Jonathan Byers

Jonathan is smart, introverted, asocial, kind, independent, and brave. Despite being a small-town boy, according to Joyce, he wants to go to college at New York University. He has a strong bond with his family and is implied to have a soft spot for animals, as he cried for a week after his tenth birthday when his father forced him to kill a rabbit on a hunting trip. He also has a keen interest in music, creating several mixtapes for himself and his brother, and is an aspiring photographer.

In 1984, Jonathan's personality managed to change a little bit. He became protective of Will, but not as much as his mother. He even encouraged Will to not let his differences bother him and that it's okay to be different not matter what. Jonathan tries to be by his brother's side despite it being difficult as Jonathan noted that Will has changed a lot since his time in the Upside Down. Jonathan was also not too happy with his mother's relationship with Bob Newby as both he and Joyce suffered from constant verbal abuse from his father than Will ever did. Jonathan also became friends with Steve Harrington and was on good terms with him. Jonathan also developed feelings for Nancy Wheeler, who shared his trauma, but struggled to accept them until he was encouraged by Murray Bauman. And by a month later, Jonathan was happy to start a relationship with Nancy.

In 1985, Jonathan had become a devoted boyfriend to Nancy as he was willing to help and take care of her while they both worked at The Hawkins Post. Jonathan disapproved of how his co-workers treated Nancy and always comforted her after she was insulted while trying to stay loyal to his job. Jonathan was even willing to assist Nancy in gaining respect from their co-workers, but when Nancy started to go through such lengths to earn the approval, she believed she deserved, Jonathan became reluctant and worried that Nancy was not making the right decisions. When Nancy's determination led to the both of them getting fired, Jonathan angrily blamed Nancy for costing him his job and means to support his family, thus causing his relationship with her to become strained. However, when informed that the Mind Flayer had returned to Hawkins and that both of their brothers could be danger, Jonathan didn't hesitate to work with Nancy to protect their brothers and friends while stopping the Mind Flayer. This allowed Jonathan to apologize to Nancy for not fully supporting her and Nancy to apologize to him in turn for criticizing him, as the two rekindled their relationship.