Joyce Byers
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Stranger Things Character Guide
Joyce Byers, portrayed by Winona Ryder, is a major protagonist in Stranger Things. The financially poor single mother of Will and Jonathan Byers, Joyce works as a retail clerk and relies on help from her eldest to make ends meet.
After Will mysteriously disappeared, Joyce was certain that he was communicating with her through the lights in her house. Despite everyone treating her as if she was having a mental breakdown, Joyce refused to believe that Will was dead, even after his alleged corpse was found. Through cooperation with her friend and local police chief Jim Hopper, Will's friends, and Jonathan, she eventually uncovered the circumstances of her son's disappearance and entered the Upside Down to rescue him.
A year after the mysterious tragedy of her son, Joyce helps her son with another issue following the events of the first season as she begins dating her old classmate Bob Newby until his death. Towards the end, she, Jonathan, and Nancy succeed in saving Will from the Mind Flayer.
In 1985, Joyce catches the romantic interest of Jim Hopper. Later she and Hopper discover that most of the magnets in Hawkins have lost their magnetism, following a power outage. As Joyce and Hopper work together in solving the mystery, they find themselves in the cross-hairs of Russian hit-man Grigori and capture Russian scientist Alexei, who reveals that the Russians are in Hawkins opening a new gate to the Upside Down underneath Starcourt Mall. With the help of Murray Bauman, Joyce and Hopper infiltrate the Russian base and close the gate at the cost of Hopper's life. Three months after Hopper's supposed demise, Joyce takes in Eleven and moves her family out of Hawkins.
After Will mysteriously disappeared, Joyce was certain that he was communicating with her through the lights in her house. Despite everyone treating her as if she was having a mental breakdown, Joyce refused to believe that Will was dead, even after his alleged corpse was found. Through cooperation with her friend and local police chief Jim Hopper, Will's friends, and Jonathan, she eventually uncovered the circumstances of her son's disappearance and entered the Upside Down to rescue him.
A year after the mysterious tragedy of her son, Joyce helps her son with another issue following the events of the first season as she begins dating her old classmate Bob Newby until his death. Towards the end, she, Jonathan, and Nancy succeed in saving Will from the Mind Flayer.
In 1985, Joyce catches the romantic interest of Jim Hopper. Later she and Hopper discover that most of the magnets in Hawkins have lost their magnetism, following a power outage. As Joyce and Hopper work together in solving the mystery, they find themselves in the cross-hairs of Russian hit-man Grigori and capture Russian scientist Alexei, who reveals that the Russians are in Hawkins opening a new gate to the Upside Down underneath Starcourt Mall. With the help of Murray Bauman, Joyce and Hopper infiltrate the Russian base and close the gate at the cost of Hopper's life. Three months after Hopper's supposed demise, Joyce takes in Eleven and moves her family out of Hawkins.