i genuinely, TRULY hate when i see people saying steve took ‘20 steps backwards’ by trying to get nancy back in season 4. honestly, i think it’s the opposite. don’t get me wrong, i truly don’t enjoy stancy and i was relieved they didn’t bring it back. but that plot was so much more than just steve being pathetically in love with her. that moment felt like the result of him actually growing up & finally being mature enough to look back and realize that maybe if they had met at the right time, things could’ve gone differently. to me, that wasn’t regression, that was regret, that was someone who’s spent so long trying to fix the version of himself that broke things in the first place and now that he finally knows how to tell the difference between right and wrong, what he deserves, and how far he’d go to be better, how could he not wonder if he might finally be worthy of the kind of love nancy once gave him?
i mean, that’s heartbreaking, and pathetic and so SO human. he’s trying to chase the very same love that pushed him to grow, to improve, to believe he was capable of more. and of course part of him still thinks nancy’s the only one who could give that to him, she was the foundation of the person he’s become. that tiny flicker of hope for a version of them that could’ve worked out? he’ll always carry that, even if he knows deep down it’s probably too late & to me, all that emotional conflict made steve way more complex this season. it cracked him open in a really raw way and gave us this vulnerable, needy, kinda desperate version of him that’s just craving a love that feels real. and that’s character development. people are just so used to the comedic relief version of him & that is annoying because once they see him making mistakes and acting like any normal person with actual feelings would, they’ll find something to complain about. i love you, totally imperfect, full-of-flaws steve harrington.
