The real horror in Stranger Things? Natalia Dyer's Nancy Wheeler trapped in fandom love triangle wars

Jancy, Stancy… at this point, why not just ship Nancy with a Demogorgon?

Stranger Things Season 5 dropped recently and if you’re anywhere on the ST algorithm, you couldn’t have missed the furious shipping wars around Nancy Wheeler. Who cares if the world is ending and her sister has been snatched into the slimy abyss? The fandom wants to know:

Will she end up with Steve Harrington, the reformed ex-jock from Season 2, or Jonathan Byers, the quiet partner she’s actually been with for four years? Sorry little Holly, please continue stewing...wherever you are.

Xoxo.

We're going to continue examining each and every Nancy-Steve-Jonathan interaction to see who she loves more. At this point, there are certain section of fans who resemble Natalia Dyer's own reaction in the interviews, when she asked who Nancy wanted to be with. Sighs and eyerolls. I, myself, resorted to my Malayali exclamations of irritation on seeing the endless discourse. Aiyyo.

This is Stranger Things, folks. Not The Summer I turned into Prettier and Stranger Things.

But, you're shouting into the void.

Stancy and Jancy shippers are battling at full volume, arguing whether Steve—despite his superb character development—ever deserved her in Season 1, or whether Jonathan has always been her true match. The latest battleground? A Season 5 scene where Steve wants to bring flowers to Nancy after her sister is taken by a Demogorgon and her parents land in the hospital. Jonathan refuses; there’s a mission to stick to, and Vecna is lurking in the shadows.

The debate in summary:
“How thoughtful of Steve.”
“How impractical of Steve.”
“Jonathan knows Nancy better.”
“Jonathan doesn’t love Nancy enough.”
“But Jonathan is about to propose!”

But here’s the thing: Nancy isn’t a trophy to be passed around in a love triangle.

Nancy Wheeler has always been one of the fiercest strategic minds in the Hawkins crew—a journalist, a planner, a fighter, a leader holding the group together while everything collapses around her.

We tend to forget that losing Barb in the most horrific way in Season 1 permanently altered her. Her final conversation with Barb was an argument about her choice to stay with Steve, and shortly afterward Barb was pulled into the Upside Down. That moment became a trauma that shaped Nancy’s choices, guilt and grief—possibly even the real reason her relationship with Steve ended. Maybe, the association was too heavy to bear.

And now, her sister has been taken into the Upside Down, while her parents fight for their lives.

Moreover, none of these characters deserve to be flattened into romantic chess pieces, Trauma, exhaustion lurks everywhere in their past: Jonathan planned a funeral at sixteen because he believed his brother was dead. Steve has battled loneliness and complete identity collapse to become the emotional backbone of the group. Yes, he still loves Nancy. But that’s not the story.

Of course, romance has its place in the chaos. Stranger Things has given us some searing moments—from Mike finding Eleven in the woods and tucking her into a blanket fort, to Lucas sobbing over an unresponsive Max, clutching Running Up That Hill like a prayer. The romance, crushes and relationships have unfolded quietly over the years; they're best when it isn't fan-service, forced or debated. The softness calms the jarring edge of all the raging monstrosity, and the best part of Stranger Things was when romance didn't overpower the narrative.

But right now, the fan wars are louder than Vecna’s trauma—and they’re drowning out the story. This isn’t a romantic drama folks. There's no 'team' Jonathan or Steve here; or there shouldn't be at least.

Give Nancy credit where it's due.