okayy, a long overdue post and one that i already tried to post once but apparently i lost connection and tumblr trashed it
butttt, now that the ronance shippers are up and ready for new content, I present you this:
Another ronance scene breakdown by yours truly - me
All the interpretations are mine and made specifically through a ronance/ romantic lens ( I realize that some of this might be reaching or exaggerating).
Now, I have not bothered to look up if the Duffer Brothers have said anything about this scene or explained it because I'm unfortunately lazy, but feel free to correct me if anything is amiss.
In this specific ronance scene or moment, really, the gang is preparing to head back into the Upside Down and get rid of Vecna once and for all.
Robin jumps first to Nancy's aid, to help boost her up and support her.
And, they could've had anyone offer to help Nancy ( even though we know that she's more than capable of doing it herself).
They could have had Eddie hoist Nancy up or Steve could have helped Nancy first to get down safely before going in himself.
But, they don't do that.
It's specifically Robin who's chosen to do that.
You could argue that throughout the whole season, each character has to interact with others in one way or another and that this was just random.
Or that, after Steve helps Nancy up from the mattress, he's pulling her up a little too fast and harshly, resulting in a general air of awkwardness once their lips nearly touch.
cough cough
forced stancy scene
cough cough
Although, it's undeniable that Robin takes a knee for Nancy here (figuratively and literally), by offering herself up to help Nancy. She pats it to signal to her that she can climb up and count on her.
And maybe, there's something more to it.
Let's analyze their looks:
Robin's, of yearning and trust and hope, telling Nancy that it was okay and that she could depend on her, that she's able to rely on her;
and Nancy's look of initial surprise, followed by realization (the subtle nod).
Robin is, in a way, even vulnerable here.
She's giving herself up to Nancy, in hopes that she'll accept her.
She's giving herself over to Nancy and she doesn't care if it's in a platonic way or if it's beyond that.
Robin is willing to take whatever Nancy gives to her, whatever she extends her way.
As their relationship develops through the episodes, we see some of that tension clear; tension from the whole ex-Steve situation and from Nancy's strained, long-distance relationship with Jonathan. It's why Nancy is so on edge in the first place and why she doesn't give Robin a fair shot when she meets her. That changes slowly, as she starts seeing Robin in a new light.
I think that this scene is the key moment, where Robin is proving herself.
She's already been through hell with Steve, and he trusts her. She's yet to gain that sort of approval from Nancy.
Because their relationships always run deeper than that simple loyalty and truthfulness.
The trust has to come from both sides and it has to be unconditional, it can't be unrequited.
They need one another to hold and turn to when the rest of the world doesn't know, or wouldn't understand.
Once someone new "accepts the risk", they have to know what they're getting themselves into and have to earn their title in the monster hunting group.
The group depends on one another and they have to be able to trust one another to keep each other safe and have each other's backs.
If an individual doesn't fit into their dynamic/friend group, they could present as a potential hazard to the group, because they could break their chain of links and be reckless, or get someone killed.
That's what I think this ronance scene is.
Robin's had to prove herself and her part in this group and I think that this is where that exact moment happens.
Two warriors, seeing eye to eye with one another, now on equal footing. Robin is trying to earn that trust and be someone that Nancy can fall back on.
It correlates directly to the scene on Lover's Lake, where her feelings and intentions cement themselves already.
It's where our main four all go into the Upside Down together for the first time.
Robin follows Nancy and dives in without hesitation, in spite of all the horrible and dangerous things she's been told about the Upside Down.
Even after Nancy told them to stay put.
There's some ulterior motive there, but we don't stay on it for long enough.
I mean, just look at the way that Robin gazes at Nancy here.
From afar, longingly, admiring her with a smile on her face.
(The irony here is that Nancy doesn't notice it - just like she doesn't really catch Robin's lingering gazes, or subtle moves, or her crush, for that matter.)
So that's why I think that it's so important and interesting. That dynamic there, between those two; ronance may not be canon but it's there for us viewers to decipher and read into things.
Sprinkles of moments and wandering eyes or hand-holding that lasts just that bit longer than it should and sapphic longing represented for us.
I hope that you've enjoyed this breakdown of another ronance scene with me :)
stay faithful to yourselves and your funky little gay ships, folks <3
