While Dustin is often considered as the smartest character in Stranger Things, Hopper certainly rivals him as the most intelligent Hawkins resident.

Following the phenomenal success of Stranger Things season 4, David Harbour has revealed that he thought the show would be cancelled after season 1. Of course, fans are relieved that he was wrong and that they have continued to enjoy three more seasons of Hopper helping the rest of the gang to keep Hawkins safe from Vecna's wrath.

Hopper has brought a lot to the table when it comes to battling the supernatural forces seeping into Hawkins: his bravery, his kindness and his intelligence. Indeed, there are many instances in the show when Hopper displays his high level of intelligence through his actions and words.

When El moves in with Hopper, he knows that she is still very much in danger. Papa and the others at Hawkins National Laboratory are not likely to let El be if they know she is alive. They are desperate to investigate and grow her supernatural powers.

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In this quote, Hopper literally explains that he and El are smart. He knows the nature of the dangerous situation at hand, and he knows there is no other option than to keep El hidden in order to keep her safe.

After Will goes missing in season 1, his friends are fixated on finding him. They truly believe in being there for your friends, and aren't likely to let a little (or a lot of) danger stop them. However, Hopper intervenes to make sure they don't take unnecessary risks.

As a sheriff, Hopper knows it is his duty to keep the residents of Hawkins safe. In this quote, Hopper displays that he knows what the young kids are going to do, showing insight and intuition. However, of course, the boys don't take his advice.

When Hopper is concerned about his changing father-daughter relationship with El, he decides to write down his thoughts so he can discuss them with El. Mike is over at their house a lot and El is adapting to a normal teenage life, which is new territory for both characters. When Hopper dies (but not really), the note is found in one of his pockets.

Here, Hopper shows that he is in touch with his emotions. He knows how the external situation is affecting how he feels internally. In this quote, Hopper shows vulnerability and emotional intelligence.

In this same note, Hopper goes on to show even more intelligence. He elaborates that his own concerns should not stop El exploring and discovering who she is and where she fits into the world.

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Hopper's intelligence is depicted by his understanding that his worries are his own, and they should not bleed into El's life, make her anxious or stop her from living a normal life. He knows that both he and El lived such isolated lives before they became family, and that El living a normal life,  for better or worse, means she is experiencing the world in a real way.

Following Will's disappearance, Joyce (rightly) becomes convinced that Will is still out there and is communicating with her through the lights in their home, even when Will's (fake) body is found in the river. Although fans know that Joyce was right the whole time, many other characters were convinced that she was losing her mind following a tragic event.

While Hopper initially does not believe Joyce's theories, he offers some sincere and kind advice. He knows what it is like to lose a child and, instead of judging Joyce, like many other Hawkins residents, he treats her with respect and tries to help her.

While Hopper is sympathetic to Joyce's devastating situation, he thinks she is struggling to come to terms with the reality of losing her child, that is until he discovers the body found is a dummy and his home has been bugged. He realizes, as unlikely as it is, there really is a huge conspiracy behind Will's disappearance.

It certainly takes intelligence to admit being wrong, and to consider the possibility of something seemingly unbelievable. Even though Hopper doesn't see what Joyce sees, he does the necessary research to find out the truth.

After El closes the gate to the Upside Down in Stranger Things season 2, Hopper meets with Dr. Owens and pleads that he allows his daughter to live some kind of normal life.

In this conversation, Hopper is El's advocate. He knows that he is far more likely to be able to convince Dr. Owens and everyone else at Hawkins National Laboratory to leave El alone. He shows his understanding of morality and human rights here, as well as his skills of persuasion. Hopper gives El a quality of life.

After busting out of a high security Russian prison, Hopper discovers that El may be in danger. He, Joyce and Murray return to the prison, in order to give El and the gang the best possible chance of defeating Vecna.

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This quote demonstrates Hopper's flexibility and ability to change his perspective in order to adapt to the needs of a new situation. In prison, Hopper became self-deprecating and his self-esteem suffered. However, he is able to pick himself up as soon as he realizes that his daughter needs him.

When Will is rescued from the Upside Down, the difficult experiences he had still haunt him and he struggles to adapt back to the life he had before. This is not helped by his compulsory regular check-ups at Hawkins National Laboratory, serving as a consistent reminder of his traumatic experience. Naturally, Joyce is concerned and speaks with Hopper.

Here, Hopper shows insight and perspective. He does not lie to his friend and tell her that it will all be fine, instead he is honest and explains that it will be okay, it just won't be the same. It would not have helped to give Joyce false hope and she wouldn't have believed him if he had. He says exactly the right thing.

When Hopper finds himself in a high security Russian prison, about to face a demodog, he reflects on the important people in his life and his relationships with them.

In this quote, Hopper is introspective. While he doesn't give himself enough credit for the effect he has had on El and Joyce's lives, he shows a high level of intelligence by considering his own emotional and social journey to become the person he does by season 4. At the beginning of season 1, Hopper is isolated and closed off, and he recognizes El and Joyce's roles in changing his life for the better.

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Alongside her role as TV & Movies List Writer at SR, Ellen Greenstone is a psychology student and Psychology Project Worker. She has previous experience of public relations and working in the charity sector. Having lived in a quaint village in the English countryside for a number of years, she now lives in London. Ellen has long been banned by her friends from predicting the storylines and plot twists of movies and TV series, having done so "annoyingly accurately" far too many times before. Having grown up on a combination of popular sit-coms like F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Fraiser and How I Met Your Mother and celebrated sci-fi series, such as Buffy The Vampire Slayer, she is still an avid horror and sci-fi enthusiast (and is currently completely obsessed with Stranger Things) but also finds guilty pleasure in watching teen dramas (and is not so secretly obsessed with Riverdale). Ellen particularly enjoys writing about stand-out quotes, intriguing characters and commonalities between shows, but really just loves delving into all things TV and movies.