That was heartbreaking, though no surprise since it's obvious Joyce and Hopper are into each other. It was so sad because you could tell Joyce wasn't too sure how she felt about Bob at first but knew he was a great guy who accepted her as a single Mom and her boys, but at the end she seemed to have fallen for him after how he stepped up after learning the crazy truth about what was going on with her and Will.
RIP Bob :(
I kept expecting him to turn bad. I really though he was some sort of spy planted to keep an eye on Will. Even after I got that he was in school with Joyce and Hopper.
Anyway, it was sad the way he died, but it was very clear that he wasn't making it out of that building alive.
It briefly crossed my mind there was a more sinister purpose to him but I am glad there wasn't.
Yeah as soon as it showed him forgetting his gun I was like yeeah he's toast.
As a movie character there are certain mistakes you want to avoid. These include: never investigate noises in the basement alone, make sure the bad guys are really dead, avoid hashing out personal problems inside the enemy base, and until you've actually reached safety ... don't stop running!
Oh well. At least Bob got to be a hero and died a memorable death - the Stranger Things version of being mobbed and eaten by walkers.
I guess you can add “never date a single mother” to the list.
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Yep! He was a class act guy and he truly stepped up to the plate for Joyce and her boys. Probably the best male role model they have had in forever. Especially since he could relate to both of them on a personal level since he was an outcast and bullied as a child as well.
shareI consider him to be this season's version of Barb. The most honest and decent person in the cast who dies tragically via demogorgans. They even have similar names.
shareWe saw more of him though. Barb was a red shirt, they showed her onscreen just long enough to give her death some emotional impact and that was it. We got to know Bob a lot better. He was kind, very likable, always there when he was needed. As much as he didn't deserve what happened to him, at least he saved everyone's lives and went out a hero.
shareThat’s SO true. I just binged the series so far this past week and was shocked to find out Barb really literally WAS dead. I was so sure that we’d find out that wasn’t really her and that she was alive. I think the reason I thought this, was because for someone only showed like one or two episodes, I’ve seen bobble heads, pop figures, t-shirts etc all of Barb. I thought she was a bigger character than she really was, going off the merch.
shareBarb herself was a minor secondary character. She was sacrificed to drive home to viewers how much danger Will was really in. But her biggest contribution to the plot lies in the way she motivated Nancy; in the first season trying to save her, and in the second seeking justice for her death.
I never understood why people thought she'd been forgotten. Season 1 took place over the span of a week or so; Hopper's deputies were no doubt investigating while he was dealing with Joyce, Hawkins Lab, and all the other crazy ѕhit that was going on. The show focused on that small inner circle of characters and the attempt to rescue Will from the Upside Down. Remember that they did have Eleven locate both him and Barb - but Barb was already dead, there was no point searching through a dangerous environment like that simply to retrieve a body.
This was before cell phones too. Back then out of touch didn't just mean scatterbrained or oblivious. None of the protagonists had any clue what was happening in town. If the show was set today, everyone (including Barb's parents) would have been texting Nancy asking "Where's Barb?". In fact the furor over yet another missing kid would've had all the lead characters glued to their smart phones. The Duffer Brothers were right when they said this story really needed to be told in the pre-digital era.
Bob was awesome! He would’ve been the perfect stepdad. He tried so hard and really wanted to be part of their family. Wish my stepfather had been a “Bob the Brain”. Great character. 👍🏻
shareI expected Bob to suddenly show his true colors near the end, too. Frankly, it was rather difficult to believe someone could be so genuinely nice lol. For a while I also suspected that he had fabricated the story about his dream so that Will could give in. Turns out I had it all wrong - the guy was completely righteous and I just loved that. He was as pleasant as it gets, he stood by Joyce no matter the freaky circumstances, and he ultimately risked his own life to save those he cared about. So yeah, seeing his character get killed was sad.
When I heard Sean Astin was going to be in this season, I was stoked to see him in it, although I didn’t expect him to play an awesome character like this. He left an impression.