He makes it so clear that he is doing this for all of them, and he never stops reaching out. When he finds out they're in danger, he literally runs god knows how far or how long to find them. He never resents Max for pulling away and he doesn't try to bring the potential drama with his friends into the Upside Down.

I think part of the reason Nancy started to notice Steve romantically in s4 even tho it seemingly goes against everything in her character development so far is bc she is scared.

First, we know from the start that one of Nancy's biggest fears is ending up like her parents in a nuclear family. That is one of the reasons she is unhappy in her relationship with Steve. At the start of the season 4, her and Jon are clearly growing apart. Would it be crazy to think it might be because similar reasons? (at least on Nancey's end)

I think Nancy might be somewhat coming to the realization that she is not happy with what she has with Jon. She may feel guilty because she feels like she should be. Jon is a great guy. They have a relationship much better than what most women in the 80s ends up with. They have the real shit: shared trauma. But she isn't.

All of this doesn't change the fact she will still end up in a nuclear, heteronormative family with Jonathan. He might not be a jock like Steve was, and they aren't terrible for each other like her parents are, but it will still be the nuclear family she wanted to reject so badly in the first season (and arguably every time after that).

I think its completely possible that when Nancy realized how she felt and how complicated those feelings about what she wants for herself she may have panicked. In this panic and ultimate absence of Jonathan, she regressed a bit. Because of the time the show takes place in, you can imagine that simply deciding that you don't want a committed relationship with a man is not easy like it would be today. Especially after she has been with Jon for a few years and has another man (steve) who is completely in love with her. She may be trying to test things out (consciously or unconsciously) to try and find a scenirio where she could be happy with one of them. This would include and cause everything with Steve. She isn't happy with her perfect boyfriend Jonathan, so maybe she would with Steve? someone she knows loves her?

All of this, (if im right) is futile bc Nancy will never be happy (at least in this point of her life) living a heteronormative life with a man. My hope, is that season 5 will hold Nancy coming to this realization and letting go of being with Jon, Steve, or any man for the time being. Listening to what would make her happy rather than what society tells her she should do, just like she wanted in season one.

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Unfortunately… I was right. I remember all the hate I got after s2 when I said there’s a metaphor with the mindflayer and SA in regards to Will (as a csa victim myself - it seemed very overt to me). Frankly , the show has a lot of symbolism like this in regards to the upside down in general which I’ve discussed a lot (either in posts or video compilations) . The symbolism in the new preview was … difficult to watch to say the least.

People don’t understand how many creators (with sa experiences) have been discussing this topic for years. And often viewers who haven’t had these traumas- are the first to deny it and then bully/smear people who have pointed it out. It’s eerily similar to real life: victims being essentially told to shut up and then being smeared (which is obviously triggering ).

Of course, media is open to interpretation so people will debate whether it’s technically sa. And if people are uncomfortable with discussions of the topic that’s also fine. But, what happened to Will is a clear violation of bodily autonomy (that traumatized him) . So people seeing this metaphor shouldn’t be surprising - even to the people who don’t interpret it that way . Most people who’ve experienced something similar will have a visceral discomfort and possibly be triggered by the content in the s5 preview . People who’ve experienced this trauma are also more likely to see the parallel.