helped assist making a sensory deprivation tank for El made from a pizza dough freezer at a local Surfer Boy Pizza in Nevada. When El began to choke as a result of Vecna strangling her in the Void, Jonathan helped lift El out of the freezer and placed her on a table, holding her arm as Mike comforted her. Two days later, El and Jonathan traveled back to Hawkins, finding their former home wrecked from Vecna. Jonathan would help assist El, Mike, Will, Nancy, and Argyle rebuilt the Hopper's family cabin.

### Non-Familial

**Nancy Wheeler**

Nancy and Jonathan spoke to each other when Will went missing, with Nancy reassuring him that Will's going to be fine. Jonathan took pictures of Nancy during a party at the Harrington House and when Nancy found out, she did not hold any resentment towards Jonathan. When Nancy asked for his help in looking for her friend Barbara Holland, Jonathan accepted. The two began to bond over their mutual goal of finding their brother and friend respectively and become close. After discovering Barbara had been killed, Jonathan comforted Nancy and the two worked together in trying to kill the Demogorgon. A month later, after Will's rescue, Jonathan was given a Christmas present from Nancy and was upset on getting Nancy nothing, but Nancy told him it didn't matter and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

In 1984, Jonathan continues to have a bond with Nancy as she invited him to Tina's Halloween Party. Though Jonathan planned to go trick-or-treating with his brother, he decided to go the party. After Nancy got drunk and hurt Steve's feelings, Jonathan took Nancy home and told her what happened the next day. Jonathan helped Nancy in exposing Hawkins Lab to investigator Murray Bauman and the two give into the sexual tension after being pressured by Murray and ultimately kiss (and are hinted at doing more). They later work together in burning the Mind Flayer out of Will. And at the end, while at the Snow Ball, Nancy and Jonathan have started a relationship.

In 1985, Jonathan and Nancy are shown to have become an official couple, sleeping together at Jonathan's house one day. The two also work together at the Hawkins Post. Whenever Nancy was abused or humiliated by her misogynistic co-workers, Jonathan did his best to support and comfort her. When Nancy picked up a story from Doris Driscoll, Jonathan went with her to investigate the story and present it to the Post. However, after the story was rejected which left Nancy cruelly insulted, she ignored Jonathan's attempts to comfort her. When Nancy decided to get more evidence for the story, Jonathan was reluctant to do so, but went along with her in order to support his girlfriend. When they discovered Mrs. Driscoll consuming fertilizer, this lead to them getting fired from the Post and straining their relationship, with Jonathan angry over losing his means to support his family and blaming Nancy for it, causing Nancy to accuse him of being like her tormentors.

When Jonathan got a call from Nancy early the next day, he did not want to speak to Nancy at first, but Nancy informed him of the Mind Flayer's return due to Mrs. Driscoll being possessed and that Will could be in danger. This convinced Jonathan to work with Nancy and the kids on stopping the Mind Flayer. Later, while going to get Mrs. Driscoll at the Hawkins Memorial Hospital so she can lead them to the Mind Flayer's hideout, Jonathan reconciled with Nancy. When they were attacked by a Flayed Tom and Bruce, Jonathan and Nancy did their best to protect each other. Once the melted corpses of Tom and Bruce merged into a monster, Jonathan tried to save Nancy when it attacked her before the Party came to her rescue. Before joining the kids to catch up with the monster, Jonathan checked on Nancy and made sure she was not hurt. Once the Mind Flayer's plot was unraveled, Jonathan and Nancy worked together in protecting the children from the Mind Flayer's avatar until its defeat. Three months later, before moving out of Hawkins, Jonathan consoled a saddened Nancy and said good-bye to her before sharing a hug and a kiss with her.

By 1986, Jonathan and Nancy's relationship has become somewhat strained. The two of them are now thousands of miles apart and Nancy would not be visiting the Byers' residence for spring break alongside Mike, which only causes further tension. Despite making plans to go to college together, Jonathan eventually changed his mind and chose to attend college where he remain close to his family and did not inform Nancy as he did not want her to give up her dreams just to be with him. In addition, Jonathan began to smoke weed as a way to cope with his stress over his relationship with Nancy and his plans for his his future. When learning of a new evil threatening Hawkins from Agents Ellen Stinson, Wallace, and Harmon, Jonathan grew concerned for Nancy's safety and decided to escape from the agents and return to Hawkins to save her. When they reunite, Johnathan and Nancy lovingly embrace and apologize to one another, both of them explaining valid reasons for their absence and silence. However while rebuilding Hopper’s cabin, Jonathan was worried for his relationship with Nancy due to her fondness with Steve and how he matured as a person. When asked by Nancy about receiving his college acceptance letter, Jonathan lied to her, saying he did not get it and seemed relieved when Nancy assured their relationship was still fine.

