Nancy Wheeler’s Guilt Makes her STRANGER THINGS’ Most Authentic Character

by

After watching the first part of Stranger Things 5, I kept dwelling on Dustin’s actions. Was he being selfish and unreasonable, or was his behavior understandable given his grief over Eddie? My editor, Rotem Rusak, convincingly argued for compassion towards Dustin, but I found myself stuck on a different issue: was his behavior realistic? Would someone truly jeopardize everything – the world and their friends – just to get back at a few people? Could he really lose focus during a fight with Vecna? I wrestled with these questions for a while, but eventually realized it was a pointless line of thinking.

I don’t enjoy stories that tell me how characters should behave. I’m drawn to them—so much so that I write about them—because even fantastical or frightening tales ultimately explore what it means to be human. What truly matters is whether a character’s choices and reasons feel true to their world. But while watching the fifth season of Stranger Things, I briefly lost sight of that. The characters, like Dustin and his friends, have been battling monsters from another dimension for years—a dimension they’ve actually been to! It’s impossible to know how any of us would react if we had real proof that other dimensions exist, so trying to judge their actions based on ‘real-world’ behavior felt wrong.

I’m not sure I’d know how to react if I were living in Hawkins, Indiana. Especially after the disappointment of Netflix cancelling Glow, I doubt I’d be able to handle seeing something like demobats attacking a friend. Even if I could somehow cope, what would be the point? I kept asking myself what good it would do to think about a situation that, deep down, felt meaningless. Eventually, though, I came to realize the answer.

The fantastical nature of Stranger Things means it’s pointless to criticize how Dustin acts – it’s impossible for him to react normally after witnessing his friend die fighting monsters. He’s simultaneously understandable and flawed. However, this very unrealness is precisely why Nancy Wheeler’s actions always feel so genuine to me. The stranger things become in Hawkins, the more sense her journey makes. Nancy is driven by a profoundly relatable feeling that only grows stronger as the show goes on: the guilt over her friend Barb’s death. This guilt has been the source of both her power and her vulnerability throughout the entire series.

Ever since Barb disappeared in the first season of Stranger Things, Nancy has been deeply haunted by guilt, and that guilt has shaped all of her choices. Before that, she was a pretty typical teenager – just figuring things out and trying to find her place. While Nancy wasn’t the best friend to Barb when she started dating Steve, she wasn’t intentionally cruel either – she was simply navigating the ups and downs of being a teenager. She didn’t abandon Barb in a dangerous situation; she simply left her alone at a small, uneventful party in their quiet town.

Nancy didn’t cause the portal to the Upside Down to open on Stranger Things. And it wasn’t her fault Barb got hurt trying to be accepted, which ultimately led to her being taken by the Demogorgon.

Nancy isn’t to blame for Barb’s death on Stranger Things. It really wasn’t her fault. Looking at the facts – the government, Henry Creel, just plain bad luck – there’s no logical reason to blame her. But guilt isn’t logical. It doesn’t just make us feel sad or ashamed; it also prevents us from being kind to ourselves. Guilt stops us from forgiving ourselves, from remembering that everyone makes mistakes, and that’s perfectly okay.

Guilt is a strange emotion. Sometimes it feels overwhelming, but other times it can actually motivate us. This is true for Nancy in Stranger Things. Ever since she found out her friend Barb disappeared, guilt has been a powerful force in her life. It’s what drove her to search for Barb, and then to destroy the creature that harmed her. Just as she was determined to bring closure to Barb’s family in Stranger Things 2, allowing them to say goodbye, guilt continues to fuel her actions.

As a huge fan of the show, I’ve always been struck by Nancy Wheeler’s incredible determination. It started with her wanting to find out what happened to Barb, and that drive actually led her to become a reporter. But honestly, reporting quickly took a backseat to her real mission: destroying the Upside Down. Seriously, she’ll do anything to stop it, even put herself in harm’s way, and she doesn’t hesitate for a second. She’s the type who just runs towards danger – she’s gone into the Upside Down through those portals without even thinking twice, sometimes not even once! She grabs a gun and faces down these terrifying creatures like they should be scared of her. It’s like she genuinely believes the fate of the world rests on her shoulders. Even after Vecna messed with her head in Stranger Things 4, showing her those awful visions, she immediately jumped right back into the fight. You could see that night at Steve’s party was the moment everything changed for her, and she’s been on a mission ever since.

