‘Stranger Things’ Star Gaten Matarazzo Talks Season 5 Character Changes

Dustin Henderson actor Gaten Matarazzo spoke to Elite Dailyabout all things Dustin, Steve and Stranger Things, and, yes, this OG cast member is just as hurt by the changes made to Dustin and Steve’s friendship as viewers are.

Although Dustin and Steve interacted in Stranger Things season 1—especially because Dustin is close friends with Mike, the brother of Steve’s then girlfriend, Nancy—their shared screen time was minimal. That all changed in season 2 when Steve and Dustin became best friends.

Steve took on a mentor and even brotherly role for Dustin, and their relationship unexpectedly became one of the most beloved in the entire show. Sadly, season 5 has revealed a very different side to Dustin and Steve in its first four episodes.

Following the death of Eddie Munson in season 4, Dustin has clearly become consumed by grief, and it’s taken his goofy, fun-loving, optimistic personality and turned him into someone with a short fuse and no patience. This has devastatingly included Dustin biting even Steve’s head off in certain scenes.

The internet has been abuzz with how painful it is to watch these friends no longer getting along, with both characters even saying they don’t want to speak to each other at various points. Evidently, Matarazzo is right there alongside audiences, absolutely crushed to see this change in Dustin and Steve’s dynamic.

Speaking to Elite Daily, Matarazzo said, “Not only is it difficult to be detached and not have as much fun, but I had a really hard time being as mean to Steve as I was…That was a real bummer. I know it makes sense, but Dustin really does try to actively hurt him throughout this season.”

Particularly the idea that Dustin hurts Steve “throughout” the season suggests that this dynamic will continue in episodes 5, 6 and 7, releasing on Christmas Day, and potentially in the series finale, releasing on New Year’s Eve. (Although there are also still questions about whether Steve will die before the end.)

Yet, Matarazzo is also right that, narratively, this turn for Dustin makes sense. Out of all the deaths the kids have experienced thus far, none has hit Dustin as hard as Eddie’s did. Eddie showed Dustin what it meant to truly not care what others thought or let them define him, and he was very attached to Eddie, only to have him die in his arms.

Of this relationship—and why it’s causing Dustin to act the way he is—Matarazzo said, “Dustin lost somebody he loves so much in Eddie, and he’s being presented with a true fear of it happening to the other people in his life, especially Steve.”

In a way, this takes a bit of the sting out of Dustin’s treatment of Steve thus far in season 5, because it’s clear that it comes from a place of love, but fans are still missing that classic Dustin and Steve friendship, especially considering there are only four episodes left of the show.