‘Stranger Things’ Romance Rundown: Who Did Nancy, Mike, Will & More End Up With?
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Stranger Things series finale.]
Stranger Things has come to an end, and so have its romances. The Hawkins gang goes into the final battle with Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) knowing that everyone might not make it out alive — but they all do, except Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Kali (Linnea Berthelsen). Though they’re all still grieving El’s loss, the Netflix series gives all of its other main characters happy endings. Keeping with the optimistic tone, most couples’ relationships remain intact at the end of Season 5, but there are a few exceptions.
So, what exactly happens between Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Eleven before she disappears (or does she)? How does the love triangle between Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), and Steve (Joe Keery) shake out after Nancy and Jonathan’s sort-of breakup earlier in the season? Do Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Hopper (David Harbour) finally get that dinner date they’ve been planning for ages? Swooon is breaking down who ends up with whom in Stranger Things below.
Do Nancy and Jonathan end up together?
Netflix
Nancy and Jonathan make it out of Stranger Things unscathed, but their romance is over by the end of the show. They had a good run after getting together in Season 2, but a near-death experience in Season 5, Episode 6’s “Escape from Camazotz” leads to their breakup. Thinking the end is near, Jonathan and Nancy finally address the relationship issues they started having in Season 4, and Jonathan reveals that he was planning on proposing — before he and Nancy agree that it’s not the best course of action.
Over the next handful of episodes, Jonathan and Nancy don’t rekindle their romance, focusing instead on defeating Vecna. The series finale sees them reunite 18 months later with Steve and Robin (Maya Hawke), but they aren’t together. Jonathan is studying film at NYU, while Nancy dropped out of Emerson for a newspaper gig. Despite ending up in different places, the gang agrees to meet up once a month to stay connected — so maybe a future, offscreen Jancy endgame could be in the cards.
Do Mike and Eleven end up together?
Netflix
Mike and Eleven don’t get the future that they plan for early on in Season 5. They don’t leave Hawkins together and escape to a peaceful place with three waterfalls. Instead, Eleven stays behind in the Upside Down as it collapses, sacrificing herself so that the government can’t use her blood to make more super-powered children — or does she?
Mike shares a theory that Eleven escaped the Upside Down, and Kali only made it look like she disappeared with her illusion powers. Mike envisions Eleven hiking somewhere to see those waterfalls they talked about — but she can’t reach out to Mike and her friends for everyone’s safety. It’s a good theory, but in the end, it really is just that. And either way, Mike and Eleven don’t end up together.
Do Lucas and Max end up together?
Netflix
Max (Sadie Sink) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) are stronger than ever by the series’ end. Right before they graduate from high school in Episode 8, the couple shares a kiss after Max lands a jump on her skateboard, having recovered from her Vecna-inflicted injuries. Max even joins the Party for a Dungeons and Dragons campaign in the show’s final moments. When Mike talks about the happy futures he predicts for his friends, Lucas and Max finally get the movie date that they’ve been wanting since the Season 4 finale.
Do Joyce and Hopper end up together?
Netflix
Joyce and Hopper’s romance doesn’t get much screen time in Season 5, but the finale episode gives them a picture-perfect ending. The couple goes on a date to Enzo’s, and Hopper uses the occasion to pop the question. After Joyce happily accepts his proposal, she slow dances with her new fiancé on the restaurant’s makeshift dance floor, while a band plays Etta James’ “At Last.” Hopper also floats the idea of moving to Montauk, which needs a new chief of police, so they may be saying goodbye to Hawkins in the near future.
Do Robin and Vickie end up together?
Netflix
It isn’t clear what happens to Vickie (Amybeth McNulty), as she goes unmentioned in the 18-month flash forward. However, Robin showing up to the gang’s graduation and reunion alone might imply that they broke up at some point after saving the world. She also says “overbearing significant others” won’t be able to keep their group apart in the future. So, while Jopper gets that Enzo’s date they always talked about, Robin and Vickie don’t. (Onscreen, at least.)
Who does Steve end up with?
Netflix
Nancy doesn’t wind up with Steve, either, but he still gets a happy ending. He’s coaching baseball and teaching sex ed at a school in the time jump — and he remains Hawkins’ ultimate ladies’ man. When Nancy questions whether Steve will get around to having those six nuggets he dreamed of, he replies, “I don’t know, guys, I think Kristen might be the one.” The group immediately ribs him for saying that about a number of other girls, so who’s to say if this offscreen girlfriend is Steve’s endgame or not?
Who does Will end up with?
Netflix
Will (Noah Schnapp) and Mike shippers don’t get their wish by the end of Season 5. After coming out to his family and friends in Episode 7, Will accepts that his crush on his best friend won’t be reciprocated, so he ends up single in the flash forward. However, when Mike’s talking about his friends’ futures, it gives us a glimpse of Will getting cozy with an unnamed guy at a bar, but that’s the only hint of romance he gets.
Who does Dustin end up with?
Netflix
Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) only ever has a relationship with Suzie (Gabriella Pizzolo) throughout Stranger Things. Though they’re together in Seasons 3 and 4, she isn’t brought up in Season 5. It can be assumed from the flash forward that Dustin, who earns the title of school valedictorian, is single. He flirts with a Stacey — the same girl who rejects him at Season 2’s Snow Ball — briefly at graduation. In his future sequence, Dustin studies in his college’s library before he meets up with Steve outside. So, while Dustin gets no romance, he does still have his bromance.
What did you think of how Stranger Things handled its romances in Season 5? Are you happy with where they all end up? Let us know in the comments section below!
Stranger Things, Season 5, Now Streaming, Netflix
