Robin delivers Stranger Things' most moving monologue and it changes someone’s fate

Warning: Spoilers ahead from Stranger Things season 5.

It’s no secret that we expected to get choked up and emotional many times while watching Stranger Things 5, but we probably didn’t expect for it to happen so soon. For the most part, we haven’t seen anything yet, since the series finale is sure to pack a powerful punch. But Robin made sure to already pull on our heartstrings and get us ready for the big finish.

Unexpectedly, but pleasantly so, Robin has been the real MVP of Stranger Things 5 so far. She’s given us so many incredible moments, whether it’s with heart or humor, but the monologue that the Duffer Brothers gave Maya Hawke to perform was simply a series-best. Robin’s words gave a certain character the inspiration to become who they’re meant to be.

Let’s back up a bit. Early on in volume 1, Robin and Vickie snuck in a romantic moment together in an empty hospital room. Vickie’s working as a candy striper, and Robin had to rearrange their date night plans because of the crawl. Little do they know, sneaking around didn’t completely work… Will caught them kissing. Robin was able to make out the back of his head as he ran away.

Will and Robin don’t bring that moment up with each other, but while working closer together as a pair (with Joyce), she cleverly comes up with an idea that not only helps the cause but also allows for her to sneak Will away from his mom for one on one time. Robin later sees something in Will and recognizes what he could be going through inside: A crush on his best friend.

In episode 4 when Robin shares the hopeful and inspirational monologue that Will needed to hear, exactly when he needed to. Robin tells Will a story about the crush that she had on Tammy Thompson when she was a freshman and how she felt that Tammy was “the one.” She felt that if Tammy loved her, she could be herself and she wouldn’t be scared anymore.

But when Tammy and Steve started dating, her crush was crushed. Robin later came across old home video footage of her younger self, and she didn’t recognize the little girl who was carefree and fearless. While watching her younger self, Robin had the realization that she was looking for validation from others rather than herself, and that was holding her back from feeling free. She just needed to stop being so scared, then she felt like she could fly.

Robin’s monologue brings tears to Will’s eyes. She said everything that Will needed to hear from another queer person without it whacking him over the head or being invasive. She was being a friend to Will, and those words are later the ones that ring through his mind when his fate, and everyone else’s, is completely changed for the better.

In the final sequence of season 5 episode 4, all hope seems just about lost when Vecna makes an appearance in Hawkins and unleashes chaos. Our heroes can’t outrun the demogorgons anymore. Will has visions of the demogorgons heading straight for all of his friends, and that’s when Robin’s wisdom runs through his mind and reminds him of his fearless, confident younger self. (Advice on not crushing on your best friend did that!)

It’s not that Robin’s words gave Will his powers (obviously), but they do appear to give him the ability to recognize that they were in him all along. We have watched him be scared for the majority of the series. He was trapped in the Upside Down and he’s been hunted, after all. All it takes is one person to really see you for you to believe it yourself.

Will coming into his powers changes everyone’s fate. When his eyes roll into the back of his head and he snaps all of the demogorgons to death, he’s the one who saves the day. He has been accustomed to watching others defeat the evil, not just feeling it with a tingling sensation on the back of their neck. Between Joyce and his friends, he’s been sheltered, too.

Not anymore! Will’s now one of their direct lines of defense along with Eleven after his electrifying transformation. Seemingly, Stranger Things has been building up to this stunning plot twist and will end with Will, just as it began. All it took was the show’s most moving monologue to date to redefine everyone’s fate.