Maya Hawke‘s character, Robin, was introduced to us in season three of the Netflix hit Stranger Things. Luckily for the actress, and for us, she was not one of the recently introduced characters who was killed off in their debut season and has managed to stay alive so far. The end of season 4 saw Robin sitting down with her crush in the aftermath of a giant hellish portal opening up in Hawkins, but moving forward, Hawke isn’t sure how she feels about being in an on-screen relationship.
We first met Robin when Steve (Joe Keery) was working at the ice cream store Scoops Ahoy at the Starcourt Mall, the two had amazing chemistry that lept from the screen, and to make it even better, it didn’t get romantic. Though Steve may have felt something for her, she cuts him off by coming out as gay, a thing that is hard to do still today, let alone in the ’80s. The duo continued their friendship throughout season 4, with Robin now pining after a girl called Vickie who also plays in the Hawkins marching band.
We last left the two eating PB&J sandwiches as they try to help deal with the fallout of the gate opening in Hawkins which has left many displaced, missing, or dead. We don’t know what is ahead for these two, but Hawke is apprehensive about gaining a love interest for her character. In an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment she discusses the reasons why she may not want that, saying, “It’s both a great thing, and I also love characters where their love life is not the center of their existence.”
“That friendship with Steve is so special, and friendships have been carrying me through my life. I think they’re really important and they deserve their airtime.”
There are other things that Hawke wants for her character in this final season – a hero’s moment. A year ago she spoke to Rolling Stone about wanting to conclude her arc with a heroic death, much like Billy in season 3 and Eddie in season 4:
“I would love to die and get my hero’s moment. I’d love to die with honor, as any actor would. But I love the way that the Duffer Brothers love their actors. The reason that they write so beautifully for me and for everyone else is because they fall in love with their actors and their characters, and they don’t want to kill them. I think that’s a beautiful quality that they have, and I wouldn’t wish it away.”
Due to the writers’ strike happening right now production on season 5 has been halted, which will likely impact when it is released on Netflix. However, we have no release date yet, so we could be looking at the end of 2024, perhaps even early 2025.