**Steve Harrington**

Jonathan and Steve initially had a strained relationship due to being polar opposites both in terms of popularity and personality. In 1983, Steve, Nancy, Barb, Tommy, and Carol watched Jonathan pin missing fliers for his brother, Will. Steve initially called him "depressing", but smacked Tommy on the chest and told him to shut up after he insinuated that Jonathan had killed Will. That night, Jonathan stumbled across Steve’s party at his house after investigating the woods, and began to take pictures of him, Nancy, Tommy, and Carol swimming in the pool, possibly insinuating that Jonathan longed to have the life Steve had. The next day, Steve was alerted by her friend, Nicole, about the photos after she saw Jonathan developing them in the photography room at Hawkins High.

When school was over, Steve and his friends waited at Jonathan's car and snatched his book bag away, reviewing the photos. Jonathan attempted to explain that he was looking for his brother, but Steve corrected him by calling it "stalking", becoming angered when discovering a picture of Nancy in her bra. When Nancy arrived and was shown the lewd picture, Steve rolled up a photo and tapped Jonathan on the head, saying that his creepiness was "hardwired" into him, and they needed to get rid of his "toy", his camera. As Tommy pulled it away from Jonathan, Steve pretended to hand it back to him, only to purposefully drop it and cause it to shatter on the ground. Steve coldly left with his posse as Jonathan fell to the ground to scrap his camera up. When Steve climbed up to Nancy’s room and discovered Jonathan comforting Nancy, he took out his anger the next day by spray-painting slurs of Nancy and Jonathan on Hawkins’ movie theatre and walls.

Jonathan attempted to pull Nancy away as she confronted Steve, but Steve began to egg him on by calling him a "queer", a "screw-up" like his parents, and told him he wasn’t surprised that his brother disappeared. This caused Jonathan to snap and violently beat Steve repeatedly, bruising his face significantly, but he was stopped when the police arrived and arrested Jonathan while Steve and his friends ran away. After Steve realized the consequences of his actions, he drove to the Byers home. He profusely knocked on the door, calling Jonathan's name and swearing that he just wanted to talk to him, but was surprised to find Nancy answering the door.

When Steve noticed Nancy's hand bandaged, he forced his way through the door, believing Jonathan had done something, but was caught off-guard to find a plethora of traps set with gasoline and weapons. As Steve began to panic and question what was going on, Jonathan attempted to force Steve out and yelling at him that he needed to leave. It soon became too late as the lights began to flicker and a monster ripped it's way through the wall, causing the trio to run to Will's bedroom. Steve frantically asked what the creature was, both Jonathan and Nancy told him to shut up.

After it became quiet and the trio found the monster had disappeared, Steve began to panic and ran to call the police, only for Nancy to rip the phone out of the wall and told Steve that he needed to leave since the creature was coming back. Steve ran out and prepared to escape, but saw the lights of the house once again beginning to flicker and decided he needed to help his friends. Using a bat with nails hammered into it, Steve assisted in getting the creature inside a bear trap and letting Jonathan set the creature on fire. Once the creature disappeared again permanently, Steve joined in seeing a recovered Will at the hospital. One month later, as Jonathan arrived to pick up Will at the Wheelers, Nancy presented a Christmas gift from her and Steve; a new camera.

One year later, in 1984, Jonathan was shown to keep his distance due to Steve and Nancy's growing relationship. When Jonathan arrived at a Halloween party, he observed a hurt Steve leaving a drunken Nancy behind after she revealed that he didn’t love him. The next day, when Nancy went to confront Steve, he coldly said he figured that her "new boyfriend" would take her home, realizing where Nancy’s feelings truly lied. During lunch, when Nancy asked Jonathan what had happened, he covered Steve by saying that he asked Jonathan to take her home, showing he respected Steve. After Nancy and Jonathan gave into their feelings while investigating Barb’s death, Steve later confirmed to Nancy that he was happy for her and didn’t hold a grudge, showing he supported Jonathan’s relationship with Nancy.

