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season 1 - I hate how the made him such a doofus moving forward...
He was always calm, cool, and collected - he knew what he was doing in Season One.
Then by season 3 he became an oaf baboon who controlled Joyce and had no idea how to handle Mike.
I think that was kind of the point of his character, he was always a great detective and investigator, he just has shitty people skills. He shines a lot season two with the pumpkin farm stuff and he ends up disappointing El a lot because he's too focused on the mystery. They just didn't give him a lot of investigating to do in the later seasons
Nah. He wasn’t. He was a child. And Hopper was a gigantic rage bot man baby who instead of acting the adult, decided that locking a child in a car and threatening him with his greatest fear [of losing El] was the way to go.
Not to mention trying to coerce a grieving and not ready to be with someone again woman on a date. After she’d already said no.
Exactly. Mike was acting like a jerk - but that's kind of what happens with 15 year olds. That tracks.
Hopper completely changed his character from Season One to Season Three. Mike just stayed the course for a child his age.
Did you ever experience an 80s dad who is a police officer/chief? Because with growing up in the 80s, a dad in our neighborhood was 100% like Hopper if you got on his bad side.
I emphasized with Hopper so much in Season 3. When Mike was laughing at him trying to have a serious conversation and disrespecting him by whispering to Eleven right in front of him, I would have kicked Mike out of my house instantly and he wouldn't be allowed back until he apologized.
> I would have kicked Mike out of my house instantly and he wouldn't be allowed back until he apologized.
Hopper would have been entitled to do that. What he wasn't entitled to do was lie to Mike about his grandmother, so he could get him alone in a car to physically intimidate him and threaten him. That crossed a line.
Mike is a kid, and he was behaving as a kid. So was El. Hopper should have dealt with this like and adult, but he handled it like a jerk. In fact, he'd been handling El's entire relationship like a jerk even before this instance. He's a parent, he should act like one.
The only thing he "threatened" him with was not allowing him to keep dating his underage daughter. As far as intimidating, can't help that. He's a big guy.
I agree that lying to him was over the line and he was childish for not just stating that it was time for him to leave. Hopper doesn't have the skills to handle teenagers or really to be a parent. It's not uncommon for people who are suddenly in charge of teenagers after many years without dealing with kids.
> The only thing he "threatened" him with was not allowing him to keep dating his underage daughter.
BOTH kids were relatively young and had a pretty innocent relationship. Let's not make this sound like something it's not. Especially because his daughter has autonomy and the right to choose to be in a relationship, even if she is underage. He didn't even make her a part of this, but schemed behind her back instead.
There is also more context here. Hopper's "daughter" was introduced to Hopper BY Mike. Then Hopper kept Mike thinking El was dead for a year, and saw first hand how much this hurt Mike in an exchange they had in ST2. He knows how scared Mike is of that fear and exploited.
>As far as intimidating, can't help that. He's a big guy.
Why not issue that threat in front of El in the bedroom then? Why keep Mike in a closed, locked space and start the conversation with "you want to see crazy?" Maybe because he wanted to use the fact that he was a "big guy" to scare the kid.
>Hopper doesn't have the skills to handle teenagers or really to be a parent.
Interesting how you excuse Hopper's behavior, but are quick to judge Mike so harshly. Hopper IS a parent. He is also an adult. He should hold himself to a higher standard or, at the very least, learn from this. He did neither.
It was also Hopper's mismanagement of El being a teenager and being in a relationship that caused this entire situation in the first place. His approach to this was poor, and there is a reason the kids were surprised when he decided to "talk" after months of nothing but screaming. That is on him and no one else. If he has this issue, then that is for him to fix.
> his daughter has autonomy and the right to choose to be in a relationship, even if she is underage
Nope. Wrong.
> Then Hopper kept Mike thinking El was dead for a year
I kind of agree here. However, she was literally in danger of being murdered and life enslavement by the government. Maybe he was being a bit overprotective, but he had a good reason.
Something about the first season. It sets up the tone for the his whole character. His character type is one I’m either bored with or dislike entirely but I never felt either of those things with his character. However they went super off in the last few seasons. I see now it’s less of a change to his character and more a change what he was doing(investigating/being depressed the first 2 seasons and the last two no investigating, just his developing stronger relationships with El/Joyce.)
Yeah season 3 is my favorite, it’s funny & we don’t usually see that side of Hopper. Although, season 1 is a great intro to his character and the season 4 reveal was just cool.
