Jonathan Byers (Stranger Things): Will's big brother, the camera, and Nancy
Character · The big brother · Seasons 1 to 5
Jonathan Byers is Will's big brother, and the Stranger Things character who grew up too fast. A solitary photographer, man of the house at sixteen, he goes through the show with a camera around his neck, a nail bat in his hand, and Nancy Wheeler at his side, from 1983 to 1987. This page brings together everything: his five seasons, his mother, his brother, Nancy, Argyle, and the breakup that closes his story.
The essentials
- Name: Jonathan Byers, eldest son of Joyce and Lonnie Byers
- Family: Will, his little brother; Eleven, his adoptive sister from 1985 on
- First appearance: season 1 (November 1983), a senior at Hawkins High
- Distinctive signs: the camera, the Walkman, the family car that stalls
- Ties: Nancy Wheeler, Argyle, Steve Harrington, Murray Bauman
- Played by: Charlie Heaton
- Status: alive; splits from Nancy amicably at the end of season 5
Contents
Played by
Charlie Heaton
It is Charlie Heaton who lends his face to Jonathan Byers on the show.
Image: Stranger Things series, via static0.srcdn.com.
Who is Jonathan Byers?
When Will disappears, in November 1983, Jonathan is the one who makes breakfast, who calls the absent father, who prints the posters. He is sixteen, and he has been the only adult in the house for a long time. Lonnie Byers, his father, left debts and cruel remarks; Jonathan took over, without anyone asking.
He is the outsider at Hawkins High: a quiet boy, a camera around his neck, rock tapes in the walkman he plays for Will to give him courage. The first time we really see him, he is secretly photographing a party by a pool, and Steve Harrington breaks his camera. On the pictures, though, there is a silhouette behind Barb.
Jonathan is the character on the show who sees without being seen. He guesses that Will is alive, that the creature is drawn to blood, that Nancy is worth more than Steve. He is rarely wrong. He talks little. And when it is time to hold a bat, tie his brother down, or cross the desert, he does it.
The two brothers' songThe Clash song Jonathan plays for Will, “Should I Stay or Should I Go,” is the thread of season 1: it comes through a fried radio when Will calls from the other world. Jonathan did not pick it at random. It is the song he used to put on to cover their parents' fights.
In the shop: a piece inspired by Jonathan Byers, chosen by us.
In the shopWomen's Will Byers T-shirt39,90 €See the product
Jonathan season by season
1983Season 1: the trap
Jonathan looks for Will alone, at night, in Mirkwood forest. His photos of the party reveal the creature, and Nancy, who has lost Barb, comes to find him. Together they understand that the thing is drawn to blood, buy a rifle and traps, and turn the Byers house into an ambush. The Demogorgon survives, Steve joins the fight, and Eleven finishes the job elsewhere. Jonathan gets his brother back at the hospital. Nancy, for her part, stays with Steve.
1984Season 2: Murray
Nancy and Jonathan trap the lab to avenge Barb, record the confession of Dr. Owens, and hand the tape to Murray Bauman, a paranoid journalist. At his place, between two drinks, Murray tells them what they refuse to see. They spend the night together. Back in Hawkins, Jonathan holds his possessed brother while Joyce burns him with radiators until the shadow comes out of him.
1985Season 3: the Hawkins Post
Summer 1985, Jonathan and Nancy are interns at the local paper. She investigates rats and the Flayed, he photographs, and both are fired. He follows her anyway, into a hospital where the flesh monster attacks them, then to Starcourt. After the battle and Hopper's presumed death, Joyce sells the house, and Jonathan leaves Nancy for California with his family.
1986Season 4: Argyle
In Lenora Hills, Jonathan has a new friend, Argyle, a pizza delivery guy and a heavy smoker, with whom he spends more time than with his books. He has been accepted to a local college and is hiding it from Nancy, who is waiting for him in Boston. When Eleven is taken away, he crosses the desert in Argyle's van with Mike and Will, helps build the deprivation tank in a pizzeria, and brings everyone back to Hawkins. In the van, he understands, before Mike, what Will cannot say, and lets him know it gently.
1987Season 5: the radio and the breakup
Under the quarantine, Jonathan hosts the pirate radio WSQK with Nancy and Steve. The rivalry with Steve over Nancy breaks out, then is resolved at the worst moment: at the heart of the battle, Jonathan saves his life. Trapped with Nancy in a room that is collapsing, he finally has with her the conversation they had been putting off for years, and they part, on good terms. The May 1989 epilogue shows him with his family, at Hopper's marriage proposal.
