Few Stranger Things characters have had it easy over the course of the show so far, and that includes Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers. The teens had a major “will they, won’t they?” storyline in season 1, they got together in season 2 but then they faced some relationship issues in season 3 as the pair left high school and started careers as journalists. Then, in the season finale, the Byers family moved away from Hawkins, ripping the couple apart.
While speaking to Netflix Queue, stars Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton teased what we can expect for the duo in season 4. Dyer spoke about how much of a big deal it is for Nancy to be separated from her boyfriend in the pre-internet age, but also that she’ll still be driven by her determination to get what she wants.
“I think Nancy’s lonely,” Dyer said. “With Jonathan leaving, who can she relate to? Who’s there? I mean, it’s the 80s, so it’s not like you can just hop on Skype or FaceTime. It’s a big break. It feels a little bit like the end of an era. But that instinct Nancy has, that curiosity and determination, I think it’s just part of her personality. She’s not going to forget that part of herself. I can really see that going further.”
Heaton echoed his co-star and real-life partner’s comments, adding: “There’s a distance there now, and distance is a hard thing in a relationship,”
Nancy and Jonathan aren’t alone in this going into season 4, of course. The season 3 finale pretty much detonated every major relationship on the show. Joyce believes Hopper is dead, that’s why she’s leaving Hawkins, and with Hopper not around, Eleven’s going with the Byers, which means she’s separated from Mike. The gang is well and truly ripped in two, then, which likely means season 4 will kick off in a much more sombre way than season 3, which opened with everyone pretty much in a good place.
Stranger Things season 4 had to halt filming in the spring due to the pandemic, but it’ll be heading back into production soon. There’s still hope that we’ll be able to see it on Netflix sometime in 2021, but as of yet, a release date still eludes us.
