The Parents

[Sarah 103]

I thought it was a good idea to create a thread to discuss the parents of our kid/teen heroes. 

[Sarah 103]

I can't remember which episode in Part 1 of Season 4 it happens, but the Hawkins team is at the Wheeler house and Mr. Wheeler is not happy the kids are there, but Karen is fine with it. Although it didn't quite work out, I think Karen was onto something. 

It's based on something real. She's okay with her house being hangout central because it means she know who her kids (at least her son) is friends with. She's probably learned a little bit about who thier parents are from bits and peices of conversations she's heard over the years (or knew who thier parents were because it's a small town). Until all of the madness with the Upside-Down, she didn't really have to worry about where her son was and who he was with, because there was a better than average chance he was downstairs in the basement with Will, Dustin, and Lucas playing games, reading comic books, or something equally harmless as far as she was concerned. When he was somplace else, she knew who his friends were and trusted them enough not to worry about them getting into trouble or doing something wrong. 

[janie jones]

Are you talking about when Mr. Wheeler was mad that they were eating all the food? That guy is a jerk and it's probably where Mike gets it from.

[Sarah 103]

7 hours ago, janie jones said:

Are you talking about when Mr. Wheeler was mad that they were eating all the food? That guy is a jerk and it's probably where Mike gets it from.

That was the scene. It struck me that Karen had no problem with Mike's friends being there when Mike was on the other side of the country. She didn't make a comment something like "wouldn't you rather be someplace else?" or try to get them out of the house. She is totally cool with the fact that her place is hangout central for Mike and his friends, even when Mike isn't there.

[blueray]

I thought that was interesting too. Because at one point Nancy wasn't home either. And the rest of them were just hangout at the Wheeler house. I got the impression they didn't care. 

[Kel Varnsen]

On 6/4/2022 at 9:19 PM, Sarah 103 said:

It's based on something real. She's okay with her house being hangout central because it means she know who her kids (at least her son) is friends with.

That makes total sense. With all the murders, and weird disasters and disappearances in Hawkins if you have to feed a few extra kids every once and awhile to make sure yours are safe, it seems worth it. The dad's comments and reactions are still hilarious though. And it will probably never happen but I would love to know their back story. Is she way younger than him or is it just the styling of middle aged dudes in that time period that makes him look old. Because based on Nancy's age they would have gotten together some time in the 1960's. Was Mike's dad a Don Draper type or a total hippie?

I would also love to know the backstory of Dustin's mom. She seems to be a single mom, but she is way better off than Joyce is. So what happened to Dustin's dad?

Edited June 7, 2022 by Kel Varnsen

[turbogirlnyc]

I love Mrs. Wheeler. Season 4 Vol. 1 hair choices aside, (though I personally love it), she is trying. And yeah, her being tempted by Billy in the past was sus but can you really blame her for looking with a husband like Mr. Wheeler? Billy was a jerk but he was nice to look at.

[janie jones]

3 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Because based on Nancy's age they would have gotten together some time in the 1960's. Was Mike's dad a Don Draper type or a total hippie?

The way Nancy tells it, her mom married her dad because he was a good husband on paper, with a well-paying job. So probably not a total hippie. Not that kids always have an accurate idea of what their parents were like before they came along.

2 hours ago, turbogirlnyc said:

I love Mrs. Wheeler. Season 4 Vol. 1 hair choices aside, (though I personally love it), she is trying. And yeah, her being tempted by Billy in the past was sus but can you really blame her for looking with a husband like Mr. Wheeler? Billy was a jerk but he was nice to look at.

That whole thing with all the moms drooling over Billy was so unrealistic to me. I guess he's got a nice body and the dude isn't ugly, but the patchy facial hair and stringy, greasy hair were not doing him any favors. He probably reeked of cigarettes. To each their own.

[Redrum]

1 hour ago, janie jones said:

That whole thing with all the moms drooling over Billy was so unrealistic to me. I guess he's got a nice body and the dude isn't ugly, but the patchy facial hair and stringy, greasy hair were not doing him any favors. He probably reeked of cigarettes. To each their own.

He was very 80's "dangerous" looking. Good looking, tough but also a bit rockstar... A more american Billy Idol or a Jon Bon Jovi. 

[Kel Varnsen]

10 hours ago, janie jones said:

He probably reeked of cigarettes. 

