If you haven't watched Stranger Things, stop reading, watch it, and then come back to read this!

The popular show is streaming on Netflix; there are four seasons, with the fourth season being the latest and most anticipated!

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Stranger Things is a TV series that takes place in the 1980s. A group of young friends is exposed to terrifying supernatural forces and government secret experiments. As they dig and search for the truth, the friends start unveiling even more unusual secrets.

Even though the show is set in the 1980s, the Duffer brothers, Matt and Ross, who wrote the series, weren't afraid to add more diversity to their show. Let's be honest, in the 1980s, racism toward interracial couples was still pretty much alive. Discrimination was still abundant against them.

So for Stranger Things to be representing interracial couples it's a bold move! Other TV show and movie writers can take notes on how to be ahead of your time!

Warning! Spoilers Ahead!

Lucas and Max

In the second season, we are introduced to more characters who have semi-leading roles this season, such as tomboy Max and her older step-brother Billy.

As soon as Lucas sees Max, he falls head over heels in love with her, and they start dating. The young lovebirds are an interracial couple who face difficulties in life other than fighting demonic alien-like monsters, such as Max's older brother being racist.

It's Not a Strange Thing

Apart from Max's older step-brother, everybody in the show has no problem with the duo being an interracial couple. No one even points out the fact that they are interracial. They're just a regular couple, just like any other!

Lucas faces violence and bullying from Billy, Max's older step-brother. Billy tells Max that she can't date Lucas because he is black. In an episode in the second season, after Billy sees an interaction between Max and Lucas, he warns her to stay away from him by saying, "there is a certain type of people in this world you stay away from," adding "Lucas is one of them."

Season two also has a guest star and a fan favorite, Lucas' little sister Erica who was so successful she got an extended role in the following seasons. Erica is portrayed as the annoying younger sibling who would torment and make fun of her older brother Lucas and his girlfriend. Don't get me wrong; she wasn't making fun of the fact they were in an interracial relationship. She was just the annoying younger sibling.

Young and in Love

What a thing to be young and in love? But for these teens, it's not that simple! While dealing with everyday things such as school, homework, and crushes, they are also fighting dark and supernatural entities.

In the summer of 1985, Max has some troubles with Lucas because he doesn't show his romantic side as often as she would like. Also, while Lucas is trying to find Dustin's girlfriend from camp (which the gang doesn't believe she exists), he expresses that there is no such thing as a 'perfect girl.' Max showed that this comment hurt her, and Lucas understood that, but she played it off and replied with a statement stating that she's 'perfect.'

The gang is once more bought together to fight another demonic creature that has possessed Max's step-brother Billy (who was racist toward Lucas.) By the end of the fight at the mall, Billy sacrifices himself to save his sister Max, her boyfriend Lucas, and her friends.

At the end of season three, we can see that Max and Lucas' love has reignited after going through all of the hardships.

Finally, in the latest season, the gang are no longer young kids, and they have grown into teenagers. We can see that the dynamic duo has broken up, and it mustn't have been pretty.

Strangely the latest monster of the series, Venca, has bought the pair closer together again. Unfortunately, Venca has cursed Max, and she is destined to die at any moment. After being possessed, she falls into Lucas' arms after coming out of the trance, they're not officially back together at this point, but their feelings have started showing. At one point, Lucas tells Max that he has missed her laugh.

Audience Critique

One thing is clear to say; people are shipping Max and Lucas' relationship hard, even saying that they are #couplegoals. Even though it's a tv show about monsters and demons, people have expressed that the portrayal of Lucas and Max's relationship and break up is very realistic.

They showed people that break-ups are okay, having healthy arguments is an OK way to express your feelings, and that if it's meant to be, it will, without losing yourself in the middle of it or trying too hard!

Finally Happening

We're thrilled that interracial couples and relationships have started being correctly represented in pop culture, especially when the show is set in the past (the 1980s) when interracial couples were still considered abnormal.

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