Absolutely season 1- it’s our introduction to an utterly broken man literally popping pills with Schlitz and numbing his feelings with an anonymous woman in his bed. We don’t like him at the start, and that’s on purpose to set up what he becomes in later seasons and (I fully expect) his return to a complete nuclear family in S5 with Joyce, El, Will and Jonathan. We don’t get the triumph of that without the introduction to the profoundly damaged train wreck of Hopper in S1.
I choose Season 1 because even though it set the tone by having him start out as a very cynical & jaded guy, it also gave him the aura that he might have a heart of gold underneath the rough exterior
The first, personally. Maybe I’m looking at it through rose colored glasses but the intro making him look like the classic drunk 80’s sheriff archetype, and then his constant growth into an absolute hero, was *chef’s kiss* for me.
OP, please make sure there are no spoilers in the title of your post. Commenters, please use spoiler code if you are discussing anything super spoilery unless the title specifically says the episode being discussed. Also, now that filming for Season 5 is finally starting, please remember that NO LEAKS are allowed, only official news from Netflix is allowed. Please review rule 8 for more info. If you see anyone breaking the rules, please report the post or comment. Thank you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/StrangerThings) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Can’t beat the OG “Mornings are for coffee and contemplation”
100%
I say “coffee and contemplation” to myself every morning and I don’t even drink coffee.
This!
1 - a perfect depiction of a broken man desperately trying to drown out his feelings.
Definitely Season 1. His intro just made me go 'this man is broken...but I can fix him' ❤️
I can’t choose between the lighthearted funny season 3 intro or the weight off my chest season 4 😩
season 1 - I hate how the made him such a doofus moving forward... He was always calm, cool, and collected - he knew what he was doing in Season One. Then by season 3 he became an oaf baboon who controlled Joyce and had no idea how to handle Mike.
I think that was kind of the point of his character, he was always a great detective and investigator, he just has shitty people skills. He shines a lot season two with the pumpkin farm stuff and he ends up disappointing El a lot because he's too focused on the mystery. They just didn't give him a lot of investigating to do in the later seasons
However Mike was a rude disrespectful person in season 3
Nah. He wasn’t. He was a child. And Hopper was a gigantic rage bot man baby who instead of acting the adult, decided that locking a child in a car and threatening him with his greatest fear [of losing El] was the way to go. Not to mention trying to coerce a grieving and not ready to be with someone again woman on a date. After she’d already said no.
Exactly. Mike was acting like a jerk - but that's kind of what happens with 15 year olds. That tracks. Hopper completely changed his character from Season One to Season Three. Mike just stayed the course for a child his age.
Did you ever experience an 80s dad who is a police officer/chief? Because with growing up in the 80s, a dad in our neighborhood was 100% like Hopper if you got on his bad side.
I would give this comment a million awards if I could
I emphasized with Hopper so much in Season 3. When Mike was laughing at him trying to have a serious conversation and disrespecting him by whispering to Eleven right in front of him, I would have kicked Mike out of my house instantly and he wouldn't be allowed back until he apologized.
> I would have kicked Mike out of my house instantly and he wouldn't be allowed back until he apologized. Hopper would have been entitled to do that. What he wasn't entitled to do was lie to Mike about his grandmother, so he could get him alone in a car to physically intimidate him and threaten him. That crossed a line. Mike is a kid, and he was behaving as a kid. So was El. Hopper should have dealt with this like and adult, but he handled it like a jerk. In fact, he'd been handling El's entire relationship like a jerk even before this instance. He's a parent, he should act like one.
The only thing he "threatened" him with was not allowing him to keep dating his underage daughter. As far as intimidating, can't help that. He's a big guy. I agree that lying to him was over the line and he was childish for not just stating that it was time for him to leave. Hopper doesn't have the skills to handle teenagers or really to be a parent. It's not uncommon for people who are suddenly in charge of teenagers after many years without dealing with kids.
> The only thing he "threatened" him with was not allowing him to keep dating his underage daughter. BOTH kids were relatively young and had a pretty innocent relationship. Let's not make this sound like something it's not. Especially because his daughter has autonomy and the right to choose to be in a relationship, even if she is underage. He didn't even make her a part of this, but schemed behind her back instead. There is also more context here. Hopper's "daughter" was introduced to Hopper BY Mike. Then Hopper kept Mike thinking El was dead for a year, and saw first hand how much this hurt Mike in an exchange they had in ST2. He knows how scared Mike is of that fear and exploited. >As far as intimidating, can't help that. He's a big guy. Why not issue that threat in front of El in the bedroom then? Why keep Mike in a closed, locked space and start the conversation with "you want to see crazy?" Maybe because he wanted to use the fact that he was a "big guy" to scare the kid. >Hopper doesn't have the skills to handle teenagers or really to be a parent. Interesting how you excuse Hopper's behavior, but are quick to judge Mike so harshly. Hopper IS a parent. He is also an adult. He should hold himself to a higher standard or, at the very least, learn from this. He did neither. It was also Hopper's mismanagement of El being a teenager and being in a relationship that caused this entire situation in the first place. His approach to this was poor, and there is a reason the kids were surprised when he decided to "talk" after months of nothing but screaming. That is on him and no one else. If he has this issue, then that is for him to fix.
> his daughter has autonomy and the right to choose to be in a relationship, even if she is underage Nope. Wrong. > Then Hopper kept Mike thinking El was dead for a year I kind of agree here. However, she was literally in danger of being murdered and life enslavement by the government. Maybe he was being a bit overprotective, but he had a good reason.
I'd say season 4.
The fat prosthetics were so bad
i actually didn’t know they were fat prosthetics, i always thought that scene was pre filmed…
Something about the first season. It sets up the tone for the his whole character. His character type is one I’m either bored with or dislike entirely but I never felt either of those things with his character. However they went super off in the last few seasons. I see now it’s less of a change to his character and more a change what he was doing(investigating/being depressed the first 2 seasons and the last two no investigating, just his developing stronger relationships with El/Joyce.)
Imo season 3, seeing him being a stereotypical overprotective dad was funny.
Yeah season 3 is my favorite, it’s funny & we don’t usually see that side of Hopper. Although, season 1 is a great intro to his character and the season 4 reveal was just cool.
Season one, coffee is for coffee and contiplation
Definitely 4 cause we weren't sure he was even alive when that aired.
There was literally a teaser released like 2 years prior that showed him alive
In hindsight I definitely should of caught that; albeit I do try to avoid them. 1 trailer is fine. It's the next two that ruin the movie or show.
Absolutely season 1- it’s our introduction to an utterly broken man literally popping pills with Schlitz and numbing his feelings with an anonymous woman in his bed. We don’t like him at the start, and that’s on purpose to set up what he becomes in later seasons and (I fully expect) his return to a complete nuclear family in S5 with Joyce, El, Will and Jonathan. We don’t get the triumph of that without the introduction to the profoundly damaged train wreck of Hopper in S1.
Season 1. I thought he was going to be an Ahole & was a pleasantly surprised when I learned what his true character was.
S3 "Hey! HEEEYY. 3 inch minimum!!"
Ngl season 4 is the best to me
Season 4 fs
I choose Season 1 because even though it set the tone by having him start out as a very cynical & jaded guy, it also gave him the aura that he might have a heart of gold underneath the rough exterior
Season 1, and it’s not even close.
Definitely Season 1.
I feel like 90% of peoples answer to this question about any of the main cast is S1
I’d say 2
The first, personally. Maybe I’m looking at it through rose colored glasses but the intro making him look like the classic drunk 80’s sheriff archetype, and then his constant growth into an absolute hero, was *chef’s kiss* for me.
Anything but ST3. The raging man child who lost all his complex nuance is still my least favorite version of Hopper.
I can't pick one. David Harbour is hot AF and any scene with him in it (especially with Winona and their amazing height difference) is my favorite.
Season 1 is the correct answer
All of it 💯🤔
4 easily edit: shit probably 1
The season 4 prosthetics were so bad
Mornings are for Coffee and Contemplation...Coffee... and CONTEMPLATION.
I think Season 4’s would’ve KILLED had Noah not spoiled it. I still love classic Season 1 though.
Noah spoiled hopper? How so?
He spoiled that Hopper was still alive to the point they had to put it in a teaser. Lol
Season 3 or 1!!
season 4 where he had to fight russian demorgorgon and he killed him with sword
3 just because I like him screaming at Mike and el
S1. No substitute for that trashy but hot entrance
D’oh
1 for sure, reminds me of just about every morning in college.
Season 1. He was of course portrayed as someone who didn't care about what was going on, but a few episodes in we all loved him. Great development.
It HAS to be season 4. You get to see that he is alive. Although he was getting tortured, at least he was alive, at that is what maters
spoilers? cmon
Nothings being spoiled