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Joe Keery Used His Stranger Things Money to Defy the Music Industry

He says good-bye to the show that made him famous with the No. 1 song in the world.

“Being independent is something I valued big time. I never wanted any money upfront.” Photo: Fabien Kruszelnicki

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Thinking about a Rent broadway revival . Dream casting would Joe. I think he would kill as Roger or Mark. . I think he has the duality to do either parts.

broadway joe keery

ascene

Pete Wentz and Tony Lovato / 4.10.04

hey-rach247

Feeling nostalgic. Lied to my parents to go to this very show in high school. God this makes me feel old.

headofkorn27

11/13/01

gayestoffense-deactivated202601

so since a lot of people clearly DO need to be spoon fed everything, and that the Duffers clearly overestimated their audience...

The Stranger Things finale is radically non-conformist, actually

(or: what show were some of you watching)

A lot of people keep insisting the finale of Stranger Things was about “settling,” “playing it safe,” or “forcing conformity.”

That reading only works if you define conformity as “didn’t give me my specific ship or explanation.” If you look at what the characters actually choose, the finale is doing the opposite of conformist storytelling.

So let’s go through it. Slowly. Clearly. No subtext gymnastics required.

1. Staying in Hawkins is NOT framed as failure

Conformist narrative says:

Success = leaving your hometown, never looking back.

The finale says:

Staying can be a choice, not a trap.

Steve stays. Not because he “can’t escape,” but because he builds a life there. He has a stable career. He's saving for a house. He WANTS to be there now.
Mike stays and becomes a writer, literally creating stories where he grew up.
Will stays, but now in a town that is much safer and in a body that is no longer hiding.
Lucas and Max stay and live, not just survive.

Hawkins stops being a punishment zone and becomes reclaimed ground. That alone breaks one of the most entrenched coming-of-age tropes in TV.

2. College is explicitly NOT treated as a moral requirement

Conformist narrative says:

College = growth/success, no college = stagnation.

The finale says:

College is a tool, not a virtue.

Nancy drops out of college. This is never framed as failure or regression. But as a choice she is not ashamed of.
Steve never goes and is still shown as fulfilled, competent, and future-oriented.
Robin’s path is undefined, which is especially radical for a queer character.
Jonathan goes to NYU, but not as a reward arc, just because it’s right for him.
Dustin goes to college but stays emotionally and geographically connected to the people that matter to him.

No hierarchy. No “right” path. No punishment for opting out.

3. Romance is not treated as the highest form of fulfillment

Conformist narrative says:

Everyone must pair off to be complete.

The finale says:

Some people pair off. Some don’t. None are lesser.

Only two relationships are framed as implicit endgame:

Lumax (earned, repaired, forward-looking)
Jopper (adult, chosen, stable)

Everyone else is intentionally left open:

Steve is single and content.
Dustin is unpaired and uninterested in forcing it.
Nancy’s future is undefined.
Robin’s relationship status is not treated as a narrative endpoint.

This is a rejection of compulsory coupledom, not an endorsement of it.

4. Queerness is affirmed without being reduced to one outcome

Conformist narrative says:

Queerness must end in one sanctioned relationship or it doesn’t count.

The finale says:

Queerness is allowed to begin, not just conclude.

Will is canonically queer and ends the show happy, flirted with, reciprocated, supported.
His first love does not erase his future.
He keeps Mike in his life without losing himself.
Dustin is left intentionally open to queer readings.
Nancy is framed in a way that leaves queerness possible without declaration.
Queer-platonic intimacy is centered and treated as life-defining.

Queerness is not punished, not tragic, not sacrificed for “normalcy.”

5. Masculinity is rewritten, not reasserted

Conformist masculinity says:

Men prove worth through conquest, dominance, and stoicism.

The finale says:

Men build worth through care, maintenance, and choice.

Steve’s future is coaching kids, teaching sex ed, planning continuity.
Mike is a writer, not a leader-hero archetype. He is the storyteller now.
Jonathan reconciles rather than competes.
Emotional intimacy between men is normalized and sustained into adulthood.
at no point is any of this male intimacy downplayed, devalued or undercut. This show very impressively managed to avoid the "no homo" bullshit entirely.

No re-masculinization. No “man up” ending. No regression. Just growth. Softness where trauma has been.

6. Chosen family is prioritized over biological or hierarchical roles

Conformist narrative says:

You outgrow friendships, especially unconventional ones.

The finale says:

You maintain what matters.

Steve and Dustin explicitly recommit as best friends (singular, chosen).
Their bond survives age gaps, college, adulthood, and crisis.
The older teens commit to not letting their relationships fade.
The story ends where it began: at a D&D table, with community passed forward.

That’s not nostalgia. That’s a philosophy of living.

And if you really think the Core 4 wouldn't absolutely stay in touch and make the same commitment that the older group does, then idk what to say. Because of course they would?

7. The villain is not redeemed, and trauma is not an excuse

Conformist redemption narratives say:

Every villain is secretly a victim who deserves absolution.

The finale says:

Choice matters.

Will offered Henry grace.

Henry explicitly states he could have resisted and chose not to. And recommits to that choice.
He is held accountable for that choice in no uncertain terms.
Joyce kills him.
No moral softening. No last-minute absolution.

That is an ethical stance, not a safe one.