WARNING! Contains major spoilers for Stranger Things season 4!
The trailer for Stranger Things season 4 put a lot of emphasis on the death of Billy Hargrove, but hopes of Dacre Montgomery's character's return were dashed, as Billy only appears in flashbacks and Vecna hallucinations. Stranger Things season 2 saw Montgomery first appear as Billy Hargrove, Max's tough and outspokenly antagonistic brother. Season 3 saw Billy upgraded to the role of central antagonist when the Mind Flayer possessed him in order to build the Spider Monster.
Throughout seasons 2 and 3 of the show, Stranger Things was executed perfectly, with his role as a villain teased and built gradually. Montgomery's performance made Billy one of the show's most intriguing characters, and the character's redemption at the end of Stranger Things season 3 was one of its most triumphant moments. Billy's death was a satisfactory ending and an obvious barrier to his appearance in Stranger Things season 4, despite the trailer hinting at his return or resurrection. However, much like Max and the other citizens of Hawkins, Indiana, Stranger Things fans were misled by the Vecna, who taunts Max by taking the form of Billy, with additional footage seen in the trailer taken from Max's flashbacks.
It's unclear exactly how Billy's popularity as a Stranger Things character, by the time season 4 part 1 ended for the mid-season break it was clear that bringing him back from the dead wouldn't have been the best decision for the show.
Why Was There Speculation Billy Would Return In Stranger Things Season 4?
The pre-season marketing for Stranger Things season 4, and the episode title listing, gave fans a lot of reasons to believe Billy would return. Season 4 has an episode titled "Dear Billy" - words which were also spoken by Max in the trailer as she attempts to resolve her mixed feelings about her brother. While some correctly theorized this would make Billy's most likely Stranger Things return a Max flashback of some description, fitting with Max's attempts to move on from Billy's sacrifice, others believed it had deeper implications. The season 4 trailer didn't only give glimpses of Max, Billy, and Billy's grave- they were a focal point. Some online took this emphasis to mean Billy's story didn't end with his death in season 3.
Stranger Things is no stranger to misleading character "deaths"- Jim Hopper being a chief example. It was always possible that Billy's fate was similarly non-permanent. The return of fan-favorite Billy Hargrove for Stranger Things season 4 would have been another of Stranger Things' major death fakeouts. His death being permanent was a much more effective plot for the show, building Max's character as she comes to with his death. Undoing his death, especially after the incredibly tense and emotional Mind Flayer storyline in season 3, would have undermined one of the show's most emotional redemption arcs.
Billy Death’s Made Max A Vecna Target Setting Up A Great Season 4 Moment
Billy was always a significant character in Stranger Things. Even though he's dead in season 4, his presence and memory are still hugely important to the plot. Billy's half-sister Max has been a Stranger Things mainstay since the second season, and Billy's death is incredibly significant not just for Max's arc, but to demonstrate the power and malevolence of a key season 4 antagonist- Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower).
Like most beings from the Upside Down, Vecna is a homicidal eldritch being with a strong desire to make life for the residents of Hawkins as difficult as possible, with his ultimate end goal being to eradicate humanity because of his experiences undergoing the same torturous experimentation as Eleven. It's the specifics of Vecna's abilities that mean Billy's death is essential- he preys on young people with unresolved trauma. This makes Max, who's still trying to come to with Billy's ing, a prime target for Vecna, and the scenes where she encounters him are some of the most riveting in the whole of Stranger Things.
Part of Vecna's M.O. is inducing nightmarish visions and hallucinations to torment his victims. For Max, this means coming face-to-face with "Billy" in the Upside Down, which is where much of the gossip-generating season 4 trailer footage came from. Watching Vecna possess Max and draw her to the Upside Down is nail-biting, and her she escape was so masterfully set to Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill", Max's favorite song, that it hit #1 on iTunes. Max's escape from Vecna will undoubtedly be seen as one of the show-defining moments when Stranger Things draws to a close, and if Billy had returned from the dead for season 4 it couldn't have happened.
Stranger Things series 4 part 2 debuts on Netflix 07/01/2022