#JusticeForBarb

The character with under five minutes of screentime who stole our hearts.

Jan 23, 2023

The first episode on my short-lived podcast was all about Barb Holland, so it only made sense to make her my first post for What Girls Do. I don’t know what it was about Barb Holland, but I like oh so many Stranger Things viewers fell in love with her.

It should go without saying, but I will be spoiling Stranger Things and Barb’s fate in this post, so if you’ve somehow avoided both in the seven years that it’s been out then kudos to you, but that time ends now.

Who was Barb Holland?

Barbara “Barb” Holland was born either on September 13 1967 (Stranger Things wikia) or September 20 1966 (The Book of Barb, Nadia Bailey) in Hawkins, Indiana to Marsha Holland and an unnamed father. She was childhood friends with Robin Buckley, and the two girls would often imagine exploring the world outside of Hawkins, but in the sixth grade Barb became friends with popular girl Nancy Wheeler and drifted from Robin (Stranger Things wikia, Rebel Robin).

In high school in 1983, Barb was cautious of Nancy’s new boyfriend, the popular Steve Harrington, but she remained loyal to Nancy and drove her to Steve’s house for a party. Out of her element, Barb gave in to peer-pressure and ended up cutting her hand as she attempted to shotgun a beer (Stranger Things wikia). Later in the night, Barb confronts Nancy about how she doesn’t like who Nancy is when she’s with Steve. Nancy disregards Barb’s concern and tells her to go home as Nancy goes upstairs to Steve’s room. Alone, Barb goes out to the now empty pool and sits on the end of the diving board when some of her blood drips into the pool which attracts the attention of the Demogorgon. The Demogorgon brings Barb to the Upside Down where she is killed, her last words asking Nancy for help that go unheard.

The Sacrificial Lamb

Barb follows a lot of common character tropes as listed on TV Tropes, the most obvious being the Sacrificial Lamb. As TV Tropes defines it, the Sacrificial Lamb is “presented as an important part in the plot or having a close relationship with the main characters, perhaps filling a character archetype (love interest, best friend, etc). Then, in a shocking twist, the lamb is slaughtered early on — by episode seven, tops, and likely sooner…In short — This Character Exists to Die,” (TV Tropes, Sacrificial Lamb).

And boy oh boy does Barb set this up! With her thick glasses, conservative style, and great care for her best friend Nancy, Barb seemingly has no flaws and is clearly underdeveloped. She’s introduced to the audience as a harmless, kind character. Her death shouldn’t have been as shocking as it was, even though she was basically introduced and died an episode apart from each other this is a fairly basic formula for horror characters. Someone (usually a woman, or a person of colour, or someone in the queer community, or all three) dies so the audience can understand the danger that the living characters are going to have to fight against.

Barb fits in better with this trope than originally planned as many viewers also identified her as queer, and apparently in the companion book Rebel Robin it’s implied she was a lesbian (Rebel Robin). While no official coming out scene is shown, viewers made these inferences by how Barb noticed Nancy was wearing a new bra for Steve’s party, as well as that Barb’s last words being Nancy’s name. Barb then also inhabits the trope of Bury Your Gays, where the “deaths of LGBT characters…are nominally able to be viewed as more expendable than their heterosexual counterparts. In this way, the death is treated as exceptional in its circumstances…queer characters are more likely to die than straight characters,” (TV Tropes, Bury Your Gays).

But Barb fights against the Sacrificial Lamb trope. Instead of being forgotten by the other characters and audience members, people remembered Barb. Fans were outraged that this character died and wanted her to be remembered.

So why did everyone care so much?

Justice for Barb – Hey, Let's Make Stuff (heyletsmakestuff.com)

I remember feeling terrified when the Demogorgon came for Barb and so unbelievably upset when she died. But then came the anger, that this character I loved so much for such a short amount of time was gone with no hope of being brought back. It wasn’t fair, I wanted more Barb.

I wasn’t alone in feeling this way, many fans of Stranger Things felt the same way. People mourned for Barb, people wanted more from Barb, and those who didn’t love her as much as some fans did still cared a little. But the overall question was, why? Why did everyone care so much for Barb Holland?

A lot of credit has to be given to Barb’s actress, Shannon Purser, who received an Emmy-nomination for her small role on Stranger Things. It was her debut television role at the time, and Purser gave her all when portraying Barb. She gave her a heart, she emphasized her kindness, she perfectly portrayed her as an outcast trying so desperately to protect her friend. She wanted the best for Nancy and was pushed aside, forgotten, and killed because of it. Barb appears flawless during her short time onscreen, she doesn’t do anything wrong which makes her death even more tragic.

High school is rough, and I don’t think anyone is a stranger to rejection. It’s one thing to be rejected by a romantic partner, it’s another to be rejected by a friend, especially when that rejection comes from wanting the best for your friend. Barb sees Nancy change for the worst when she is with Steve and wants her friend to remain the good person she knows she is, and Nancy chooses a boy she barely knows over her best friend.

Barb is a relatable character, a misfit, someone who was just trying her best. She isn’t one of the popular kids, more of a misfit with her only friend being Nancy (though this was later retconned that she was friends with Robin in the past, so Barb’s rejection of Robin becomes interesting and perhaps parallels the two of them) who is the only one who misses Barb and notices when she disappears. It struck a chord with audiences which sparked the hashtag #WeAreAllBarb by her fans. People saw themselves in her. Everyone has been Barb at some point in their life. Barb is the person who tries to help a friend who won’t listen, the person who’s tried and failed to fit in, Barb is everyone who has ever felt alone and like an outcast.

But another thing that stuck with fans was the lack of care that occurred when Barb went missing. While the town of Hawkins showed concern for young Will Byers, Barb was forgotten. Nancy, who rejected her, is the only one who worries about Barb, who sees a connection between her and Will’s disappearance. Even her parents seem unconcerned at first with their daughter’s disappearance, believing her to be at the library when they don’t find her at home. Barb’s disappearance is later covered up by the Hawkins Lab which is believed by the Hawkins Police Department who create a story of Barb running away from home. This character who was shown to be kind, obedient, who never got into trouble was turned into a teenage runaway whose disappearance wasn’t worth investigating, and that no one in Hawkins even questioned that Barb would run away from home despite hint that her character would do this. Unlike Will, Barb was forgotten. No one, aside from Nancy, bothered to look for her.

#JusticeForBarb

Which is, of course, what prompted the infamous hashtag #JusticeForBarb. Unsatisfied with how the show handled her dead and even though she was confirmed to be dead to audience members and some of the characters Hawkins was left to consider her a runaway, fans wanted a better ending. This lead to the Duffer Brothers creating a subplot in the second season with Nancy and Jonathan investigating and exposing the Hawkins lab as responsible for Barb’s death. This then led to the lab being shut down and taking responsibility for her death. Barb is then given a proper funeral and properly laid to rest.

As a fan of Barb, I thought the Duffer Brothers did a good job concluding Barb’s story. They listened to fans, saw the outrage and care that viewers had over their Sacrificial Lamb and made sure she wasn’t forgotten. It was done respectfully and with the care her fans and character deserved. The storyline acknowledged Nancy’s guilt over her friend’s death, showed Barb’s parents grieve their daughter, and gave Barb her long fought for justice which brought closure to her and her many fans.

In the end Barb didn’t end up just being another Sacrifical Lamb or forgotten dead girl, and that’s all because of her fans. Fans wanted more for Barb, they didn’t want her death to be forgotten. Viewers recognized that she should be remembered, leaving Barb Holland as one of the most memorable television characters in recent years.

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