Six months later, in 1985, Jonathan and Steve reunited, when El saved Steve, Dustin, Robin, and Erica from guards at the Starcourt Mall. As the two groups collided, Steve explained that Robin assisted him and the others in discovering Russians infiltrating Hawkins. When Jonathan asked what Russians he was referring to, Steve pointed out that the guards El killed were Russian. Steve later rescued Jonathan and the others by crashing into Billy’s car before he could collide into them. Jonathan then rescued him and Robin by having them get into Nancy's car as the Mind Flayer began to chase them. The group later returned to rescue El by using Lucas' fireworks to weaken the Mind Flayer. After the government arrived to raid the Russian base, Jonathan and Nancy were checked in on by Steve as they sat in an ambulance.

Eight months later, in 1986, when learning of a new evil threatening Hawkins, Jonathan decided to return to Hawkins to save Steve and his other friends. Two days later, Jonathan and the others returned to Hawkins, with Jonathan embracing Nancy, leaving Steve visibly hurt as Robin comforted him. When repairing Hopper’s cabin, Jonathan jokingly questioned if Steve would’ve been in charge had Nancy had not been in Hawkins, but was visibly surprised when Nancy admitted that he had matured, leaving Jonathan a tad worried.

**Mike Wheeler**

Due to Mike being his brother's best friend, Jonathan was well-acquainted with him. When discovering Mike and his friends to be in danger, due to government agents tracking them down, Jonathan was able to figure out a way to contact Mike and ask for his location by using Will's walkie-talkie. When meeting up with Mike, the two worked together in building a sensory deprivation tank so Eleven could use her powers to locate Will in the Upside Down.

In 1984, Jonathan and Mike met up again after escaping from Hawkins National Laboratory when a pack of Demodogs massacred nearly everyone in the lab. The two worked together, along with their friends, in communicating with the possessed Will in order to figure out a way to stop the Mind Flayer.

In 1985, Jonathan and Mike met again and worked together investigating the Flayed and attempting to stop the Mind Flayer. When Mike and Max argued about Eleven's well-being and independence, Jonathan did not jump into the argument and in the end, he looked shocked when Mike blurted out his love for El. After discovering the Mind Flayer's true plan, Jonathan protected Mike and his friends when the Mind Flayer's avatar attacked them. The two continued to work together where they removed a piece of the Mind Flayer out of El's wounded leg and fought against its avatar at Starcourt Mall before it was killed when Joyce turned off the Key that was opening a gate. Three months later, Jonathan was assisted by Mike in packing up his house and said goodbye before moving out of Hawkins with his family.

In 1986, Jonathan met with Mike again when he came to Lenora Hills, California to visit Eleven during spring break. Jonathan greeted Mike and introduced him to his new friend, Argyle. Later, El got arrested for assaulting Angela, Jonathan and Mike tried to get El out of prison before Agent Ellen Stinson informed them that she had been rescued from police custody and left with Dr. Sam Owens to regain her powers so she can help fight a new evil threatening Hawkins. The next day, Jonathan, Mike, and Will all agreed to escape from the watch of Agents Wallace and Harmon to find El and return to Hawkins to save their friends. When soldiers led by Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan ambushed and attacked them, Jonathan protected Mike and Will before they along, with a wounded Harmon, escaped with Argyle.

After Agent Harmon died from his wounds, Jonathan and Mike buried him in a junkyard with Will and Argyle's help. When they found the number Harmon gave them that would help find El's location, Jonathan, Mike, and Will went to call the number, only to realize they were calling a computer. When Mike suggested they request Suzie Bingham's help in using the number to hack into the government system, Jonathan disagreed as he had listened to Suzie's duet with Dustin Henderson when fighting the Mind Flayer last year, but eventually relented. Upon arriving at Suzie's house, they asked for her help and were successful in finding the location of the Nina Project facility where El was.

However, while traveling to find the Nina Project, Jonathan became frustrated, thinking they were lost, despite Mike's reassurance until Argyle pointed they were in the right direction by finding tire tracks belonging to military vehicles. As a result, they were able to rescue Eleven and escape from Colonel Sullivan and his forces in time. Later, they tried to book a flight to Hawkins to save their friends from Hawkins, but when that failed, Jonathan and Mike worked together in building a sensory deprivation tank so Eleven could use her powers to fight Vecna in Max's mind. And as El fought Vecna, Jonathan and Mike kept watch over her before she was able to defeat him.

