Unpopular opinion: Steve and Nancy are not a well-developed couple.
Before season five, I rewatched the entire show and paid close attention to the Stancy storyline. And honestly, it feels like fan service — because their relationship was never built consistently or with real emotional depth.
In the pilot, Nancy looks like she’s in love with Steve. She knows he’s not a bad guy — she likes him because he’s good. She’s excited, impulsive, can’t wait to sleep with him, and loses her head completely, ignoring her friend. That distraction leads to Barb’s death, and Nancy ends up carrying deep guilt. After that, she and Steve completely disconnect. But were they close before? No, they were not
Across the first three seasons, they’re never close — not emotionally, not spiritually, not narratively. Even after sex they were not close and in that moment she didn’t know something had happened to Barb. And the worst part is that the writers could’ve made it work through that guilt over Barb. Like they didn’t even have a chance because she couldn’t. But instead, they ruined the continuity by having Stancy get back together at the end of season one — and then telling us they dated off-screen for a whole year. We don’t know what exactly happened between them during that year, but we can assume their relationship wasn’t close, deep, emotional, or happy. At the very least, there isn’t a single hint that it was — it honestly seems like she was pretending the entire time. Like do they even really know each other?
By the start of season two, we see Nancy pretending in the car, saying “I love you” to Steve even though she clearly doesn’t mean it. Their breakup happens because he knows she doesn’t love him, and she can’t deny it. Later, she tells Jonathan that the entire year she was with Steve, she was actually waiting for him.
Ok, you can say it’s all because of Barb. But from the very beginning — from the pilot (before Barb) — the show hints at Nancy’s connection to Jonathan: the glances, the quiet tension. Everything points toward that relationship being the one that truly mattered. They’re not super happy together either — not very passionate, they argue a lot, and they often keep things from each other. But still, at least they did have some emotional closeness — we actually saw that on screen.
in season three, there’s nothing — no signals from Nancy to Steve, no emotional callbacks. Their storyline is completely frozen.
And suddenly, season four starts, and Nancy is already in love with Steve in 401, out of nowhere.
This is her face when she sees him and it’s heavily emphasised.
Yes, throughout season 4 it’s absolutely, unmistakably, crystal clear that the story is telling us Nancy loves Steve deeply. Other characters comment on it. She jumps after him without a second thought to save his life. Her heart flutters when she remembers studying chemistry flashcards with him.
She recalls their first time together — the moment she’s always blamed herself for because it led to Barb’s death — when she sees Barb again. She listens, captivated, as Steve talks about wanting a big family, even though those dreams have never been hers; she’s always been career-driven. She tends to his wounds, and there’s obvious chemistry between them.
She openly sends him signals without hesitation or guilt. She looks at him like he’s the sweetest candy she wants to taste right now. The narrative screams it — you’d have to be blind not to notice. She’s emotionally cheating on Jonathan pretending with him this time— apparently just because Steve has “grown up,” as she says in the finale. It feels abrupt and unearned.
I’m not a Jancy shipper either — I find them dull and lacking spark — but at least they were close at some point. With Stancy, it’s like the show suddenly decided to rewrite history for the sake of fan service.
So while season four beautifully sells their chemistry, everything leading up to it doesn’t align. To me, Stancy is not a true slow burn.
Still, I’m genuinely curious — how do you explain Nancy’s love for Steve? What made her fall for him again after everything that happened? Is it consistent to you? Is it just because she had issues with Jonathan?
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