As Stranger Things approaches its conclusion on Netflix, Nancy Wheeler’s romantic fate has finally been revealed.
Volume 2 of Season 5 of the Netflix sci-fi drama premiered on Christmas Day. During Season 5 Episode 6, Nancy (played by Natalia Dyer) and her longtime love interest, Jonathan Byers (played by Dyer’s real-life boyfriend, Charlie Heaton), find themselves in grave danger. With death looming, the couple shares a heartfelt conversation and ultimately makes a major decision about their relationship.
Here’s what happens between the pair — and what show creators Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer say it means for their futures.
Jonathan ‘un-proposes’ when the couple are trapped in the Upside Down
According to TVLine, during Volume 1, Jonathan is shown getting an engagement ring for Nancy, suggesting wedding bells may soon be ringing for the couple. Jonathan hides the ring in a John Coltrane cassette tape, and as things become rocky in their relationship, it isn’t clear whether or not he will actually pop the question until Episode 6, when Jonathan presents the ring to Nancy.
But the question he asks her isn’t one fans expected.
While trapped in the Upside Down’s Hawkins lab as the realm starts to melt around them, Jonathan and Nancy finally have an honest conversation about their relationship. Nancy tells him she doesn’t like The Clash, and Jonathan confesses he hates reading Nancy’s articles. He also admits he never applied to Emerson, though Nancy already knew that.
The couple acknowledges that their relationship was built on a trauma bond — one that makes them feel “safe,” Jonathan tells Nancy, but, as Nancy says, finishing his thought, “can be suffocating,” TVLine reported.
Jonathan then pulls out the engagement ring and “pops” the question.
He asks her, “I figure that I have screwed up enough with you that it’d be nice to get something right for once, in the end. Nancy Wheeler, will you not marry me?”
Jonathan describes his offer as an “un-proposal,” and she tearfully accepts. The now former couple tells each other they love each other, and they learn the melting liquid around them has hardened.
The Duffer brothers confirm the couple is broken up
The Duffer brothers told People that fans of Jonathan and Nancy’s relationship shouldn’t hold their breath — the couple is finished for good.
“That’s a breakup,” Matt told the outlet. “They are broken up.”
He added that he and Ross knew for “a while” that the pair, who have been together since the show’s second season, would split.
“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,” Matt explained.
Nancy’s journey toward self-discovery also suggests she likely won’t end up with Steve (Joe Keery), whom she dated in Season 1, TVLine reported. As she and Jonathan acknowledged their incompatibility, Nancy explained that while Steve is a good guy who makes her laugh, they’re simply too different to sustain a long-term relationship. Ultimately, they want different things — Steve knows he wants six kids, while, as the Duffer brothers confirmed, Nancy still needs the space to figure out what she wants.
Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 and Volume 2 are now streaming on Netflix. The show’s series finale, Vol. 3, releases Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET.