We loved him…
1. When he manned up and scrubbed the graffiti about Nancy off the movie theater sign.
Steve finally turns over a new-ish leaf at the end of season one, which kind of prepares us for season two Steve where we completely fall in love with him. He realized he was a huge jerkoff and decided to go scrub those horrible words off of town monuments calling Nancy a slut. And, he stood up to his horrible friends, tossing them aside to become a better boyfriend.
2. When he gave Dustin some crappy but meaningful dating advice.
After Dustin needed some help defeating the Demodog he thought was a pet, Steve didn’t totally blow him off. Instead, he became a pretty standup guy and went along with his plan to defeat him altogether. After helping Nancy and Jonathan in season one, it’s no surprise he realizes how dangerous these creatures are. Along the way, he gives Dustin some solid advice about his crush on Max and, even though it’s kind of shotty advice, it’s adorable to hear him being a standup guy.
3. When he told Nancy she should be with Jonathan.
While Steve pretty much got his heart ran over this season. And, at the end of it all, he basically lost the girl. But, he was mature enough to tell Nancy she should be with Jonathan because he realizes that she actually loves him. It takes a strong man to let the women he loves to be with the man she loves – you don’t see that every day, especially when a guy is young and in high school.
4. When he protected the kids in the Upside Down.
Even though he and Nancy were having drama and basically broke up, he still protected Mike and his friends as though they were family and it was his responsibility to care for them. He knew the Upside Down was a dangerous place and wanted to protect and take the lead, knowing that he could actually f*cking die. What a guy.
5. When gave Dustin hairspray for the school dance and dropped him off.
Season two brought on a whole new Steve, one that everyone fell in love with. Not only did he finally mature enough to realize his girl wasn’t “his girl” anymore, he also realized that Billy was such a jerkoff, he didn’t want to be that guy anymore. Instead, he totally manned up and became the ultimate role model for kids like Dustin, who are kind of on their own without a big brother or a dad. It was sweet to see him prep Dustin and give him that extra “something” he needed to impress the ladies.