Just finished season 2, please tell me Nancy is the most hated protagonist or at least was back then.

Jesus Christ on a Bike. She's done nothing but emotionally and physically cheat on Steve for 2 seasons straight, the only time she was good was during the 1st episode.

I don't care much what redemption she gets in later seasons or how cute of a couple she eventually makes with Jonathan, it's unearned by having these 17 episodes ​as the base.

And THIS IS COMING FROM SOMEONE WHO WAS ROOTING FOR JONATHAN ST THE START. During the 1st episode I thought Steve was going to be a fuckboy / meathead that would eventually prove the nerdy lonely boy right, that Nancy HAD to choose him over that jock, and he'd be there for her.

But none of that actually happened, Steve was introduced as The King but he has acted straight since day 1 of being in a relationship with Nancy and did zero things wrong. Nothing to push her to Jonathan. Dude instantly changed his ways for her sake and wasn't lying when he said she felt different to him and that he was serious. ​

Meanwhile my black horse, Jonathan... We're treated to him being a creepy weirdo and sexual offender stalking his Steve's house at night and taking pictures of Nancy and him having sex ON EPISODE 2. Whatever goodwill I had for him mostly vanished, AND STEVE DIDN'T EVEN BEAT HIM TO A PULP. He held back massively for what would normally land Jonathan in jail and merely broke his camera.

Then we're shown Nancy getting mad at Steve for this..? And I don't know from this point onwards if the writers intended for us to clearly see Nancy as a bitch, or if they intended us to believe Steve had a case of 'toxic masculinity' (he doesn't, breaking the camera of the sexual predator is honestly the least he could have done).

Steve then eats up his pride, he's absolutely not in the wrong, but nonetheless decides to go apologize to Nancy for this behavior. This is something that permeates the entire season 1 and 2. Steve is never in the wrong, but he wants to make things work so he discards his pride and makes amends with Nancy in things SHE should be apologizing over. ​

Anyways, he's treated to looking over her window and seeing now Nancy is in the same fucking bed as Jonathan. Them being in the same room was weird already, and this can only be explained by the supernatural so it's not a point against Steve who is acting by real life rules here- BUT THAT WASN'T ALL. Due to supernatural explanations Jonathan had to be in the same room protecting Nancy, but she took it a step further inviting him to her bed. We can disregard the Demogorgon ad the culprit of this emotional and almost physical cheating.

Steve talks to his friends, and naturally they go graffiti that she's a slut on the cinema. Which just makes things fair in my opinion. With the information everyone has, that's what happened and she fell for the stalker that same day and they fucked all after pushing Steve away for breaking his camera​​, and even with the real context it's not much better.

Steve eventually forces himself to let go of his justified rage and goes apologize to Nancy AGAIN. Of course, after being beaten by Jonathan the weirdo in what I think the writers intended to be an heroic moment...? I wanted to root for the nerd standing up to the jock on episode 1, but that ship sailed like an hour before this.

Steve is Buddha-maxxing the entire series when he wasn't even bad at episode 1, he was a good person from the beginning but is now ascending to full illumination to stay with Nancy and she keeps emotionally cheating the entire time, not explaining things, and framing him as​ the bad guy while giving zero accountability to Jonathan or herself.

And again I WANT TO BELIEVE THE WRITERS INTENDED FOR US TO DISLIKE HER, BUT I DOUBT IT. It felt forced to me that during the cabin fight in season 1 I thought for sure the writers would have the Demogorgon kill Jonathan in the 3 vs 1, when he arrived to the house ​to again apologize to Nancy. That they'd just kill him off so Nancy could complete her princess story and end up with Jonathan guilt free. ​

That might have been cheap but a better fate perhaps than Season 2, in which she keeps blaming him for Barbara, acting bitchy and telling him he doesn't love him while drunken, making a scene about her dress, but he's still the gentleman and sends her home safely. They have a discussion the next day on the back alley aaand IT'S NEVER BEEN RESOLVED.

I already finished Season 2 and she never goes back to address it again, you'd think this is the point she wants to show she's a good girlfriend and prove her worth to him, but Nancy just cheated even further while going on another secret mission with Jonathan, telling nothing to Steve. And they finally fucked in what was supposed to be a funny wholesome scene with help from that one hippie.

Steve is the writer's dog and they keep kicking him down while he transcends humanity to become a Saint and the best character, and Nancy is living her "princess escapes oppression" little fantasy that was never a thing to begin with, she had a perfect relationship with Steve and got mad at his reasonable reactions. ​​

And this is all the more shocking because I'm the usual introvert nerd in real life who would have loved to see Nancy have a bad relationship with the jock so Jonathan would save her, but they have both played dirty these 17 episodes. ​