Warning: This Article Contains Spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5
Stranger Things‘ love triangle between Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve both got a lot simpler and a lot more complicated in Season 5, Vol. 2. One scene, in particular, saw Natalia Dyer’s Nancy and Charlie Heaton’s Jonathan first getting heated about the state of their romance, which evolved into the pair confessing to one another all the ways they felt wrong for each other, from Nancy hating The Clash to Jonathan admitting he didn’t like Nancy’s news articles. The topic of Joe Keery’s Steve came up, with Jonathan thinking Steve was getting between them, only for them both to balk at Steve’s desire to have six kids with a future partner.
Jonathan, who had been carrying an engagement ring with him, ultimately displayed the ring to Nancy, jokingly asking, “Nancy Wheeler, will you not marry me?” While some audiences interpreted this as a scene where the pair admits that their relationship was far from perfect, though they would work through these challenges, co-creator Matt Duffer instead confirmed that this was a breakup.
While speaking to PEOPLE, Duffer proclaimed:
“That’s a breakup … They are broken up.”
The Beloved ‘Stranger Things’ Couple Has Long Been Doomed
Jonathan and Nancy in a room filled with goo in Stranger Things.Image via Netflix
Season 1 of the series saw Nancy and Steve dating one another, only for the pair to split early in Season 2, leading to Nancy and Jonathan becoming a couple. Steve started to develop feelings for Maya Hawke’s Robin in Season 3, but when she revealed she was gay, Steve understood his misdirected affection. The first four episodes of Season 5 started pitting Steve and Jonathan against each other more directly, planting the seed for this breakup, with the Duffer brothers admitting they’ve known for a while that this is where Nancy and Jonathan were headed.
Matt Duffer noted that they have known for “a while” that they were working towards a split, and explained:
“It’s hard to recall when exactly that idea came, but I think us — and the writers — all felt that Nancy needed to end up on her own and be independent and have an opportunity to find herself.”
Ross Duffer described their connection as being a “trauma bond,” while Matt noted, “I mean, how many people wind up with their girlfriend or boyfriend that they met in high school?”
Throughout the series’ run, only a handful of significant characters have permanently died, including Barb Holland (Shannon Purser), Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine), Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), Bob Newby (Sean Astin), and Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery). Both Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Hopper (David Harbour) made what appeared to be honorable sacrifices, only for the show to reveal they had survived. With just one more episode of the series to go, it’s unclear how the love triangle between Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve will resolve itself, though to some, this breakup will be more significant than any character death.