Although most horror movies uphold the trope of killing the teen girl who has sex, Stranger Things instead kills the girl who judges her female friend for having sex. As Nancy tells Barb she can go home — the thing she’s been begging for all night — the quieter girl literally scoffs and incredulously says, “This isn’t you.” Interestingly, she makes this declaration without ever asking Nancy if she does want to have sex with the cute guy she is crushing on. Instead, throughout the first two episodes, Barb side-eyes Nancy for acting “stupid” and not realising Steve is trying to sleep with her. When, by the time you get to the end of “Maple Street,” it seems pretty evident Nancy knows precisely what’s going on, but feels too trapped by her “good-girl” image to admit she’s just as interested in sex as a guy like Steve is. She’s not stupid, she’s just playing the game of acceptable feminine sexuality. Unfortunately, Barb doesn’t exactly give Nancy the room to explore such topics.