Stranger Things 4 Retcon Finally Includes Steve’s Cut Origin Story

WARNING! Spoilers ahead for Stranger Things season 4, volume 1!

Stranger Things season 1 changed the original plan for Steve Harrington’s backstory, but season 4 finally retcons the forgotten details into existence. While Steve Harrington began Stranger Things season 1 as slightly antagonistic, Joe Keery’s character grew to become one of the most beloved figures of the entire series. The character’s hero arc has been so flawlessly executed, in fact, that many fear Steve will die in Stranger Things season 4’s finale, which is teased to have a few major deaths.

Steve is introduced in Stranger Things season 1 as the popular jock with incredible hair who is dating Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer). Stranger Things doesn’t go too deep into Steve’s backstory throughout the rest of the series, but it’s understood that he was a member of Hawkins High’s basketball team and doesn’t have a great relationship with his wealthy father. This information is the majority of what audiences had to go on to understand Steve’s home life and personality while he was in high school, but it wasn’t always how Steve’s origin story was planned.

In Stranger Things’ season 4 episode “The Dive,” Steve mentions that he’ll be the one to swim down to “Watergate” because he was the Hawkins High swim team captain and a certified lifeguard for three years – swimming skills the others can't beat. This abrupt information didn’t seem like news to the other Stranger Things characters, but it certainly was to viewers. Steve being an accomplished swimmer and lifeguard is an interesting retcon for Stranger Things to include in season 4, as there were absolutely no hints or references to this aspect of his character beforehand, but it actually aligns with the scrapped backstory that the Duffers originally planned for Steve Harrington.

When first creating Steve, the Duffers had written him as the swim team captain at Hawkins High who would be dating Nancy, with Joe Keery revealing that season 1 was originally supposed to feature a Speedo-wearing scene at one of his swim meets. As such, Keery had to take swim lessons to improve his skills and get into shape before Stranger Things season 1, but then the Duffers decided to cut Steve’s swimming career and make him a basketball player instead. Now, three seasons later, Stranger Things season 4 has finally retconned Steve to make his original swimming career canon, but it still doesn’t make complete sense as to why this sport was never mentioned alongside his other athletic achievements. It also begs the question of why Steve was employed at Scoop’s Ahoy in Stranger Things season 3 instead of working as a lifeguard with Billy, but it’s possible Steve simply let his lifeguard certification expire.

Steve being a swimmer is just one of many scrapped plans that the Duffers had for the character before season 1 – but is the only detail that viewers would want to be retconned into the series. The original conception of the swimmer Steve made him a despicable villain, where an early draft had him sexually assaulting Nancy and dying in Stranger Things season 1. Thankfully, the Duffers completely revised Steve’s character and created one of the most beloved TV hero babysitters, who is now even more mystifying than before as new details emerge about his backstory. At least Steve Harrington’s retconned swim career allowed Keery to finally put his training to use for Stranger Things season 4’s underwater dive into the Upside Down.

Next: Stranger Things Season 3’s Original Plan For Steve & Robin: What Changed

Stranger Things season 4, volume 2 arrives on Netflix on July 1.

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