Billy is debatable since most people hate him even after season 3. Personally, I don’t count Billy being redeem and he need more buildup within the seasons.

Yeah Billy used to be a fan favorite after season 3 but now most people have gone back to hating on him.

How so?

If you go on YouTube or Reddit and say, “Billy was redeemed”, you’re gonna get overwhelmingly attacked by people who say, “That one good deed doesn’t erase years of abuse and cruelty he inflicted on Max and others.”

Yeah, and the good thing about season 4 is that they actually acknowledge that. Max confesses that she really did want Billy to die after everything he did, and is wracked with guilt because of it.

I do remember on the Stranger things wiki there was people saying that Billy redemption does not count as redemption but I understand peoples frustration with his character.

@Fower42 @Yoshikage1234 the problem was, Billy wasn't written by the Duffers as a sympathetic villain, he was supposed to be the exact opposite of season 1 Steve and defy his redemption arc.

Dacre Motngomery is the one who was trying to add in humanizing things like the scene of his dad being abusive or him refusing to say the racial slurs he was meant to call Lucas. As such, it goes against how the Duffers wrote his character and felt inconsistent.

I think it’s more along the lines of Dacre Montgomery made the character more sympathetic, and the Duffers noticed that and decided to run with it, but ultimately went a bit too far. On the bright side, Montgomery’s performance ended up being one of the biggest highlights of season 3.

Yeah Montgomery killed the role but the Duffers tried too hard to humanize him at times. He apologizes to Max before his death.... but it had no build-up beforehand and why is he suddenly regretful of how he treated her?

Billy had no redeeming qualities in season 2 and then season 3 came in… redemption scene was well done but his arc as a whole was rushed and eneded way mrow development.

Jason was a character far more deserving if redemption than Billy. Even Caleb McLaughlin said so.