Natalia Dyer is cool with her character Nancy ending up single at the end of Stranger Things, despite her long romantic history with both Steve and Jonathan.
Nancy Wheeler is currently dating Jonathan Byers and used to date Steve Harrington, although her relationship with the latter has “come so far” in season 4, which proved that the exes “do care about each other and that hasn’t gone away,” as Dyer told Variety.
As for who Nancy will end up with, which has been the topic of extensive speculation, Dyer doesn’t know and she doesn’t really care as long as Nancy does “it for the right reasons”:
“It’s really tough. I don’t know. It feels like she’s been in a relationship for a while so maybe she needs some self discovery time. It’s a bit complicated. Whatever happens, I would hope that she does it with integrity. I personally had some crunchy feelings about how the whole Jonathan thing started sort of behind Steve’s back. I can’t believe she did that . . . I just think she’s stronger now. I think she’s more sure of herself. So whatever she decides to do, she’ll do it for the right reasons.”
Dyer was less diplomatic in a different interview with Variety, where she presented the option that Nancy need not date either of them if she doesn’t want to: “I want something for Nancy that makes sense. I don’t want her to just end up with somebody because it feels like that’s what she needs to do. I think she’s probably got a lot of other things going on.”
So, although Dyer has a soft spot for Steve and a sore spot for Jonathan, her chief concern is Nancy’s integrity, which could be sacrificed for a relationship.
Viewers will have to wait and see if Nancy’s integrity prevails when season 5 of Stranger Things drops, with David Harbour speculating that it won’t be out until 2024.