10 reasons Barb on Stranger Things is the best TV sidekick ever

1. She manages your love life

Without Barb, Nancy’s love life is kind of a hot mess.

At the start of season one, she’s enamored with charming Steve Harrington and seems pretty willing to change herself to pursue him. For instance, she starts hanging out with his friends (who she doesn’t like), gets drunk at his pool party, and even eventually sleeps with him, despite her previous attempts in the season to rebuff his physical advances.

In response to Nancy’s puppy love, Barb reacts in the most chill way possible. She displays her maturity when she reminds Nancy that she’s taking her relationship with Steve too seriously. For instance, when Nancy wants her to pull her car over at Steve’s house (“The neighbors might see!”), Barb reminds her that “This is stupid. . . he just wants to get in your pants.” Ah, if only every teen had a guardian angel like Barb.

On the flip side, Barb is also great at building Nancy up when it comes to boys. When Nancy first tells her about Steve, Barb quizzes her, “So did he call?” Her excitement is contagious. She playfully teases a blushing Nancy: “We just. . . made out a couple times.”

It’s clear that even though she generally thinks her friend is moving too fast, she wants Nancy to be happy. Barb isn’t a jealous girlfriend; she encourages her friend and helps to build her confidence. Girls get kind of a bad rep in the real world for being catty. I love that Stranger Things gives us such a great example of a sweet, helpful friend in Barb Holland.