Okay iâm gonna say it. Jonathan AND Nancy shouldâve died during their confession scene. And this is coming from someone who LOVES both of these characters.
First, it raises the stakes. Which is something lacking throughout the show but especially this season. No one has died, not even Ted fucking Wheeler. Having two major characters die two episodes before the finale sets the tone for one or two more major characters to die in the finale.
Jonathanâs death would force Joyce to confront that sheâs been neglecting him. Sheâs spent so much time worrying about Will that she repeatedly put Jonathanâs life at risk to protect Will. I love Joyce but sheâs been pretty useless this season, and Jonathan dying would throw her head first into the battle, because Will is going into battle whether she likes it or not, so she is gonna fight like hell to keep Will safe and avenge Jonathan.
Nancyâs death would show the party that no one is invincible. Nancy is the least likely to die. Sheâs had (arguably) the most character growth and knows how to defend herself. If Ted and Karen survive a Demogorgan attack, why the hell would some goo hurt Nancy? Keeping the parents alive gives the audience the expectations that no one more important than them will die, and killing Nancy subverts those expectations. It gives Mike the catalyst for the emotional outburst/breakdown heâs been needing for several seasons now. It makes everyone realize just how vulnerable even the strongest among them are.
Their deaths would also make Hollyâs and Maxâs escapes much more nerve-wracking. Oh, so people CAN die? Well, now youâre gonna be clinging to the edge of your seat seeing if Holly and Max make it out alive. Holly, who has been shoved down our throats as some parallel of (season 1) Will, even though for the past 4 seasons sheâs said about three sentences so why would we care about her? Well, her sister just died and so if she DOESNâT make it out, then the wheelers are going to lose two family members, so she better make it out.
I canât claim Jonathanâs death would fix that coming out scene, but at least it would give it more context. One of the most important people to me just died, who Knew about me but *I* never got to actually say it to them, I donât want ANYONE ELSE dying without them hearing me fucking Say it.
For Jancy themselves, it gives much more weight to their confessions. It doesnât matter whether we stay together or break up, weâre going to die anyway. But I love you more than anyone else and I trust you enough to finally be honest with you. Before we die, let us be honest with each other, because I deserve to live truthfully and I respect you enough to tell you the truth.
On top of everything else, itâs also just fucking TRAGIC. They both wanted to live, to find out whoâd they be after this (whether it was together or apart), to live long enough to find out who they are without a war surrounding them. But theyâd never get toâŚ
