Stranger Things has been an homage to 80s movies since its first season. Part of that street cred comes from the casting of Winona Ryder as Joyce, the overprotective mother of Will and Jonathan. Winona was a bona fide movie star in the 80s and 90s, with her roles in films like Edward Scissorhands and Heathers.
In Stranger Things, Winona Ryder gets to shine again as Joyce. Over three seasons, the character has been in the forefront of some of the show's most badass moments. With season 4 on the horizon, it'd be fun to take a look at some of Joyce's best quotes, which prove how strong she is against the supernatural forces of Hawkins.
9 Joyce Spirals In Season One
The first season finds Joyce on the verge of losing her mind after her son, Will, goes missing. Refusing to accept his death, Joyce discovers that she is able to communicate with her son via Christmas lights. This discovery only leads Joyce to become ostracized by those she loves in fear of her descending into madness.
In Season 1, Episode 5, Joyce confronts Lonnie, Will's absent father, over his attempts to profit off of Will's death via litigation. Angrily, Joyce defends her actions:
Maybe I am a mess. Maybe I'm crazy! Maybe I'm out of my mind. But God help me, I will keep these lights up until the day I die if I think there's a chance that Will's still out there.
Despite how erratic Joyce comes off in these early episodes, this moment proves that she is nothing if not a fierce protector of her children.
8 Joyce Comforts Jonathan
The disappearance of Will in season one finds Joyce growing distant from Jonathan, Will's older brother. They go off on separate paths to look for answers, as Joyce refuses to believe that Will is dead and Jonathan assists Nancy Wheeler's hunt for her friend Barb. Eventually, they reunite when Joyce finds Jonathan in jail.
Joyce argues with her son at the police station, as she is upset that Jonathan risked him and Nancy's life. When Jonathan claims he thinks he can save Will, Joyce tearfully replies:
This is not yours to fix alone. You act like you're all alone out there in the world, but you're not. You're not alone.
After a season of Jonathan feeling isolated from people, especially Nancy, this heartfelt speech from his mother is all he needs to hear.
7 Joyce Versus Hawkins Lab
The final episode of season one of Stranger Things finds Joyce at her most confident and courageous in the series up until that point. The episode begins with Joyce held in custody at Hawkins Lab being interrogated by Dr. Brenner (played by Matthew Modine). Brenner tries to appeal to Joyce, claiming he wants to save Will's life.
Joyce, however, sees through Brenner's manipulations. She halts his speech, and fires back with one of the show's most badass lines:
I know who you are. I know what you've done. You took my boy away from me! You left him in that place to die! You faked his death! We had a funeral. We buried him! And now you're asking for my help? Go to hell.
Thankfully, this isn't the last time in the series that Joyce stands up to authority.
6 Joyce's New Dating Life
When Season 2 begins, it's been almost a year since Will's disappearance. The Byers family seems to be in a better place, as Joyce is dating an old high school flame named Bob. On Halloween, Jonathan takes Will trick-or-treating, while Joyce tries to enjoy a romantic evening with Bob, despite her stress.
After Bob suggests they move out of Hawkins, Joyce tries her best to explain why the Byers are so tied to the town. The best she can muster is a simple fact:
This is not a normal family.
Though Joyce is touched by Bob's insistence that they could be, the sweet RadioShack employee doesn't know what he's in for.
5 Joyce Becomes An Exorcist
Later in season 2, Will becomes possessed by a powerful entity from the Upside-Down that the kids dub "The Mind Flayer." Knowing that the creature hates heat, Joyce partners up with Jonathan and Nancy to exorcise Will. They take him to Hopper's remote cabin and surround him with heaters to torture the Mind Flayer.
Just before they activate all the heaters, Joyce prepares to blast her son's body with an immense amount of heat. However, Joyce hasn't lost her confidence from season 1, dropping the iconic line:
This thing has had Will long enough. Let's kill the son of a bitch.
Once again, nothing will come between Joyce and her children's safety.
4 Joyce Chaperones The Winter Formal
The ending of season two finds a relatively happy ending for the residents of Hawkins. The kids attend a winter formal, where they all find themselves dancing (and kissing, in some cases). Eleven even attends to dance with Mike, while Hopper steps outside to find an anxious Joyce waiting by her car, where she states:
Will wanted me to give him some space, so... I'm giving him a few feet.
It's a cute moment after the earlier episodes of the season found Joyce smothering Will with her protection. For now, Joyce can relax and share a cigarette with Hopper, reminiscing on their youth as they both worry over their kids.
3 Joyce Helps Hopper Be A Good Parent
Season 3 finds Hopper at his most angry, though it's not over scientists experimenting on children, it's over Mike and Eleven dating. He visits Joyce at her general store to vent. After he declares that he needs the two teenagers to break up, Joyce advises that he treat them with respect and talk to them about boundaries.
Predictably, Hopper just wants to kill Mike. Joyce offers him a bit of parental wisdom:
You can't just force them apart. I mean, they're not little kids anymore, Hop. They're teenagers. If you order them around like a cop, then they're gonna rebel. It's just what they do.
Hopper comes close to following Joyce's advice, even drafting a letter where he opens his heart to the two kids. It's not until the finale of season 3 where Eleven gets to read the letter, understanding her adoptive father for the first time.
2 Joyce Plays Bad Cop
Hopper and Joyce join forces yet again to investigate, out of all things, Joyce's magnets not working. Joyce's hunch that this is related to the Upside-Down proves to be right, as the two return to Hawkins Lab and find themselves hunted by a Terminator-like figure. Eventually, they confront Hawkin's mayor, Larry Kline.
When Kline dodges Hopper's questions, the Hawkins police chief resorts to his best tactic: violence. While Hopper beats the crap out of him, the mayor's secretary attempts to make a call. Fortunately, Joyce is there to disconnect the phone line, hilariously quipping to the panicking girl:
Who you calling? The police?
1 Joyce Rejects Hopper's Job Offer
After their successful rough-housing of Larry Kline, the mayor gives Joyce and Hopper land deeds for several plots of land in Hawkins, including Starcourt Mall. Through Joyce's detective work, she discovers that several of the land plots are near Hawkins Power Plant. This could potentially explain the loss of her magnets' power.
After her lightbulb moment, Hopper tells Joyce to quit her job in retail and work as a detective for Hawkins PD. Joyce replies, too cool for his offer:
And have to look at your face every day? I don't think so.
By this point, Joyce has come a long way from the nervous, overprotective mother begging Hopper for help. Now, Hopper understands she's the real genius here.
Stranger Things 4 will premiere on Netflix on May 27, 2022.