What defines him
He sees before the others: the silhouette behind Barb, the truth about Steve, Will's secret. Jonathan looks, and what he sees always ends up mattering.
He ties Will down, burns him, holds him. He crosses a desert for Eleven. Jonathan protects before he understands, and understands after.
He tells Nancy neither that he loves her, nor that he turned down Boston. His silences cost a lot, and season 5 makes him pay the price.
The friend who teaches him to breathe. The funniest duo of season 4, and the only time Jonathan is not responsible for anyone.
Key moments
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The broken camera
In the movie-theater parking lot, Steve rips the camera from his hands and throws it on the ground. Jonathan picks up the pieces without a word. Nancy, for her part, has seen.
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The Byers trap
A bear trap, gasoline, a nail bat. Jonathan and Nancy wait for the creature in the living room, hand in hand, without looking at each other.
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Murray's motel
Two neighboring rooms, a hallway, and Murray who has said it all. The most awaited night of season 2, and the least shown.
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The exorcism
He holds his brother tied to the chair while their mother turns up the heat. Jonathan cries, and does not let go.
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The van, 1986
Will talks about the painting, Mike does not understand, and Jonathan, at the wheel, looks at his brother in the rearview mirror. He has understood. He will wait until Will is ready.
Another piece from the selection: a piece inspired by Jonathan Byers.
In the shopLego Jonathan Byers mini figure on skateboard14,90 €See the product
Their ties
| Person | What he or she is to Jonathan | The key moment |
|---|---|---|
| Will Byers | The little brother he raises in place of the father | The song in the bedroom; the 1984 exorcism |
| Joyce Byers | The mother he supports more than she supports him | The 1983 posters |
| Nancy Wheeler | The war partner who became a girlfriend, then a friend | Murray's motel; the 1987 breakup |
| Steve Harrington | The rival who breaks his camera, then whom he saves | The final battle of 1987 |
| Argyle | The California friend, the only one who asks him for nothing | The van in the desert |
| Lonnie Byers | The absent father, the counter-model | Lonnie's only return, in 1983, for the money |
Not to be confused
| People often say | In reality | The landmark |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan and Nancy end up together | They part on good terms in 1987 | The room that collapses |
| Jonathan is Mike's brother | He is Will's brother; Mike is Nancy's brother | Two distinct families |
| Jonathan made the nail bat | He prepared it with Nancy for the trap; Steve picks it up | The Byers house, 1983 |
| Jonathan went to Boston | He hid from Nancy his admission to a local California college | Season 4 |
A rarer confusion: Jonathan has never been possessed, unlike his brother. He is the one who holds him during the 1984 exorcism, and him again who talks to him in the van in 1986. The bond between the two brothers is the most stable on the show, and the least commented on.
Our Jonathan Byers products
Jonathan is the photographer of the show: posters, T-shirts, and accessories inspired by the darkroom and the Byers house. We pick every piece ourselves, and claim nothing beyond our passion for the show.
To complete the reading: a piece inspired by Jonathan Byers.
In the shopWill Byers hoodie59,90 €See the product
Frequently asked questions
Who is Jonathan in Stranger Things?
Jonathan Byers is Will's big brother and Joyce's eldest son. A solitary photographer, the man of the house since their father Lonnie left, he investigates with Nancy into his brother's disappearance in 1983, sets a trap for the Demogorgon, and remains, season after season, the one who holds his people together.
Do Jonathan and Nancy end up together?
No. Together since 1984, they drift apart in season 4, when Jonathan hides from Nancy his admission to a California college. In season 5, trapped in a room that is collapsing, they finally have the conversation they had been putting off and part on good terms.
Who is Argyle in Stranger Things?
Argyle is Jonathan's California friend in season 4, a delivery guy for the Surfer Boy Pizza parlor. His van serves as the vehicle for Jonathan, Mike, and Will to cross the desert as far as Nevada, and his pizzeria as a makeshift lab for Eleven's deprivation tank. He brings everyone back to Hawkins.
Why does Jonathan photograph Steve's party?
In 1983, looking for Will in the woods, he comes across the party by the pool and photographs in secret. Steve breaks his camera. But on the prints, Nancy spots a silhouette behind Barb, just before her disappearance: the first image of the Demogorgon, and the start of their investigation.
Is Jonathan possessed in Stranger Things?
No. It is his brother Will who is possessed by the Mind Flayer in 1984. Jonathan holds him while Joyce heats him with radiators to drive the shadow out. He goes through the five seasons with no possession, curse, or serious injury.
Who plays Jonathan Byers?
Charlie Heaton has played Jonathan since 2016. The images on this page come from the show and its promotion; they remain the property of their rights holders.