Key takeaways
- Robin (Maya Hawke) finds love with Vickie (Amybeth McNulty) in Stranger Things season 5, volume 2.
- A hospital scene in “Chapter Six: Escape from Camazotz” shows Vickie initially dismissing Robin’s warning about the Upside Down.
- The exchange underscores a recurring show problem: supporting characters act oblivious despite visible devastation in Hawkins.
- The episode later brings Vickie around, but the moment highlights how the series preserves its status quo at the expense of realism.
H2: Spoilers ahead — brief warning
This story contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 5, episode 6 (“Chapter Six: Escape from Camazotz”) from volume 2. If you haven’t watched, consider pausing here.
H2: Robin and Vickie — a welcome beat
Robin Buckley, a fan-favorite introduced in season 3, has grown into a core presence on the show. In season 5 she’s the DJ at WSQK and finally paired with her crush, Vickie Dunne. Seeing Robin’s career and romantic life find stability after years of supernatural chaos is satisfying and earned.
H3: The hospital scene that raises questions
The scene in question takes place at a hospital where Robin tries to explain the town’s supernatural crisis to Vickie. Rather than believe her partner, Vickie immediately assumes Robin is on drugs. The show plays the misunderstanding for a short beat and then moves on, later letting Vickie accept the reality — but the initial reaction is telling.
H2: Why this moment matters
Stranger Things has always relied on a central conceit: ordinary people don’t notice or refuse to accept the extraordinary. That narrative device helped the early seasons feel intimate and suspenseful. But by season 5, with Hawkins visibly fractured — ravaged chasms, military patrols, and clear evidence of the Upside Down — asking minor characters to keep behaving like everything is normal stretches credibility.
The hospital beat is emblematic. It’s realistic that some people would deny strange events, but the repeated pattern of supporting characters dismissing main-characters’ warnings makes the town feel oddly static. It reduces the sense of danger when civilians continually shrug off portals ripping through the ground and the presence of an occupying military force.
H3: Storytelling trade-offs
Narratively, the choice is defensible: the show needs everyday civilians to remain unaware so the core group can carry the plot. But it creates a tension between the series’ dramatic stakes and its depiction of ordinary life. The scene with Robin and Vickie underscores that tension — an emotional win for Robin’s arc but a missed opportunity to deepen the worldbuilding by showing broader public reaction.
H2: Bottom line
Robin’s new relationship is a positive development for her character, giving Maya Hawke a heartfelt arc late in the series. Yet the Vickie exchange highlights a persistent problem: Hawkins still often acts like nothing has fundamentally changed. The episode corrects the moment by having Vickie come around later, but the initial dismissal remains a striking example of the show preserving its status quo over realistic fallout.
Stranger Things season 5, vol. 2 is streaming on Netflix.
Image Referance: https://www.slashfilm.com/2055318/stranger-things-season-5-vicki-robin-romance-highlight-problem/
