Nancy Wheeler’s future in ‘Stranger Things‘ was never meant to be an afterthought. As the final season brought Hawkins to a close, fans paid close attention to where each character ended up, especially Nancy.
Behind that ending was one very clear decision made by Natalia Dyer. While the story came towards the end, she stepped in with a single requirement about how Nancy’s life should look after everything she had survived. And that one demand became her final chapter.
Natalia Dyer Set One Rule For Nancy’s Fate In ‘Stranger Things’ Finale
When the series ended, Nancy left Emerson College and took a job at the Boston Herald. That decision wasn’t from the Duffer brothers. That demand came directly from Natalia Dyer’s one condition for her character. In her interview with Deadline, Dyer said Nancy not returning to school was something she strongly pushed for.
Related: ‘Stranger Things’ Finale Wasn’t The End For Hawkins, It Was A Brief Pause
She explained that the Duffer Brothers kept asking her for her thoughts while writing the ending, but she stayed firm on this point. Dyer said she simply could not see Nancy sitting in a classroom again. After everything Nancy had gone through, going back to college no longer felt right for her.
Natalia Dyer told Deadline that she was “very adamant” about Nancy not going back to school. She explained that the Duffer Brothers are highly collaborative and would “go around a little bit,” asking, “Well, what do you think?” as they worked through the ending.
More importantly, Dyer also explained why she felt so strongly about it. “My main thing is like, I just do not think Nancy could go back to school,” she said, adding that after everything Nancy had been through, “I just cannot see her in school.”
Why Natalia Dyer Refused To Let Nancy Return To School
Meanwhile, the ‘Stranger Things‘ finale created a lot of online discussion, with fans debating frustrating choices and long-awaited moments alike. Even so, Nancy’s ending didn’t face the same level of backlash, which is rare when it comes to a main character. In many ways, both fans and the creators seemed to agree that her future felt right.
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She shared that when she first read the epilogue, she immediately thought, “Yeah, that’s perfect.” It worked not only for Nancy, but also for her as the actress playing her. After everything Nancy had survived, Dyer said she simply couldn’t imagine her going back to student life.
She couldn’t see Nancy writing papers and turning them in anymore. In other words, college no longer fit the person Nancy had grown into.
By the time ‘Stranger Things 5‘ ends, Nancy has proven she is capable in far more ways than one. She can handle a typewriter just as confidently as she can handle danger, and she has even shown she is pretty handy with a firearm when things turn deadly.
Once the terrifying adventures in the Upside Down finally come to an end, Nancy is free to go after what truly matters to her. Therefore, working at the Boston Herald gives her a way to keep chasing the truth.
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