Warning: this post contains spoilers about Stranger Things Season 2.
If you've finished bingeing the second season of Stranger Things, then your soul is probably screaming for #JusticeforBob. If you haven't finished the season and don't understand why people everywhere are sobbing for Bob Newby, here's everything you need to know about Stranger Things' new Barb. Then, check out everything you need to know about Season 3.
Who is Bob Newby?
Bob Newby is Joyce Byers' new beau, played by The Goonies star Sean Astin. If you're thinking, "But waah, I ship her and Hopper," just stop that right now because Bob is an angel and Joyce was (SOB) lucky to have him.
Why do people love him so much?
In short, Bob was perfect. He was so sweet to Joyce that, at first, it seemed like he had to be covering up something nefarious—but he wasn't. He was just such a genuinely nice, wonderful human that it seemed impossible.
Not only was he on board to be a stepdad to Jonathan and Will, but he was actually pretty great at it. Yes, he does give Will some unintentionally terrible advice (he suggests that he stand up to his fears, which leads to Will merging with the Shadow Monster), but his heart is always in the right place.
He's also the kind of brilliant nerd that Stranger Things sets up fans to root for. When Will starts drawing insane-but-somehow-connected scribbles, Bob is the one who figures out that the squiggles are a map of Hawkins. Without him, Hopper would have died in the Shadow Monster's tunnels.
Bob is the kind of hero who doesn't need people to congratulate him after he saves a life. He's the kind of hero we all wish we had in our lives. He's PERFECT.
What happens to him?
Short version: He dies.
Wait, what? How?
Longer version: After Joyce and Bob save Hopper from the Shadow Monster's tunnels, the cover-up team arrives to clean up the evidence of supernatural goings-on in Hawkins and start burning the creepy, living vines in the tunnels. This causes Will to collapse and convulse in pain. Remember, he's connected to the Shadow Monster, so he feels like he is being burned. Joyce, Bob, and Mike head to the lab with him, where Dr. Owens tries to figure out how to kill the monster vines without also killing Will.
But because this is Stranger Things and life in Hawkins is a nightmare, Demo-dogs attack the lab while our heroes are trapped there. The lights go out and the group needs someone to go turn on the electricity. Bob, a founding member of the Hawkins Middle School AV Club, volunteers as tribute. He gets the electricity sorted and unlocks the doors, which allows the others to escape.
Now it's Bob's turn to leave. He barely escapes a pack of Demo-dogs on his way to the entrance, but just when he seems to have made it out safely, a Demo-dog attacks him from the side—seemingly out of nowhere. Joyce and Hopper are just feet away, but in order to save themselves, they must leave Bob behind to be ripped apart by Demo-dogs. Why do all the good ones die horrible, supernatural deaths in Hawkins?
What does this mean?
It means that Joyce is, yes, single again and available to date Hopper. But it also means some of us will forever ship her love with Bob over anything that happens between them.
With the lab's fate unclear at the end of the season, we're not sure how Bob's death will be explained to people who don't know about the Demo-dogs and the Upside Down. What will Bob's family be told? What about his employees at the local Radio Shack? Will he get justice?
RIP, Bob.
