Editor's note: The below article contains spoilers for Season 4 of Stranger Things.

For those who have already binged the nine-hour Season 4 Volume 1 of Stranger Things, you might have noticed something is going on with Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer). After spending the past three seasons growing into a capable and ambitious reporter and independent young woman, the series seems to want to regress her growth. The series puts her long-distance relationship with Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) in turmoil and then quickly reintroduces Steve (Joe Keery) as a potential love interest. In reality, Nancy needs neither Jonathan nor Steve at this point in her life and is better moving forward to college completely single. In fact, the decision to continuously keep attaching Nancy to a romantic relationship is one that we are past. Early in Season 1, Nancy was essentially defined by her relationship or her desire to pursue a relationship with Steve and her friendship with Barb (Shannon Purser). But early on, she was already developing a nose for sniffing out the answer to mysteries.

One of the hot button issues of Season 1 was Nancy’s decision to sleep with Steve instead of leaving a house party to head home with Barb. Left on her own, Barb then became a victim of the demogorgon that was trolling Hawkins at the time. After Barb goes missing, Nancy quickly leaps into action in trying to find her friend. She reaches out to Jonathan not as a potential boyfriend but as someone with potential clues. After learning the truth about the demogorgon, Nancy struggles with PTSD, blaming herself for Barb’s loss and also blaming Steve. The subsequent seasons are centered mostly around Nancy’s relationships with Steve and then Jonathan. While she was courageous and defied any implication of a damsel-in-distress trope, it wasn’t until she found a love for journalism that she really had a true north.

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Image via Netflix

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Last season saw Nancy becoming a journalist in her own right, navigating a field dominated by older men working at the Hawkins Post and often having to prove herself and her skill to people who did not take her seriously. After three seasons of having plot arcs about her love life and the trauma associated with Barb’s loss, it was refreshing to see Nancy beyond all of that. Watching her develop her identity is compelling because we’ve spent so many seasons watching her curiosity and need for answers grow.

Unfortunately, the return of Stranger Things seems to be walking that back, and that’s a disappointing thing. When we open on Nancy in Season 4, she is actively pursuing her passion for journalism with an eye on Emerson and a future in the field. She is investing in her own professional future. Romantically, it’s clear that long distance isn’t working out between herself and Jonathan, who is all the way across the country in California. It’s clear she wants Jonathan to go with her to college, but he’s interested in staying in California. There’s a breakdown in communication between the two of them.

As Vecna strikes the town of Hawkins, inevitably the kids come back together, which means that Nancy is once again thrown together with Steve. Unlike Nancy, Steve has been focused more on his present romantic situation, desperately trying to find a new girlfriend and encouraging Robin (Maya Hawke) to pursue her marching band crush. Steve goes on frequent dates, but it’s clear that the show is implying that Nancy is still his One That Got Away. Throughout the new season, the series seems to be hinting that there’s something romantic between Nancy and Steve, something that remains unfinished after their breakup. For fans of Steve, it might make sense. After all, he went from a bully and someone who called Nancy a slut to a kind and noble ally. But even though Nancy’s relationship with Jonathan is on the rocks and Steve is good now, that’s not an excuse to bring them back together.

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Image via Netflix

It’s quite clear that the two characters are on different paths and their breakup was the best thing to happen to them in the long run. Steve was humbled and through his new friendships, he grew beyond just being an arrogant jock, forming deep connections with both Dustin and Robin. Nancy, similarly, matured and discovered a career path that made her feel fulfilled. In the transitional and transformative time of high school, a few months can feel like years. You are constantly growing and evolving, even more so when you have to face off against creatures from another dimension. In that final year of school, teens are looking forward to their future. There is no real future for Nancy in Hawkins. She is destined for bigger things and keeping her there, or having Steve or Jonathan follow her to Emerson, does a disservice to all the characters involved.

Over the course of the seasons, we’ve seen these characters, especially Nancy and Steve develop into characters of their own beyond their archetypes. With Volume II of Season 4 and the eventual fifth and final season on the horizon, they should keep growing rather than regress. Nancy is most compelling when she is on her own, as an independent person who is pursuing the next mystery that she will uncover. Honoring all the characters means moving forward instead of backward, and the group should find closure before moving on to the next phase of their life.

Relegating Nancy to her romantic relationships with either Jonathan or Steve is unnecessary. She’s a strong enough character to stand on her own, something we clearly saw in the most recent season. The series should focus on cultivating her platonic relationships and framing her as the lead detective of the group. Her instincts are often right, and we see that in her investigation of Victor Creel. When she and Robin visit the asylum where he is held, she proves herself to be inventive and brave when confronting a man who most believe to be a serial killer. There’s no reason why Stranger Things can’t continue down this path for Nancy. Give her more screen time as one of the brains of the series, someone who can come at things from a different angle. Nancy Wheeler doesn’t need a man at her side to be an exciting character, and she definitely doesn’t need to get back together with her ex — even if he is the new and improved Steve Harrington.