Update : Actor Joe Kreery , who plays Steve onStranger Things , state there ’s an actual connection to Jean - Ralphio inStranger thing 2 . learn on for the full story .
With its unsolved mysteries , lurk questions , and complex mythology , Netflix ’s 2016 sleeper hitStranger Thingshad ustheorizing for months . What ’s go on in the Upside Down ? What happened to Eleven ? Andcan we meme ourselvesusing the awful opening titles chronological succession ?
But one rooter possibility emerge as the most convincing , judgment - drift revelation : Steve Harrington , Nancy ’s wooer with the well - dress pilus , is actually the father ofParks and Recreation’sresident bad boy entrepreneur Jean - Ralphio .
NBC/Netflix
OK , take in your breather .
Almost immediately after the show debuted , viewers began to see law of similarity , noting that Steve , play by Joe Keery , have a striking resemble to theParks and Recfan - front-runner would - be Lothario portrayed by comedian Ben Schwartz . Both character are cocky , go in Indiana , and , most significantly , have amazing hair . A quick Twitter search reveal that many fan were both amuse and a little creeped out by the splitting image .
But the theorizing did n’t stop there . Soon after the show ’s unveiling , Uproxxput togetherthree very convincing theoriessupporting the idea thatSteve is in reality Jean - Ralphio ’s father , and that Pawnee , the charming small town at the center field ofParks and Rec , is actually a sunny opposite of the Upside Down . The author of the position even deposit that Jean - Ralphio could be Pawnee ’s variation of the Upside Down fiend , a terrifying violence that wet-nurse psyche .
I acknowledge : your jaw probably hurts from hitting the floor so hard . All this speculation raises an crucial question : what do the actors portraying these character have to say about this barbarian speculation ? Is this all a long - terminal figure gambit by the mysterious Duffer Brothers andParks and Recreationcreator Michael Schur to mess with our heads ? Well , skeptics and haters , dread not : Schwartz support the possibility .
Now , all we needed was confirmation from Keery , a 24 - year - old worker ( and buddingpsych - tilt musician ! ) with only a few TV credit to his name beforeStranger Thingsturned him into a subject of internet theorizing . It must be an adaption , like when Aziz Ansari ’s Tom quit his business at City Hall to work at Entertainment 720 with Jean - Ralphio . What did this young man think of this sinister theory ?
It become out , like Schwartz , he ’s a fan . " I have seen some of ( the fan theory ) , " Keery toldUSA Todaythis hebdomad . " My sisters keep charge me funny Steve / Jean - Ralphio thing . But I love Jean - Ralphio . He was like my favorite part ofParks and Rec . He ’d show up , secernate the safe put-on and leave . So , he ’s capital . "
The plot theckened . Sadly , Keery did not have any further plot detail or potentialseason two spoilersto help us piece together this mind - alter puzzle . He toldUSA Todayhe wishes the Duffer Brothers would let him in on the closed book . Bummer , right ?
Update : With the arrival ofStranger ThingsSeason Two , fans have been scouring the raw episode for clues that might make common sense of the Steve and Jean - Ralphio fan theory . sleuthhound at theHuffington Posthave already mark a scene in Episode Three where Steve gets civilize on the basketball court by Billy , the newfangled gray mullet - sporting yob in township played Dacre Montgomery . If you think Steve would be a predominant force in the paint , you ’ll be disappoint . Billy mortify him .
But you know who else struggle with hoops ? That ’s right : Jean - Ralphio . Check the GIF below if you do n’t believe us .
Those are the type of movement a Fatherhood could pass onto a son . According toa recent interviewwith theHuffington Post , the choice to make Steve a horrible basketball player was a subtle nod to the pop fan theory . “ I suppose the basketball is the only intimation , I would say , ” say Joe Keery . “ But if that ’s the case , in real lifespan Ben is an absolute , smashing basketball thespian . He has got a prissy , dulcet saltation shoot . ”
In the same interview , Keery also joked about the being of even moreParks and Recreationconnections . “ There was this entire plotline of the conception and the birth of Jean - Ralphio , but they just had to cut that for time , so hopefully they can check that in next season , ” he enounce .
Let the speculation aboutStranger Things 3begin .
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