Two days later, Jonathan and Mike returned to Hawkins together where they reunited with their friends and loved ones before working together to rebuild Hopper's cabin.

**Tommy H & Carol Perkins**

Tommy and Carol were bullies of Jonathan. They picked on Jonathan after Will's disappearance and helped Steve destroy Jonathan's camera after they realized Jonathan took pictures of them during the party at Steve's house. When Steve assumed Nancy cheated on him after seeing her with Jonathan, Tommy and Carol wasted no time in making abusive graffiti of Jonathan and Nancy. After Jonathan and Steve's fight, resulting in Jonathan's arrest, Tommy and Carol continued to bully and laugh at Jonathan and how angry he was during his fight with Steve and how he's in jail. Unfortunately, this caused Steve to disown Tommy and Carol as his friends and to make amends with Jonathan and Nancy for their cruelty.

A year later, Tommy and Carol don't interact with Jonathan, but Tommy still makes fun of Jonathan as he taunted Steve on how Jonathan and Nancy have been skipping class together lately.

**Murray Bauman**

In 1984, Jonathan met Murray Bauman when arriving at his warehouse with Nancy to confess that Hawkins Lab was responsible for the death of Nancy's best friend, Barbara Holland. After working together to make Dr. Owens's recorded confession sound like a chemical spill killed Barbara, Murray noticed Jonathan's feelings for Nancy and encouraged him to embrace them, which he did. The next day, Murray asked Jonathan how was the "pull-out", causing Jonathan to choke up on his drink, confirming Murray's suspicions that Jonathan and Nancy slept together. In 1985, Murray still was on good terms with Jonathan as he gave him and Nancy the keys to his house so they and the kids can be safe from the Mind Flayer.

In 1986, Jonathan remained on good terms with Murray when he visited his family in Lenora Hills, California. While eating dinner with his family and Murray, Jonathan who had been smoking weed with Argyle earlier, passed off his high state as being stressed out, but Murray could tell Jonathan had been smoking weed and did not rant him out to his mother.

**Tom Holloway**

Jonathan was hired by Tom Holloway to be a photographer for *The Hawkins Post*. Jonathan was not treated with disdain by Tom or any of his other co-workers as they focused their bullying on Nancy for being the only female journalist at the Post. Jonathan hated the way Tom and his co-workers were treating his girlfriend, but he didn't do anything about it as he feared it get him fired as Jonathan wanted to help support his family. However, Jonathan helped Nancy investigate Mrs. Driscoll's story about "diseased rats." When Tom did not approve the story and Nancy decided to get more evidence, Jonathan reluctantly went along with her to help. However, when Tom found out that Jonathan helped Nancy look for proof for Mrs. Driscoll's rat story, he fired Jonathan as a result. This left Jonathan upset on losing his job and his means to support his family, nearly damaging his relationship with Nancy. When Jonathan and Nancy learned about the Flayed, along with the kids, and tried to visit Mrs. Driscoll at the hospital, Tom, possessed by the Mind Flayer, tried to kill Jonathan and Nancy, with the help of Bruce Lowe. Tom fought Jonathan and nearly killed him with scissors until he felt Bruce's pain of getting hit by a fire hydrant by Nancy. This allowed Jonathan to kill Tom by stabbing him in the neck with the scissors. After Tom's and Bruce's bodies melted away to form a monster, it was stopped by Eleven from killing Jonathan's girlfriend, Nancy, where it left to become part of the Mind Flayer's avatar.

