‘Stranger Things’: Do You Want Nancy to End up With Jonathan, Steve, or No One? (POLL)
Get Inside the Upside Down
For exclusive news and updates, subscribe to our Stranger Things Newsletter:
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for all of Stranger Things Season 4.]
Near the end of the Stranger Things Season 4 finale, after (finally) reuniting, Nancy (Natalia Dyer) told Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) they were OK. But are they?
After all, that conversation was the first time they spoke all season, which began with both detailing reasons why the other person couldn’t come visit, saying they loved each other, and insisting everything between them was “perfect.” And at that point, it seemed like just a matter of dealing with the long distance (of Hawkins and California) until they were able to live out their plan to go to college together.
But what Nancy didn’t know was that Jonathan had made different plans, to attend community college nearby, instead of Emerson with her. “I can’t leave my mom and my brother to chase a dream that isn’t mine,” Jonathan explained to Argyle (Eduardo Franco), nor could he just tell his girlfriend the truth because “she’d just throw her dreams out the window to come out here and be with me. I can’t take that, this huge knot of resentment would build like some cancer until eventually she hates me.” So instead, his plan seemed to be to “slow-motion break up with her.”
Meanwhile in Hawkins, Nancy and her ex-boyfriend, Steve (Joe Keery), shared several moments while dealing with the latest threat, Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower). Robin (Maya Hawke) even wondered if the other girl’s attitude was because Nancy thought she and Steve were together. Nancy insisted that wasn’t the case and that she and Jonathan were “fine,” though she did worry he’d been pulling away.
Netflix
Furthermore, Steve admitted that he always dreamed of having a big family and taking his five or six kids across the country in an RV, which Nancy said “sounds nice,” except for the number of children. (He pointed out he had practice.) Then, while in the Upside Down executing Nancy’s plan to kill Vecna, he thanked her for giving him “the biggest hump” on his head two years ago when they broke up (and she got together with Jonathan) since it led to him changing. And he couldn’t help but wonder if they’d meet after that, if they could’ve made it work. Plus, he shared the final part of his earlier dream he’d left out: “It’s the most important part. You’re there. You’ve always been there.”
They were interrupted (by Robin) before she could respond, which was probably for the best, given that Nancy and Jonathan were still together. But the couple’s conversation after their sweet reunion hinted that may not remain the case. She told him she was glad he wasn’t in Hawkins (adding so he could watch over Mike and Will), and he said he was glad she was. “Otherwise, who would’ve been in charge, Steve?” he asked. “He’s actually grown up quite a bit,” Nancy defended her ex. Jonathan checked they were OK, and she insisted they were, despite everything life was throwing in the way of their plans. Speaking of, she asked if he got a response to his college application yet, and he lied it hadn’t come yet.
The lie aside, Jonathan is now in Hawkins again, and chances are he’s not going back to California, given Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Hopper (David Harbour) getting together and the new threat to the town at the end of the finale. Maybe all Nancy and Jonathan need is to be in the same place to actually talk about their future and perhaps come up with a new plan. Or maybe Stranger Things will be going back to Nancy and Steve in its final season. Or perhaps it’s time for Nancy to be single and end the series figuring out what she wants. And that’s not even considering we don’t know who will and will not survive until the end of the series. But what do you think? Let us know in the poll below.
Stranger Things, Seasons 1-4, Streaming now, Netflix
