With the recent release of the final 2 episodes of Stranger Things Season 4, people worldwide have been speculating what comes next for their favorite characters. As always, this was an intense series, with many twists and turns that led to some deadly perils and atrocious enemies, but also to some heartfelt reunions. Whilst there are a whole host of tantalizing plots surrounding the upside-down, and its myriad dangerous creatures, a master-mind behind it all, who turns out to be a lot more like Eleven than the group of friends ever could have guessed, and an entire Military conspiracy to eliminate everyone who has the slightest chance of stopping the world ending, Stranger Things is ultimately about relationships, about the bonds of friendship, and about sacrificing everything to protect loved ones.
This is a theme that is represented over and over again, throughout the program as a whole, bust especially in Season 4. With Joyce’s daring and possibly quite reckless mission to infiltrate a Russian prison and rescue Hopper, with Lucas being Max’s happy memory, her guiding light when she is looking for a safe place to run to when evading Vecna, and with Mike and El, and their decision to keep choosing each other no matter what tries to come in between them, fans see love in full force. And the same can be said with the evidently re-emerging love triangle between Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan.
Across the first and second seasons, Jonathan Byers was presented as the underdog. At first, he didn’t even exist on Nancy’s radar, he was so quiet and reclusive. But all that changed when his younger brother went missing, and their family was suddenly thrust into a very uncomfortable limelight. Steve, on the other hand, had all the cocky self-confidence of a popular kid at school. It made total sense that he would be the attractive, sought-after crush of Nancy Wheeler, because he had everything going for him, the looks, the attitude, the car, the sports team behind him, egging on his every move. In fact, in the first season, later seasons 'babysitter' Steve actually plays the antagonist to Jonathan’s sweet-natured, mild personality, making Steve look like the alcohol fulled jerk.
Nancy, who was caught up in the middle of the two, made a very interesting transition, essentially maturing, finding herself, and realizing what she really wanted out of life. She went from a young teenage girl taken in by Steve’s cool image, to losing her best friend Barb Holland, to discovering the existence of the upside-down and all of the terrible things that go with that information, to maturing into a brave, selfless and intelligent young woman. And in that process, she found Jonathan. She discovered all the things that this sensitive soul had to offer, and they bonded over the love of their brothers, and the fact that both of them would be willing to put themselves in harm's way in order to protect their families.
The third season sets Jonathan and Nancy up as a power-house couple, always having each other’s backs. Their futures seem so aligned, and they combine to make an unstoppable force against the constant deluge of evil pouring out of the gates to the Upside-down beneath Hawkins. But during this time, Steve is doing some growing of his own, and suddenly also becomes an understanding, well-rounded, brave, charming, funny, relatable character.
He surprised many fans by his wholesome friendship with Dustin, who essentially becomes his own little brother figure, and by his beautiful relationship with Robin, who he loves, and accepts unconditionally, on the contrary to her fears of being rejected for her sexuality. Steve is her greatest ally and her closest comrade, and he integrates her into the group, adding a valuable asset to their team. With all of the dangers that are faced in the third season, Nancy and Steve manage to re-grow a strong friendship, because, at the heart of it all, they will always protect each other, no matter what has happened between them in the past.
So when fans came to the still heavily nostalgic Stranger Things Volume 4, it was fascinating to see the dynamics shift between the trio. There are obvious cracks starting to show in Nancy and Jonathan’s relationship, having suddenly become long distance after the Byers moved away from Hawkins, and neither of them seem willing to address the problem, which only means that it becomes more and more evident, the more they try to deny it. Cue Nancy and Steve spending a lot more time together, both Hawkins, and in the new upside-down, where there is more trouble afoot. In the penultimate episode of Season 4, Steve finally confesses that his feelings for Nancy never left, and that he pictures his future life, it’s always her he sees.
Unfortunately for him, Robin comes along and interrupts them before she is able to give a response, so the audience, as well as Steve, are left questioning whether she feels the same. This question is all that was on fans minds as Nancy later reunites with Jonathan after months apart, and things seem tentative between them. It is clear that the love triangle between these three will be a major theme in Stranger Things Season 5.