I feel like smelling of cigarettes might not have been that much of a deal breaker. Because from what I remember that smell was probably everywhere back then because it was so much more common. I am old enough to remember going to restaurants and being asked if you wanted to sit in the smoking or non-smoking section, and there was no barrier between them (and sometimes if a restaurant was busy you would just take the first available). In the 90's when I was old enough to go to bars that generally didn't have non-smoking areas having that smell on you made hangovers worse. And I can't imagine what it was like when the smoking light on a plane meant something. So anyone around Billy was probably used to smelling that smell.

[questionfear]

On 6/5/2022 at 9:31 AM, janie jones said:

Are you talking about when Mr. Wheeler was mad that they were eating all the food? That guy is a jerk and it's probably where Mike gets it from.

I had this theory a while ago but it feels strengthened by S4: 90% of the plot of this show is Mr Wheeler's fault. 

S1: The kids get thrown out by Mrs Wheeler because Mr Wheeler wants dinner. Will gets yoinked into the upside down by the mind flayer because he was riding home at the wrong time. It's tenuous but we can blame Mr Wheeler's hostility towards the boys being over for the timing of Will's leaving. If anyone other than that group of the core 4 boys had been grabbed, it's far more likely Eleven gets recaptured and the government covers everything up. 

S2: Mr Wheeler's whole "We love the police and we'll absolutely alert you if this weird escaped child shows up/we had nothing to do with the weird escaped child" routine drives Eleven away from letting Mike know she's still alive. Admittedly, this does drive her to Hopper's care and that's not a bad thing, but still his fault she felt unsafe. Also, his bad attitude is what drives Mrs Wheeler to her crush on Billy. 

S3: If Mr Wheeler hadn't been a jerk, Mrs Wheeler wouldn't have made those plans with Billy. Without those plans, Billy doesn't get taken by the Mind Flayer. Probably someone else does, but maybe Billy doesn't die. 

S4: Mr Wheeler is just a jerk to everyone, and we can blame Mike's weird attitude towards expressing his feelings towards El on his father. 

See? The true villain isn't Vecna, or the Mind Flayer, it's Mr Wheeler and his attitude! 

(Ok, so a lot of this is a huge stretch. But it's fun to imagine Mr Wheeler as the background player who sets off a number of the dominoes inadvertently. Do we know what he does for work? Maybe he was also involved inadvertently in Starcourt?)

[Sarah 103]

14 hours ago, janie jones said:

The way Nancy tells it, her mom married her dad because he was a good husband on paper, with a well-paying job. So probably not a total hippie. Not that kids always have an accurate idea of what their parents were like before they came along.

That whole thing with all the moms drooling over Billy was so unrealistic to me. I guess he's got a nice body and the dude isn't ugly, but the patchy facial hair and stringy, greasy hair were not doing him any favors. 

I agree with you. The way Nancy tells it, her father was far closer to Don Draper than a hippie. Based on when Nancy was born, Karen would have been towards the end of a woman picking a husband because they'd be able to support her, but it's possible. It's towards the end of the "The husband is the breadwinner and if the wife works part-time it's for pin money/little extras" era. Keep in mind, when Karen married, the idea of women having long-term serious well-paying careers like thier husbands was just barely starting to become more of a possibility. 

I can see the moms drooling over Billy. It's the bad boy they always secretly wanted. They never got over thier high-school fantasies.    

[Redrum]

In the Monster and the Superhero episode - I thought Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler were a wee bit too "what evs" over the way the kids were acting. Not that the kids were *there* in the house despite Mike not being around, but Max, Dustin, Robin, Steve, Nancy and Lucas spending the night in the basement? And Max making really creepy drawings and talking about something clearly unpleasant and them not asking any questions? Even after leaving an art display of a creepy house with hanging bodies on the breakfast table with the six year old?

[ch1]

On 6/13/2022 at 11:18 AM, Redrum said:

In the Monster and the Superhero episode - I thought Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler were a wee bit too "what evs" over the way the kids were acting. Not that the kids were *there* in the house despite Mike not being around, but Max, Dustin, Robin, Steve, Nancy and Lucas spending the night in the basement? And Max making really creepy drawings and talking about something clearly unpleasant and them not asking any questions? Even after leaving an art display of a creepy house with hanging bodies on the breakfast table with the six year old?

That was extremely bizarre.

