why i ship nancy and robin
Written by Daphne Bryant
All images courtesy of Netflix
Fans of Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things will immediately recognize the names Nancy Wheeler and Robin Buckley. If you’re sapphic AF and obsessive like me, you might also know of these characters’ ship name Ronance, and all of the lore behind it.I’m not going to attempt to dive into every single Easter Egg and potential hint at a love story between these two because that would be too much work and other creators can do a way better job. Mostly, I want to explain why I ship these two in the first place.
#spoilers #beware
1. THE TENSION!!!
This is an obvious one, but I can’t be the only one picking up on chemistry...right? The lingering glances, the enemies to friends (to hopefully lovers) banter, the blushing? Not to mention the height difference: we love a height difference. Even on a platonic level, Natalia Dyer and Maya Hawke have great chemistry as actors and it shows on screen. I love that there’s always this strange heat or friction between them. At first, it’s as though they can’t seem to figure out whether or not they’re confused by or fascinated by one another, or both. I like that there’s this sort of gray area, up until they declare themselves officially friends in the woods of course. And even then, Nancy and Robin seem unsure about the friend label, hesitating and clarifying almost with a question mark. It’s giving...WLW.
2. they make a good team, as seen in season 4.
It was so cool seeing Nancy and Robin team up in Season 4, especially as they are two older female characters close in age, and both have strong personalities. The two first come together to dig through some local library archives and investigate the recent murders AKA the mystery surrounding Victor Creel. Watching these scenes felt like being transported into a different show. Like some sort of queer Nancy Drew fever dream or detective fantasy. I loved it! It was even cooler seeing them sneak into the asylum, using their skillsets to swindle the staff. Out of all of Robin’s potential (gay) love interests, Nancy is the person we’ve seen her interact with the most, and despite their obvious differences, it’s clear that they actually mesh well together. Way better than I would have thought after finishing Season 3.
3. Nancy needs a female-centric character arc.
I’m honestly so tired of seeing almost all of Nancy’s storylines revolve around men. Really disappointing men! Even her journalism dreams, which are arguably the most interesting thing about her, were tarnished by her relationship with Jonathan. Well him, and just misogyny in general, but you get what I mean. Nancy needs a female-centric character arc. If we can’t see her grow and thrive on her own, I’d love to see her grow and thrive alongside a lesbian lover.
4. nancy is also so reminiscent of characters that experience comphet!
Just a small town girl! Living in a hetero world! If Nancy isn’t the poster child for gay girls trapped in heternormative societies, then I don’t know who is. She is screaming sassy femme to me, and it’s not really something I can explain in great detail, but if you get it, you get it.
5. ROBIN’S CURRENT LOVE INTEREST, vickie, IS ANNOYING AND TOO SIMILAR TO HER #SORRY
Stranger Things has set up Robin’s newest love arc by pairing her with Vickie, portrayed by Amybeth McNulty. Robin is known to have a marching band crush on Vickie, who is just as scatterbrained, clumsy and awkward as she is. Personally, I tend to really dislike couples that are too similar to each other. I just think it’s boring! Like, how many scenes of them fumbling over their words together can we watch before it starts to get old?
I much prefer a setup like Robin and Nancy’s: on the surface they have no shared interests and very different personality types, but I think they’ll both realize they feel trapped in their own unique ways, which will lead them to connect on a deeper level. ALSO...they’re trauma bonded LMAO.
6. FINALLY, THE ACTORS SHIP RONANCE TOO.
The amount of interviews I’ve found where Maya Hawke or Natalia Dyer mention their love for and shipping of Robin and Nancy is astronomical.I feel like it’s such a good sign when actors ship their characters together. It makes me feel less crazy!
