Warning: Stranger Things Season 3 spoilers ahead.
As it turns out, you weren't wrong for shipping Robin and Steve together at the beginning of Stranger Things 3. Let's be real— their initial tension, teasing chemistry, and overall friendship dynamic was just so! damn! good! Robin and Steve's relationship was a true breath of fresh air for the season, so naturally, we totally wanted them to hook TF up at some point while they were being chased by those evil Russians. Of course, things for Robin's character turned out differently for the greater gayer good, as it should be!
Maya Hawke, my eternal girl crush who plays Robin in the show, recently confessed that Robin coming out as gay wasn't part of the original script...and there could have been a MAJOR alternate ending for Robin and Steve. In an interview with Wall Street Journal, Maya said that Robin's sexual identity became more obvious over time. "Throughout filming, we started to feel like she and [Steve] shouldn't get together, and that she's gay. Even when I go back and watch earlier episodes, it just seems like the most obvious decision ever," she said. Obviously, this was a sound choice, because fans of the show now hail Robin as a gay icon!
Last month, Maya also revealed to Variety that the decision about Robin's sexuality happened around the fourth or fifth episode. "The Duffer brothers and I, and Shawn Levy had a lot of conversations throughout shooting and it wasn't really until we were shooting episode four and five, I think, that we made the final decision," she said. "It was kind of a collaborative conversation, and I'm really, really happy with the way that it went." First major television series in, and Maya's already having a huge impact. We STAN!
Maya also hoped that highlighting Robin's sexuality would help viewers realize something important about their own. "Sometimes we can have empathy for people on screen that we wouldn't normally have empathy for in real life," she said. "If I can hope for anything it's that maybe some people fell in love with Robin and that helped them fall in love with girls who love girls and boys who love boys."
***
This article originally appeared on Cosmopolitan.com. Minor edits have been made by the Cosmo.ph editors.