**Argyle**

After moving to Lenora Hills, California with his family, Jonathan met Argyle and because they were both considered to be outsiders at Lenora Hills High School, the two became close friends. Argyle introduced Jonathan to weed as a way to release stress from college and his relationship with Nancy. He also helped Jonathan and his younger siblings carpool to school since Jonathan's car broke down. When Argyle observed Nancy isn't coming to Lenora Hills for spring break alongside her brother, Jonathan denied Nancy was ditching him and poking holes at his flawed plan to go to Emerson College alongside her. However, Jonathan trusted Argyle enough to actually reveal he got an acceptance letter for Lenora Hills Community College, where Argyle was going, and that he had no intentions of leaving Lenora. Argyle told him he shouldn't have lied to her, and soon caused the both of them to become overwhelmed and smoke "Purple Palm Tree Delight". Later, Jonathan got an idea to ask Argyle for his help in taking him, Mike, and Will across the country back to Indiana to find Eleven and save their friends in Hawkins. When Argyle has a panic attack in the desert after burying the agent, Jonathan shook his reluctant friends and told him to calm down, reminding him of Purple Palm Tree Delight. Argyle relaxed and walks back to his van, apologizing for his outburst, which Jonathan told it was okay. Will reprimanded Jonathan for letting Argyle smoke more weed, but Jonathan does not have any better ideas.

When Argyle wanted to make a headstone for the deceased Agent Harmon, Jonathan, despite understanding his motive, did not think it would be a good idea as it would give away their names. However, after finding the number to locate the Nina Project, Jonathan and Argyle, along with Mike and Will, traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah to seek Suzie Bingham's help in locating the facility, with Jonathan telling Argyle to be on his best behavior as Suzie's family were Mormons. Later, while traveling through Nevada to locate the facility, Jonathan started to grow frustrated, thinking they were lost until Argyle found tire tracks and identified them belonging to military vehicles, allowing them to rescue Eleven in time. After that, Jonathan and Argyle worked together in building a sensory deprivation tank at Surfer Boy Pizza so Eleven could use her powers to fight Vecna from Nevada where the two kept watch over her, along with helping her as she fought Vecna. Two days later, Jonathan and Argyle traveled to Hawkins together and joined the rest of their friends in rebuilding Hopper's cabin.

## Family tree

*note: family trees are only visible on desktop.*

## Memorable Quotes

**Jonathan:**

* "Sometimes, people don't really say what they're really thinking. When you capture the right moment, it says more."
* "I saw this girl, you know, trying to be someone else. But for that moment it was like you were alone."
* "Being a freak is the best, alright? I'm a freak."
* "Nobody normal ever accomplished anything meaningful in this world."
* "In the grand scheme of things, it's just a little blip."
* "Blip. Blip. Blip. Blip. Blip."
* "Can you pass me the olive oil?"
* "You're going to Alaska? What's going on in Alaska? The Britannicas?"
* "Right. No, you're here to protect us. And watch T.V., apparently."
* "You do realize we spent all morning hiding the body?"
* "Or any signs of life would be nice."
* "Do you remember the time you told me you had a LEGO stuck up your nose?"
* "I miss talking to you. I, like, really miss it. And I think right now, we need to talk more than ever. Because things are getting just complicated. Alright, a lot more complicated than LEGOs up the nose, you know?"

## Trivia

* Up until the fourth season, Jonathan drove a 1971 Ford Galaxie 500. By 1986, however, the car had broken down.
* In the first season, Jonathan failed to make sure Will came home the night he disappeared because he was working late. While his job is never stated in the series, the *Montauk* bible states that he worked at the town's movie theater. It can be assumed he quit this job following the first season, as it's never mentioned in the second season and he begins working as an intern at *The Hawkins Post* in the third season.
* When choreographing the fight scene in "The Monster", actor Charlie Heaton accidentally punched Joe Keery twice.
* According to Finn Wolfhard, Charlie Heaton kept breaking character and laughing every time Joe Keery said Steve's abrupt line, "The Germans", in "The Mind Flayer". This eventually caused the Duffer Brothers to deliberately cut him out of the scene, justifying his absense to Finn by saying Jonathan was "in the bathroom".
* The fourth season is the only season of *Stranger Things* not to feature Jonathan's photography hobby whatsoever.
* Jonathan is a fan of Thumper from Disney's *Bambi*.
* In "The Spy", it is revealed Jonathan doesn't use a Polaroid camera.
* Jonathan has desired to attend New York University (NYU) since he was six years old, though he has dropped this dream by 1986 since he's been accepted into Lenora Hills Community College.
* In the *Hawkins High School Yearbook*, his career goal is 'rock photography'.
* Jonathan has only been absent from two episodes; "The Lost Sister" and "The Massacre at Hawkins Lab". Season 1 and Season 3 are the only seasons of the series that he appears in every episodes.

## References

1. ↑ *Stranger Things Winter Special One-Shot*
2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83AGOGW2JSc