IrinaRusinova

There are some downsides to the season:

• It’s filmed too artificially and soap-like for my taste (not the actors’ fault) — there are too many slow-mo shots thrown in, and the sex scene feels overly staged, which kills the natural chemistry.

• They added rom-com elements, which also cheapens it for me

• Overall, not much actually happens. And despite all that, they never really dive deep into the drama.

The positives:

• The guy is insanely handsome. Omg wth???? 🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵 I need to know his daily and sport routine. #thoseabs

• Cheers to real kisses! ❤️

• The acting is incredible, I think got even better — both of them cry their hearts out; I haven’t seen something like that in a while. 👏🏻

• The meaning behind it all is strong: she makes him a better person without sacrificing herself.

She’s not his savior — not like in those unhealthy relationships where the girl tries to “fix” the guy with aggression, manipulation, or fear of losing him. She’s self-sufficient and open about her feelings. she’s not ready to throw away her life for him — and that’s inspires him. That’s why he wants to change.

• He’s willing to change in a healthy, genuine way — goes to therapy, faces his demons, and the show touches on toxic masculinity and the “men shouldn’t show emotions” kind of upbringing. I really loved his therapy session.

“What would Ruby say?” — “That it’s okay to feel sad, and that weakness is strength.”

That’s real growth and real self-awareness.

it instantly reminded me of Conrad — who went to therapy for God knows what reason and couldn’t even say Belly’s name out loud 🤭

I totally understand where you’re coming from, and I really appreciate how thoughtfully you explained it. Maybe we do just see it differently, but for me, I still can’t truly believe in her love.

Because the way I see it, love isn’t something that suddenly appears again once someone “grows up.” If there were real feelings back then, you’d still feel them — even if the timing was wrong, even if they weren’t ready. You’d miss that person, you’d ache for them, you’d know you loved them.

But in their case, we never saw that. Nancy never showed that kind of longing or emotional connection after their breakup. They dated for a whole year, and it didn’t seem deep or happy — and she even said herself that she was waiting for Jonathan the whole time. That doesn’t look like love that simply needed time to mature.

So when the show tries to make it feel like she suddenly loves him again years later, it doesn’t feel psychological or natural to me. It feels more like a rewrite, a nostalgic “what if” rather than a genuine emotional evolution.

Honestly, I don’t even know what there is to discuss here.

Throughout the entire show, Mike adores El — she’s literally all he sees.

He doesn’t even notice that his friend is crying over him.

To me, it’s so obvious that Mileven is the main couple of the series.

If he suddenly dumped her for her “stepbrother”, that would be such a betrayal.

El, who’s already been lonely and starved for love her whole life, would get stabbed in the back by the one person who was supposed to love her unconditionally.

I hear you, anon, and honestly, thank you for taking the time to explain it so thoughtfully.

You made some really solid points about Nancy’s arc and why Steve feels appealing again in s4, and I totally get where you’re coming from.

But here’s why it still feels a bit unrealistic to me.

Nancy and Steve weren’t some fleeting teenage crush or a “we almost happened” situation. They were together for a whole year. That’s not a brief phase — that’s long enough for two people to either fall deeply in love or realize it’s not working on a fundamental level.

If, after an entire year, she still felt emotionally disconnected (were they even close back then? I guess not)— that means they simply didn’t have the depth or compatibility that sustains love long-term. That’s why the whole second chance setup doesn’t quite land for me.

Also if love is real, shouldn’t it be about loving someone as they are, not only once they become a hero?

From his fear of saying it once to screaming “I love you” nine times in a row!!!

I love you for exactly who you are

I think this is the best love confession I’ve ever seen. It’s so raw, so hard-earned — they built up to it for so long.

Mike has literally felt it since season one, but he was too afraid to say it out loud.

His love was proven through actions first, and only then through words. Everything he said — we’ve already seen it.

This confession could raise the dead from the grave — and here, it actually saved the world.

I love absolutely everything he said. He described what love truly is — to love someone on good and bad days, with their strengths and flaws, simply for who they are.

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.