Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘That ‘90s Show’ follows the adventures of a teenager and her group of friends. Leia spends a summer at Point Place where she makes new friends. By the time she has to pack up and go back to Chicago, she has had her first kiss, her first relationship, as well as her first breakup. She makes up her mind not to come back to Point Place again, but then, something happens which complicates things for her even more. When she drives away, she has a lot of things to deal with, starting with her newfound feelings toward Nate. It is a surprising turn of events because, at this point, Nate is already in a relationship with Nikki. If you are wondering what it means for him and Leia, then here’s what you should know. SPOILERS AHEAD
Future of Leia and Nate’s Romance
When Leia first meets Nate, he is in a relationship with Nikki and they are going strong. To her, they look like the perfect couple, even if a little mismatched, and she wishes to find love like theirs. Throughout the season, however, we discover that things aren’t as smooth between Nate and Nikki as it appears. While Nate is a silly jock who often proves himself to be not so bright, Nikki turns out to be a very smart person, who is focused on her future. While she hangs out with Nate and puts up with his silliness, she is dedicated to getting good grades in school so that she can get herself into a good college.
For Nate, life is quite simple and he believes that he and Nikki will stay in Point Place forever together. If not, wherever they go, they will be together. However, when he discovers Nikki’s plans for college, he realizes that he will not be able to secure a place for himself there, which means that Nikki might have to leave him behind. This only fuels his insecurity, especially when he discovers that Nikki is being tutored by a very good-looking man.
Things get more troubling for him when it becomes clear that for his girlfriend, leaving him behind won’t be as difficult as he’d imagined. When Jay breaks up with Leia and cites the problem of long-distance as an excuse, Nikki backs him. This surprises Nate, who thought that Nikki will use their relationship as an example to tell everyone that no matter how far, two people can be together if they are in love. Instead, he finds her taking a more practical route and even agreeing to the possibility of her and Nate’s breakup, should she leave Point Place for college.
It is while processing these feelings that Nate has a moment with Leia, who is heartbroken over the breakup with Jay. Both of them agree that long distances can work if you try. This common ground gets them to tap into their attraction toward each other. Nate and Leia almost kiss, stopped by Gwen’s interruption. They don’t get time to discuss things between them as it’s time for Leia to leave. They promise to discuss it over a call because both of them agree that there is something between them.
Does this mean that in the next season, we will see Leia and Nate together? Possibly. Since both of them have accepted that they have a connection, it will become impossible for them to be normal around each other, especially when the others remain in the dark about it. Before leaving, Leia apologizes to Nikki, who has no idea what happened between them. Leia also doesn’t immediately take to Jay’s proposal of continuing their relationship and see if they can survive long distance after all. All of this points towards the fact that Leia will not hesitate to see if things can work out between her and Nate. However, that still leaves the question of Nate and Nikki’s relationship.
Considering that Leia and Nate’s romance is still in its initial stages, the show might take its time to explore their chemistry, which had been non-existent in the first season. The love triangle, between her, Nate, and Jay, is also set to be one of the main conflicts of the story, especially considering that Jay made it clear at the end that he had feelings for Leia, and he was not going to let go of her so easily. On top of that, Nate is still with Nikki, and while she might leave him when she goes to college, there’s still a lot of time before that happens. To sum it up, Nate and Leia are bound to be together at some point. What remains to be seen is whether or not they become the endgame.
Read More: Do Leia and Jay Break Up at the End of That ’90s Show?
