#i feel her major arc is something to do with Barb and guilt surrounding that since it was so hinted at (and then dropped!!!) in season 4

[share-the-damn-bed]

I agree with your read on the Jancy fight in s2, and it's why Jancy endgame is the only outcome that makes sense for me. We need to see that the characters have grown across the show. Jonathan needs to stop letting his family responsibility prevent him from living his life and choose a future with Nancy, and Nancy needs to not just go with the "easier" choice (Steve) and show that she's willing to fight for her love and not let Jonathan slip away from her. Otherwise what have they learned?

Thank you so much, Anon! I completely agree about jancy (no surprise lol) and agree that their arcs are set up for an endgame in some capacity. 

What I want to gently push back on, or at least question, is this idea of Steve being the easier choice now. I absolutely agree that Steve was the “easy” or comfortable choice in seasons 1 and 2 (and why I believe Nancy stayed with him along with guilt over Barb’s death and wanting it to not be in vain) but Steve’s life and his relationship to Nancy have changed so much by season 4 that if Nancy were to choose to be with Steve again, I don’t see it being an easy choice. For her to get back with Steve now, she would have to break up with her current boyfriend and navigate that fallout to be together. Which is messy (even if it ends up being what she wants). 

When she chose Steve at the end of season 1, it was the safe and easy choice because their relationship and feelings were already established. Additionally, in season 2, Steve was offering her a comfortable life where he doesn’t go to college, stays in Hawkins, works for his dad at a job with benefits and all that adult stuff, where he can still be with her while she’s stuck in town for her senior year (but implies a life settling down in Hawkins). This is a comfortable life that resonates strongly with the vision she ranted against in season 1. We can even see the fear on her face when he mentions it. 

Two season later, in season 4, Steve has gone through his redemption arc but we don’t really know much about his ambitions and desires other than he is desperately searching for “the one”, he doesn’t want to leave Hawkins (and specifically doesn’t want to date girls who are leaving for college in the fall), and wants to have a large family that go on summer road trips together (which is cute and great for him!) However, we also see that he’s working at Family Video and has not expressed any desire to move beyond that. In season 3, he mentions that his dad is punishing him for not getting into IU by making him work at Scoops Ahoy but we don’t know if the plan is still for him to eventually work for his dad.

Taking all of this into consideration, it’s clear that Steve’s not promising (or, more likely, not able to promise) a comfortable lifestyle for Nancy that mirrors the traditional single-income, “man works, woman takes care of the house and kids” future he kinda suggested to her in season 2 (which again, she did not like). Long story short, Steve is no longer presenting a comfy life to Nancy. If she chooses to be with him, it would not be for those reasons anymore.

So no, I do not think Steve is the easy choice or even the most comfortable choice anymore BUT I also think that Nancy’s attraction to Steve in season 4 stems from nostalgia and comfort seeking at a time where she is very insecure in her current relationship and feels unloved. In short she is retreating back to the comfort of Steve. 

TLDR: Steve is comforting and fun and Nancy enjoyed the nostalgia of their time together during season 4 BUT choosing to love Steve now in season 4/5 would not be the easy of most comfortable choice for Nancy.