Shipping Joyce and Hopper for Stranger Things season 3

Will Joyce and Hopper get together in Stranger Things 3? A large part of the fandom hopes the two will become an item. 

Stranger Things 2 leaves viewers hanging on the prospect of a romance between the two adult protagonists. I know what you’re all thinking —because I’m thinking it, too— how dare we speculate about a possible romance between Joyce and Hopper (or “Jopper”) over the freshly dead body of Bob Newby? It is probably a bit wrong but let’s face it, Bob was the one who stepped in between them in season 2 (who did not frown in surprise when they saw Joyce making out with this random dude in the back of RadioShack?)

From season 1, Joyce and Jim have always had a special connection. We all remember the banter they had on their very first scene immediately establishing a certain level of ease and familiarity between them.

But their connection grew deeper over the episodes with Hopper providing emotional support after Will’s fake body was found and also being the only person who gave ear to her protests and investigated further, broke into the lab and found out the whole truth.

When they fetched Will in the Upside Down and saved him, they did it together; and in season 2, when Will had to go to his check-up appointments at Hawkins Lab, Jim would be accompanying them. He is also in the room with Joyce when the doctor shares his diagnosis like a parent would.

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Over time, Hopper became a legitimate member of the Byers family in such an organic way that it didn’t make the audience question why he was so present in their life.

Besides, it is a known fact that angst and anticipation are the bread and butter of every true OTP. It took Nancy and Jonathan two seasons to get together, and it took Mike and Eleven a year of being apart to reunite. Following that pattern, Joyce and Hopper are meant to be.

Nobody can question or doubt that Joyce showed real concern when Jim went missing, crazily encouraging her boyfriend to help to decipher the mysterious map.  And then, she was the first to jump down (literally) into the tunnels to find him. As for her reaction and the deep care she showed after finding Hopper, they’re exempt from any commentary. Love isn’t words, it is actions, and both have so often demonstrated the mutual and tacit devotion they share over the two seasons.

As a matter of fact, David Harbour himself has admitted to shipping Jopper, too. In an episode of Beyond Stranger Things, he said, “The fans, they call it like ‘Jopper’ or something; they all ship this relationship with Hopper and Joyce and I do too because I feel like they’re two really lonely, lost people that really need each other.”

And he couldn’t be more right. In season 1, Jim was there to support Joyce, and he was again in season 2; and because he knew secrets Bob was kept away from, had a place in the family that Joyce’s boyfriend couldn’t possibly supplant.

The last few minutes of the finale hints at the possibility that the pair might grow closer over the next year as they are shown sharing a peaceful moment on the parking lot, sharing cigarettes and reminiscing high school times.

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Adding to the fact that season 3 will be set a year later, it isn’t far-fetched to speculate that Joyce’s mourning time will be over and that she could be open to the idea of a new relationship with the person who has been her best ally, a protector and her most faithful friend.

And if we are to believe Harbour when he said, “The short answer of it is I do feel like the sex would be a lot better with Hopper than it is with Bob” then it’s only a matter of time until the two become one, right?

And you, what do you think? Would you like to see these two get together next season?