Stranger Things S3 was actually Billy's story

When I first heard that Billy Hargrove, a human villian from season 2, was set to be possessed for season 3 of Stranger Things, I didn't feel too distressed. It was horrifying to watch young, sweet Will Byers be corrupted by the Mind Flayer in Season 2. At least this time, I could be relieved that it wasn't happening to a character that I liked. Fortunately, the writers masterfully crafted a story that would change up my stance, as well as for other viewers.

The Basis

There's a popular fan theory floating around the internet. The theory is this: Eleven (Millie Bobbie Brown) is the demogorgon in season 1. I don't know who the theory originated from, otherwise I'd post the original source, but the theory has been posted around on movie junkie blogs and vlogs. Here's a thorough one here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNYDtfPgKOQ

Surprisingly, the theory has a pretty decent case to be made. Some of the most convincing points include the following.

Duality: the entire show opens with the game of Dungeons and Dragons, which has elements of duality. D & D even has a demo-gorgon character, a 2-headed monster where the heads are trying to destroy each other. Then there is the Upside Down, a dual dimension.

Blatant References: Eleven herself says, "I'm the monster." Lucas suggest this, too. Make no mistake, Eleven is lethal. She snapped the necks of her childhood abusers, scientific researchers at Hawkins Lab who controlled every aspect of her life. Her father, Dr. Brenner, is one of the abusers. However, it is the demo-gorgon that launches the final attack on Brenner.

My Slant

It's fairly well-known that sometimes people who were abused as children go on to become abusers themselves. Even when that's not quite the case, the child can grow-up with the voice of their abuser in their head, which is a voice that they must reject and strike down. In other words, their abuser remains their inner demon. This leads to my conclusion: if season 1 is about Eleven's story, than season 3 is Billy's story.

Season 2 is a bit debatable in terms of whether it's still Eleven's story or not, but what's undebatable is that the season lays a lot of groundwork. While episode 7 might have been the lamest one of the season, it established that Eleven has some major anger reserved for her father. It is all that hurt and betrayal that she uses in the finale to close the gate on the Flayer. In doing so, it might be suggested that she closed the gate on her biggest monster: her father. He was the one who called all of the shots in her life.

It's in season 2 that we first see that Billy is abused by his own father. Even though Billy is a full-grown, muscular teen who can bulldoze through Steve Harrington on the basketball court, he backs down when his father attacks him. He has yet to defeat his monster.

Season 3 takes this further by going to the heart of Billy. The abuse started when he was a young boy. He was also once sweet and innocent like Will. Eleven gets to see who Billy really is, and perhaps she understands him better than anyone else would. Once Eleven reminds Billy of who he really is, he stands up to the giant monster. The redemptive moment costs his life, and I and the audience are now saddened by his sacrifice.

It was truly a privilege to see Billy's story unfold. As said elsewhere, actor Dacre Montgomery deserves a lot of credit both for his portrayal and contributions to the story.