The Queer Horror Blerd: Robin Buckley and The Art of Finding Your Identity

After parlaying with the 1962 roster of the Losers’ Club in IT: Welcome to Derry, I skipped my happy ass back to Stranger Things to join the Hawkins Hellfire Club as they make their last adventure into the Upside Down. While I already prepared myself for some tearful moments (Stranger Things always makes my face wet), what I wasn’t expecting was two top-tier queer moments that left me emotionally wrecked. Yes, THAT moment is one of them, but we wouldn’t have gotten to Will’s epic reveal if it wasn’t for Robin “The MVP” Buckley.

Robin “The MVP” Buckley

With Robin Buckley, Stranger Things gave us our first confirmed queer individual on the show, amongst the growing roster of characters. Fans had speculated on Will’s queerness around this time, too. But it was Robin Buckley who took the first step to declare to her newfound bestie, Steve Harrington, her queer identity. While still closeted (it is the 80s in a small town), Robin still became a beacon for the queer fandom of the show. The following season, Robin was pining over her new romantic interest, Vickie. And amidst the current chaos of that spring break, Will’s love for his best friend Mike became woefully apparent, leaving fans heartbroken for the guy. We all knew his feelings would remain one-sided since Mike and Eleven are a locked thing.

Seeing these two queer characters battling their own struggles in small town Hawkins, fans began to speculate if Robin and Will’s stories would ever mesh, especially with this being the final adventure (in this iteration at least) for the Hawkins Party. And, boy, The Duffer Brothers delivered…

Robin and Will

In the first episode of Stranger Things Season 5, Will accidentally caught Robin and her now girlfriend Vickie having an intimate moment at the Hawkins hospital. Robin noticed that Will saw them, and before she could talk with him, he ran away. Later, when the proverbial crap hits the fan, Will and Robin end up being paired together in several scenes. That’s when their friendship blossoms into a big sister/little brother mentorship of sorts. And finally, in the fifth episode of the season titled “Sorcerer,” Robin delivers one of the best monologues I’ve seen this year.

It’s here where Will finds his inner power and leads us to THAT epic moment, which has become one of the best moments in Stranger Things history. And dare I say, queer media history as well.

Loving Yourself

Robin’s revelation of how she went from carefree child to awkward kid upon realizing that something was different about her is a universal feeling for queer youth, especially during that time. It’s hard to find community in a small town with even smaller worldviews and no outlet for those who are different or Othered (see “The Hellfire Club’s” treatment in Stranger Things Season 4). So, one could only imagine the horrors queer denizens of Hawkins might have experienced, forcing someone like Robin to not be able to live freely.

So Robin confiding in Steve first, someone who was once her romantic rival and straighter than an arrow into a Demogorgon’s head, was a big thing for her. Especially because she made a friend by being her authentic self. But it’s the notion that Robin had to look within herself, that carefree child that she once was, reclaim that part of herself and love her dearly, that is where she found the first love that really mattered all along.

And for a queer person, it’s a very powerful feeling.

Loving yourself is a superpower, especially when you learn to get out of your way or stop living in fear. “I had to learn to stop being so damn scared…” is the line. The sentiment that unlocks so many queer individuals from every walk of life, age, etc. And when RuPaul tells us each week on Drag Race, “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell can you love somebody else? Can I get an ‘Amen?’” they are not just saying that to be cute, it’s gospel. Not just for queer individuals, but actually for people everywhere. However, it hits us harder because we need to love ourselves for who we are when others won’t.

So, Robin telling Will it’s okay to be him and to stop being scared was Robin passing on wisdom from one queer to the next. An elder passing on their wisdom to the next person in need. A will to be themselves, or in this case, a will to be Will. And he flourished, blossomed, and became more powerful than anyone on the show ever deemed him to be.

And that’s the power of a gay or queer elder, and Robin Buckley belongs in the Hall of Fame of Queer Icons Throughout History.