[bijoux]

On 6/8/2022 at 1:58 AM, turbogirlnyc said:

I love Mrs. Wheeler. Season 4 Vol. 1 hair choices aside, (though I personally love it), she is trying. And yeah, her being tempted by Billy in the past was sus but can you really blame her for looking with a husband like Mr. Wheeler? Billy was a jerk but he was nice to look at.

On 6/8/2022 at 4:39 AM, janie jones said:

That whole thing with all the moms drooling over Billy was so unrealistic to me. I guess he's got a nice body and the dude isn't ugly, but the patchy facial hair and stringy, greasy hair were not doing him any favors. He probably reeked of cigarettes. To each their own.

If the rest of the ladies had husbands glued to their La-Z-Boys like Mr Wheeler, yeah, I can totally see it. You seriously have to wonder if that man is breathing at times.

Karen is a total babe and she always tries. We've seen her going by Joyce's when Will disappeared for instance. She deserves more effort.

I'd like to know what happened to Dustin's dad. Was there ever a Mr Henderson or has it always been him and his mom?

[Taryn74]

1 hour ago, bijoux said:

I'd like to know what happened to Dustin's dad. Was there ever a Mr Henderson or has it always been him and his mom?

I want to know this too!

I adore your profile pic, btw. Baby Groot is the best thing ever.

[Kel Varnsen]

1 hour ago, bijoux said:

I'd like to know what happened to Dustin's dad. Was there ever a Mr Henderson or has it always been him and his mom?

I have wondered about that since at least season 2. Dustin and his mom seem to be doing way better financially than Will and Joyce. They have a way nicer house and Dustin has lots of cool stuff and goes to fancy science camps. So it doesn't seem like a deadbeat dad, single mom working retail kind of situation. 

[blueray]

3 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I have wondered about that since at least season 2. Dustin and his mom seem to be doing way better financially than Will and Joyce. They have a way nicer house and Dustin has lots of cool stuff and goes to fancy science camps. So it doesn't seem like a deadbeat dad, single mom working retail kind of situation. 

I think she has a decent enough job (and maybe he pays child support) but it does seem to be just Dustin and his mom. Maybe for the science camp, he got a scholarship or something?

[festivus]

Maybe he died and left a good insurance policy. 

[Nashville]

On 7/24/2022 at 12:45 PM, festivus said:

Maybe he died and left a good insurance policy. 

Dustin’s dad was alive the last time (well, the only time IIRC) we saw him; S1E5, at the funeral for the fake Will Byers body.  My personal guess is he and Dustin’s mother are separated:

1. Three ways a father figure gets written out of a series: (a) WAY-out-of-town job, (b) separation/divorce, or (c) death.
2. Should be pretty easy to rule out (a) - they'd still have Dustin/Mom getting the occasional "touching base" phone call from Dad.
3. Easy to rule out (c) as well; there'd be some mention of such a traumatic event in a major character's life, if only other cast members asking Dustin if he was doing ok.
4. Abandonment issues would explain MomH’s overprotective tendencies towards Dustin - but she doesn’t badtalk DadH around Dustin because she’s holding on to some sliver of hope DadH might return, and she doesn’t want to poison any future relationship Dustin might have with his father.
5. Dustin seems much more pragmatic about things than his mother, however, and to all intents and purposes appears to have written off his father as having any mention-worthy role in Dustin’s life whatsoever.  

Because of #5 if nothing else I’d guess DadH ditched his family and ran off with another woman (a solid dose of middle-age crazy, maybe?) or some equally drastic and personally betraying version of abandonment.

[festivus]

Didn't remember seeing his dad. Season one was a long time ago. If he did run off with another woman I can see him showering Dustin with presents and trips to science camp.

[Nashville]

1 hour ago, festivus said:

Didn't remember seeing his dad.

Don’t feel bad.  DustinDad’s total series exposure to date has been one episode, in one scene, for about 1 second as a camera panned across the attendees of the fake funeral.  I don’t think you even got a real clear shot at Dad’s face - the primary focus of the shot was the kids’ faces, Dustin was standing in front of Dad, and the midline of the pan was at Dustin’s face level.  IIRC he was a pretty large guy, both vertically and horizontally - think Hugo from Lost, but whiter.

[janie jones]

How can you tell that's supposed to be  his dad and not some other guy?

[Sarah 103]

21 hours ago, festivus said:

If he did run off with another woman I can see him showering Dustin with presents and trips to science camp.

That would make sense to me. They are seperated/divorced, he might be the type who rarely sees his son. Instead of spending time with Dustin, he makes up for it with expensive toys and experiences.