Nancy has completely transformed. The innocent girl from the beginning of the show is now a determined fighter. Fans of Stranger Things will recognize her intense gaze, confident stride, and direct, no-nonsense attitude. Even her physical presence is striking. Fred, for example, was amazed when he worked with her. Nancy isn’t afraid of anything when there’s a problem to solve – she’s focused on the fight and faces danger with unmatched courage. No one battles like Nancy Wheeler.

She’s constantly worried, not about her own safety, but about the possibility of others getting hurt because of her actions – or inactions. She blames herself for her friend’s death, believing her relationship with Steve contributed to it, and feels responsible for Barb’s fate because she wasn’t a supportive enough friend. She knows this self-blame isn’t fair, but she can’t shake the feeling.

Nancy isn’t just afraid of Vecna; she’s deeply afraid of confronting her own guilt. She constantly pushes forward, trying to escape her past. This is why Vecna’s attack on her parents hit her so hard. Before that moment, she was the clear leader of the group – their strategist and the one they all relied on to take the biggest risks. But at the hospital, she was forced to stop and wait, unsure if her parents would live, and that brief pause completely shattered her.

While waiting, Nancy was forced to wash blood off her hands, a grim reminder of Barb’s death – a trauma she feels has permanently marked her. The moment, similar to a scene in Stranger Things season four, brought back painful memories, just like Vecna exploited her past. She had to confront the reality of what happened, and Sadie Sink delivered a powerfully emotional performance. Returning to the waiting room, Nancy immediately fell into self-blame, taking responsibility for something that wasn’t her fault – a pattern she seems unable to break. It’s a familiar cycle for those burdened by guilt, who constantly relive their regrets.

Guilt is inescapable, no matter how much you try to avoid it. Running away, even to another dimension, won’t help, and no one can outpace the weight of your mistakes. That’s why you push harder, even when facing your worst fears – like seeing a lost friend used against you. It explains why you take risks and plan expeditions, always trying to protect those who follow. When everything is falling apart, and you feel responsible, what other choice do you have but to fight back?

It’s hard to say if the actors in Stranger Things are truly believable, simply because the things their characters face are so far outside of normal experience. Dustin, for example, might just be acting like a typical kid – maybe even a flawed one. But with Nancy, the more unbelievable her circumstances become, the more genuine her emotional response feels. Guilt can make you feel like you don’t deserve good things, and when that guilt comes from surviving while others didn’t, you end up with someone like Nancy Wheeler.

While Nancy Wheeler’s journey in Stranger Things includes monsters and a frightening alternate world, at its heart, her story is about the crushing weight of guilt. It explores how, despite our best efforts to make amends and be good people, we can’t always escape the things we regret. For some, self-blame is a burden they can never truly shake.

The death of Barb was a pivotal moment for Nancy in Stranger Things. Vecna recognized this in Season 4 and tried to exploit Nancy’s feelings about it, but he failed. However, Nancy’s guilt over Barb’s death continues to weigh heavily on her as the show heads towards its conclusion. This event has profoundly shaped her, both positively and negatively. While it causes her significant pain, her guilt has also fueled her growth. Ironically, this sense of responsibility has made her Stranger Things‘ most courageous hero and leader, despite her own feelings of inadequacy.

It’s hard to imagine how I’d react to discovering monsters and another terrifying dimension, but I think I’d feel like Nancy Wheeler if it happened to me. Her situation seems unbelievable, but her feelings of guilt are very relatable. Guilt doesn’t depend on what actually happened or what makes sense – it’s a powerful emotion that can completely distort how we see ourselves and the world around us.

It’s unclear what Nancy’s feelings of guilt will cause her to do, or how she’ll cope with her past trauma. But no matter what happens to Nancy Wheeler by the end of Stranger Things, her journey will likely feel genuine, as it always has.

Mikey Walsh writes for TopMob. You can find him on Bluesky at @burgermike, and he’s always tracking rankings of the Targaryen kings.

Read More

2025-12-12 22:35