Since 2016, Stranger Things has made an important place for itself (and for Netflix) in the current era of television. The show, verging on its fourth season, doesn't work only on its storytelling merits, with which it teems, but also on the emotional depth shared by the main characters.
Though the characters can sometimes be a rehashing of the tired old 80s small town tropes, the warmth and affection they have for each other, as well as the number of hardships they face, make them very relatable to today's audience. How well do their personalities fit into the respective signs in the Chinese Zodiac calendar? There's only one way to find out!
Rat - Dustin Henderson
The Rat is known for its passion for adventure, and who is more daring than young Dustin? His D&D accomplishments aside, he literally kept a Demogorgon as a pet for a short while, eliciting a foreshadowed favor from it at the end of season 2.
Dustin doesn't much enjoy the company of his school-mates, preferring to limit his friendships to the chosen ones: Will, Mike and Lucas. Like most Rats, Dustin is creative and enterprising, seeing as he builds a long-range version of Cerebro (with the help of Suzie, of course.)
Ox - Jim Hopper
Hopper is a man with a heart of gold, but he keeps it shrouded under a gruff exterior. The loss of his daughter was extremely hard on him, causing his lapses into binge-drinking, chain-smoking and drug-addiction.
Once Eleven comes into the picture however, Hopper's Ox determination takes center stage again, and he quickly develops an aggressive form of protectiveness towards her. This sign is also imbued with a short temper, which Hopper displays on several occasions, like when Eleven tries to leave his forest cabin in season 2.
Tiger - Steve Harrington
While Steve is initially an abhorrent person, he changes radically by the end of the first season. Now he personifies the Tiger, the symbol of courage and independence. This has gotten him into trouble, like when he challenges Billy to a fight (and loses), but the subsequent fact that he becomes a big brother figure to the kids makes up for his recklessness.
Most importantly, Steve displays a surprisingly high level of empathy and compassion for something widely reviled in the 1980s: homosexuality. When Robin comes out to him, his response is to tease her for her choice in women, rather than spew the homophobic bile she was expecting.
Rabbit - Lucas Sinclair
Lucas is the sensible one of the group, making sure to take extra precautions against anything he finds suspicious (or unknown). As a Rabbit, he believes in his own perception of things, like when he tells the others that Eleven and her powers are dangerous territory.
Lucas tries his best to be the glue between the group, as he is best positioned to view the scenario from as unbiased a manner as possible. This is shown through the "advice" he offers Mike regarding his relationship problems with Eleven. It's largely teenage nonsense and urban myth (but it is the heart that counts).
Dragon - Eleven
Eleven's origins were shrouded in mystery for a long time, not even seeing the outside world for over a decade. The Dragon aura surrounds her, blessing her with immense power, but also causing her to burst into fits of rage.
These explosions often have devastating effects on the people around her, like when she telepathically murders a bunch of Brenner's men for trying to hurt her friends.
Snake - Billy Hargrove
Billy is the sexy bully: a great character but a terrible person. He is a classic Snake, exhibiting all the traits of the sign — charm, slyness, and a deep, deep loyalty towards himself alone.
The reason behind this is explained partially when his father is shown to abuse him physically, but the revenge he takes for this humiliation is on people weaker than himself.
Horse - Max Mayfield
As confident and energetic as a Horse, Max enters the sleepy town of Hawkins on her skateboard, destroying arcade game records like they were nothing.
The boys are fascinated by this new entity, although she's smart enough to catch them ogling her. Max has one of the strongest moral cores in the series, seeing that she has the audacity to face off her nasty brother in support of her friends.
Goat - Will Byers
Of the four original gang members, Will is the sensitive kid who prefers the call of academia to the standard jock fare served at his school. Like him, The Goat is less likely to run towards a problem, instead, looking to their friends and family for support.
Will blossoms exponentially when safely wrapped in a comforting environment (which includes the bare minimum of Joyce, Jonathan, Dustin, Lucas and Mike). Unfortunately, his gentle nature is regularly mocked by other kids and even his father.
Monkey - Mike Wheeler
Mike is always the first to offer his help, exemplifying the do-first-talk-later demeanor of the Monkey. He can't quite sit still even in a normal scenario, let alone when The Upside Down is wreaking havoc in town.
Mike does have a sense of arrogance about him, though, which is typical of his sign — like when he acts as if he's the only one who cares about his friends being in danger, be it Will or Eleven. This is knocked out of him quickly enough.
Rooster - Nancy Wheeler
Few characters, in this show or in general, experience so much in such little time. Nancy has gone through the loss of a relationship, the disappearance (and death) of a dear friend, being slut-shamed in public, laughed at for her journalistic aspirations, not to mention the Demogorgons and Mind Flayers on top of everything else.
The Rooster in her saves the day in many instances, for example when she stands up in defense of her own story ideas for the Hawkins Post.
Dog - Joyce Byers
Dogs are nothing if not exceptionally loyal, a trait most embodied by Joyce Byers. Her devotion to her son is what forces Hopper to take her claims of his existence seriously, at least after he finds a microphone in his apartment.
Joyce's generosity extends beyond her own children, adopting Eleven almost immediately after Hopper "dies" at the end of season 3. On the negative side, she has shown herself to be extremely paranoid about everything, far in excess of what is expected in her situation.
Pig - Jonathan Byers
The lone man of the Byers family (or so he feels), Jonathan takes on considerable burdens to protect his mother and little brother. Thankfully, the Pig sign endows him with the exact opposite features of his terrible father.
Jonathan does not treat Will with anything but kindness, even if he finds his kid brother's tastes a little too childish. Although he does show signs of giving up at severe points in the story, his friends (mainly Nancy) help rekindle his motivation.