Nancy is a hard-working and dedicated young girl who makes a multitude of mistakes that leave fans feeling sorry for her, but sometimes she does things that just make it so hard not to hate her.
The hit Netflix show Stranger Things brings a variety of wonderfully human characters, all dumped in an unthinkable situation. Take Natalia Dyer's Nancy Wheeler; her quest is for the bad boy of her school, but when her best friend strangely goes missing along with Will, her entire world turns upside down, sometimes literally.
Nancy is one of the show's independent and well-written female characters. She embodies the typical teenage girl at the start of season 1, who then develops into a gun-wielding badass who will stop at nothing to protect the ones she loves. In this development, however, she makes a lot of choices, some are great but others are rather questionable. Let's see what choices left everyone feeling sorry for her, and what just made you hate her.
Hated Her: Her Treatment Of Barb
Nancy was so caught up in her pursuit of Steve that she never stopped to look at what she was doing to her best friend.
First, she practically has to force Barb to go to a party she doesn't want to go too just so she can be with Steve. It's a selfish thing to do as well as making Barb drive them too and from his house! Then not only is Barb at a party she feels uncomfortable at, but Nancy also has no issues just leaving her on her own or trying to pressure her into drinking when she doesn't want to. Throughout the whole party, she is a terrible friend.
Felt Bad: Losing Barb
Although Nancy wasn't the best friend to Barb at that moment, it didn't make her disappearance any less painful for both Nancy and the viewers.
What made everyone feel bad for Nancy at this moment was how much it destroyed her for the rest of the 1st season. She is understandably absolutely destroyed by the loss of Barb and blames herself on many occasions. Ultimately, it is an awful thing to lose a friend, especially when it is so hard to know what happened to them, the lack of closure is the salt to an already open wound.
Hated Her: Lied About Barb's Disappearance
This is an understandable action taken to protect many. However, it doesn't take away the fact that Nancy had the answers that Barb's parents were looking for.
Frustratingly, when Nancy grows worried about her friend, she calls her parents and asks if she's unwell. When they reply that she didn't come home, Nancy instantly jumps into a lie that she stayed at her house. It is an unnecessary lie that only slows down an investigation into her disappearance. As time goes on and it becomes obvious that she is missing, Barb's parents are introduced. They are broken and distraught, yet Nancy still lies to their faces.
Felt Bad: Steve Slut-Shaming Her
The hatred is definitely aimed towards Steve here, he is immature and hurtful towards the girl he supposedly likes!
When Steve sees a shaken up Nancy and Jonathan sleep in the same room, he is furious and spraypaints "Nancy The Slut Wheeler" on the local cinema billboard. It is hard to not feel sorry for Nancy as she is labeled something so hurtful and untrue, more so from the fact it was from Steve. Nancy is visibly hurt by this accusation but tries to let it go. Something Jonathan was having none of.
Hated Her: Cheating On Steve
Although most hated Steve throughout season 1 and a bit of season 2, cheating on someone is still a horrid thing to do and it was not the way she should have chosen between Jonathan and Steve.
There's no excuse for cheating on Steve, no matter how predictable it was. It is undeniable that it was a lovely scene and everyone was rooting for her, but it is a bad personality trait for Nancy and something that clearly does a lot of harm to Steve, who appears to take it rather badly.
Felt Bad: Being Belittled At Her Job
Landing a job in a sector you love is wonderful, all you need to do is work your way up to the job you want. However, for Nancy, it seemed this was almost impossible, all because she was a woman.
Every scene where Nancy tries to tell her bosses about a story or her skills, they shoot her down and make sexist and hurtful remarks. It's hard to see her get shot down so much as it clearly has a damaging effect on her. However, she pushes through the belittling and investigates a story herself.
Hated Her: Losing Both Her And Jonathan Their Jobs
Nancy is being belittled constantly in her job and is going through a much tougher time than Jonathan, who has his dream job.
So when Nancy gets Jonathan to put his job at risk it seems unfair. Especially when they both end up losing their jobs. It is a selfish move from Nancy that puts no consideration into how much Jonathan likes what he's doing. She also doesn't think about the fact that Joyce is struggling to make ends meet, implying that Jonathan is using his earnings to keep the family afloat, something he now can't do.
Felt Bad: Jonathan Losing It After Losing His Job
You don't get too angry at Jonathan for yelling at her. After all, this was her fault.
However, it isn't that simple. You do feel bad for Nancy as it is easy to resonate with how much she was struggling and how desperate she was to prove herself to the male workers. It is also unfair of Jonathan to get as annoyed as he does, after all, he knew the risks and still followed her and took photos for the story. Moreover, it is only rubbing salt in the wound. After all, she already feels guilty for what she did.
Hated Her: Staying With Steve
It's not the act of staying with Steve that annoys people. It's the fact that she only stayed with him because she couldn't have Jonathan.
As she said at the party, her and Steve's relationship was "bulls**t". In her drunken state, she revealed that she never loved Steve and it showed that she was only dating him because she missed her chance with Jonathan. although Steve isn't the most loved character at that point, his heartbroken look as she tells him is enough to make anyone hate Nancy. It is a horrible thing to do, let alone say to their face, and proves how selfish Nancy can be.
Felt Bad: Her Time At The Hospital
At the end of season 3, Nancy and Jonathan attempt to fight the mind flayers weird abomination in the Hawkins hospital.
It's hard not to feel sorry for the poor girl as she witnesses her old boss practically disintegrate and morph into a load of other melted bodies to form a horrific monster that is set out to kill her and her boyfriend. After watching her old boss die just inches in front of her, she stands across the corridor from her boyfriend as he is screaming at her to run, frozen in shock. The whole situation leaves you feeling dreadful that such a young girl has been put in this situation.