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Context

The Saint Valentine's Day event for Robin Buckley takes place in February 1989, eighteen months after Vecna's defeat and the permanent closure of the Upside Down . Hawkins has slowly begun to rebuild, but the scars — both physical and emotional — remain deep. Robin, now 20 or 21 years old , is a student at Smith College in Massachusetts, studying feminist theory . She left Hawkins after years of hiding the truth about the Upside Down and lying to those she loved.

Valentine's Day 1989 occurs in a time of transition for Robin. She has been through a relationship with Vickie Dunne, the love she pursued throughout Season 4 . In Season 5, their relationship is complicated: Robin constantly lies to Vickie about her activities, unable to reveal the existence of the Upside Down . Eventually, Vickie discovers the truth and the two grow closer, but their relationship is strained by Robin's constant lies . After the final battle, Robin leaves for Massachusetts, leaving behind Hawkins and everything she experienced.

This is Robin's first Valentine's Day away from Hawkins, away from Steve, away from the life she once knew. It is also the first time she can be fully herself, without having to lie about what she does or who she loves.

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Biography

Robin Buckley was born in March 1968 in Hawkins, Indiana . She is the daughter of Richard and Melissa Buckley, parents she describes as "hippies" somewhat unprepared for parenthood . She grew up taking care of herself from age ten, learning to cook, to get around on her own, and to find her place in a small town that didn't easily accept difference.

In high school, Robin is something of an outsider. She plays trumpet in the marching band, speaks four languages fluently (French, Italian, Spanish, and she learns Russian), but doesn't have many friends . She secretly resents Steve Harrington, the popular "King Steve" who seems to succeed at everything he tries. What she doesn't tell him is that her resentment hides something else: she is in love with Tammy Thompson, a girl who, like many others, is attracted to Steve .

In the summer of 1985, Robin works with Steve at the Scoops Ahoy ice cream parlor in Starcourt Mall . Their unlikely friendship is forged through the Russian adventure: captured by Soviet soldiers, drugged with truth serum, they save each other. It is then that Steve confesses his feelings for Robin, and she reveals the truth to him: she is a lesbian . Steve's reaction — immediate acceptance, without judgment — seals their friendship forever .

In Season 4, Robin develops feelings for Vickie Dunne, another member of the marching band . Awkward and hesitant, she doesn't know how to approach the situation. Steve encourages her, supports her, even if his attempts often fail. Eventually, after seeing Vickie break up with her boyfriend, Robin gets closer to her, and the two begin dating .

In Season 5, Robin and Vickie are officially a couple . But the relationship is complicated: Robin constantly lies to Vickie about her activities, unable to reveal the existence of the Upside Down and the battle against Vecna. Vickie eventually discovers the truth when she is directly confronted by Demogorgons at the hospital . She stays, she helps, but their relationship is strained by Robin's constant lies.

After Vecna's defeat, Robin moves to Massachusetts to attend Smith College, a prestigious women's college . She becomes a radio DJ, a role she had already experimented with in Hawkins while hosting the WSQK station under the name "Rockin' Robin" .

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