Tales from ’85 fixes the final season’s biggest mistake

During the second season of Stranger Things, one of the best new elements introduced was the unlikely friendship between Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) and Steve Harrington (Joe Keery). But like so much else in the show’s final season, this bond was robbed of its charm. Fortunately, one of the episodes of the new animated Stranger Things spinoff, Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85, brings Dustin and Steve’s bromance back to the forefront, allowing for a delightful reminder of why these two clicked in the first place.

When Stranger Things began, Dustin and Steve were seemingly opposite characters. Dustin was an excitable science nerd while Steve was a perfect-haired popular jock, but the second season found them both in vulnerable places. Dustin felt rejected as Max (Sadie Sink) chose Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) over him, and the group’s inner turmoil frustrated him. Steve was also missing Nancy (Natalia Dyer) after their breakup and was trying to figure out who he was after realizing he had usually been a jerk. So when the two randomly bumped into each other in season 2, both needed a friend and what sparked was a genuine — and refreshingly uncomplicated — bromance.

Yet in season 5, with the recent death of Eddie (Joseph Quinn) weighing heavily on Dustin, he began to take it out on Steve. While these kinds of things certainly happen to friendships, there was something about the conflict that seemed manufactured for drama, as though the Duffer Brothers had no other final arc for those two, so they decided to rip them apart simply to reunite them later.

Which is why, when I recently watched episode 4 of Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85, I was delighted to have another adventure with Dustin and Steve in all of its uncomplicated glory.

The episode begins with Steve getting attacked by one of the show’s plantlike demogorgon creatures. While he’s running away, he bumps into Dustin, who’s on his own after another conflict in the main group. The two then resolve to take down the monsters themselves. And in the kind of funny little moment that made their friendship irresistible, Dustin offers Steve a ride on the back of his bike.

From there, the two trap a monster in the back of a refrigerator truck and bring it to the incinerator at the local dump. Along the way, Steve helps Dustin learn to drive the truck and the two have to figure out how the incinerator works while they’re outrunning the monsters. It’s a lot of fun and, despite the fact that two new voice actors are playing these characters, it feels just like the old days.

Steve only appears in one episode of Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85, which takes a more focused look at the main kids, but his return makes for what might be the best episode of the whole first season. While the cartoon has yet to be renewed, I can’t help but hope we’ll get another episode like this next season, because I really can’t get enough of Dustin and Steve.

Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85 is streaming now on Netflix.