Mike gave a monologue to Will this season and a monologue to El this season and they contrast one another in almost every way possible lmao. Like this is definitely intentional and we are meant to be picking up on how different they are.
One of the most glaringly obvious differences between the monologues is how they are shot.
In the monologue to Will, they are bathed in warm colors and tones and the color palette of the scene is very vibrant and bright and gives you a warm happy feeling. Whereas during the monologue to El, they are cast in cooler and darker colors and the color palette of the scene is more dull and it gives you more of a cold and sad feeling.
I know some people don't wanna admit it, but the lighting in scenes means something. Lighting can help determine the type of tone and vibe they are trying to get across in the scene. Warmer tones and colors typically give scenes more happy, joyful, romantic, comforting, or hopeful tones and vibes. Darker and cooler colors can help make scenes feel calm as well, but they are most often used to make a scene feel sad, scary, dreadful, or suspenseful. And idk I just think the fact that Mike's "grand love confession" was filmed using a more cool and dark color palette and he was covered in a significant amount of shadow (more than during his monologue to Will) and it never transitioned into a warmer and more vibrant color palette and stayed dull and dark the entire time says A LOT about the message they were trying to get across and the characters' internal monologues.
That entire monologue wasn't lit in a romantic or beautiful way. It was lit in a way that was meant to make you feel a sense of sadness and dread. It was dull, dark, cold, and sad. They could have slowly started to light the scene with more warm and vibrant colors halfway through to show that Mike's words were reaching El and giving her hope and courage and that she was happy about what she was hearing. They could have slowly lifted the intense shadows off of Mike's face to show he was opening up to El and being vulnerable and honest. They could have done a lot to make that monologue seem more romantic and genuine...but they didn't. It stayed dark and depressing the entire time. Mike stayed doused in shadow and darkness. Meanwhile Mike and Will were bathed in sunlight and warm colors during their entire heart-to-heart. THAT IS INTENTIONAL.
Another difference is the environment of which these monologues take place.
During the monologue to Will, they are alone. Totally alone. It is just the two of them in Will's room and it is a low risk situation. It is an intimate moment (now canon thanks to the script lol) where they are just putting all of their attention onto each other. They are in their own little world and they are fully wrapped up in the moment with one another until they are forced out of it and the intimate moment "shatters." (The interruption trope is a classic trope used to build romantic tension between two characters btw).
In the monologue to El, it is a high risk situation (quite literally life or death) and they are surrounded by other people and we are continuously shown other people in the frame and it even cuts to other characters a few times in their own closeups.
Now they could have written a Midleven love confession into any other type of situation. They could have chosen to write it into a low risk and intimate situation where they could be alone and have a tender moment. The moment where they were talking in the SBP before Argyle interrupted them would have been a perfect moment for an intimate love confession. But no, they didn't write it that way. They purposefully wrote this "confession" into a very chaotic and stressful and high risk situation where none of the characters would be thinking clearly and their adrenaline and emotions would be running wild. They purposefully wrote it into a moment where Mike would be desperate and willing to say or do anything to save El's life (no matter how untrue his words may be). And they also chose to surround Mike and El with other people and not make this a moment between just the two of them.
Mike and El are not alone and they want us to remember that multiple times throughout the scene. They are surrounded by 3 other people who are watching this entire thing unfold. This moment is not an intimate moment for just the two of them as boyfriend and girlfriend. It's chaotic and stressful. It is a show being put on for 3 other people and for us as the audience. Every single ounce of intimacy has been drained from this scene. They are not wrapped up in their own little moment. Hell, Mike isn't even sure if El can hear him when he gives his speech. This isn't an intimate moment where they can lock eyes and really express their feelings and connect to each other. It is the complete opposite of that.
The next difference is just...Mike's motivation for the two monologues.
Mike wasn't coerced into giving the speech to Will. He wasn't pressured into it. He gave it because he wanted to. THAT was his motivation for the monologue. He gave it just because he wanted to. He gave it because he wanted to open up to Will about his feelings. No coercion. No pressure. No being forced into it...he did it just because he wanted to. That's it.
However there WAS coercion during his monologue to El. He was coerced and pressured into giving that speech. He wasn't going to say anything until Will practically forced him to. And even then, the main motivation behind the monologue was "save El." The motivation wasn't "tell her about my love for her just because I want to." It was literally "try to save her life. Do everything you can to save her life." He didn't give that speech because he was just "so overcome" with his romantic love for El and he just "needed" to tell her in that moment. He was literally giving that speech for the sole purpose of trying to save El. He was telling her what he thought she wanted to hear in hopes that it would give her the courage and strength to fight. That was the motivation for the speech. It had nothing to do with him wanting to express his feelings and had everything to do with just trying to save El's life.
Next difference...the music.
Now I can't attach the videos here so you'll have to go listen to them yourself, but the song that plays in the monologue to Will is "On the Bus" and the song that plays during the monologue to El is "You're the Heart."
On the Bus is a more soothing, calm, and hopeful sounding song. You're the Heart is a more somber and tense sounding song. These songs perfectly fit the vibe of the scenes. On the Bus is soothing and hopeful sounding, just like the scene of Mike's monologue to Will. And You're the Heart is tense and somber sounding just like the scene of Mike's monologue to El. The music fits the vibe of the scenes.
That's really all there is to say on this one lmao.
And probably the most obvious difference is that Mike lied to El...but he didn't lie to Will.
I don't even feel like I need to explain this one. Mike blatantly lied during his monologue to El and we can prove this with moments from the show. "I've loved you since the moment I met you" a LIE. "I've never been scared of you" another LIE. "My life started the day we found you" yet another LIE. "I love you on your good and bad days" again, that is a LIE. "I love you" LIE LIE LIE LIE. That boy was lying out his ass in that monologue and you can tell. You can tell not only by his words, but by his facial expressions and his tone of voice as well. It was the most disingenuous and monotone "love confession" I have ever witnessed lmao. It is a complete contrast to the monologue he gave Will where his voice was soft and his facial expressions were open and honest and where his statements could actually be backed up by moments in the show.
His monologue to Will was honest and vulnerable...his monologue to El was untruthful, monotone, and closed off.
And last but not least...the aftermath.
After his monologue to Will, their friendship is restored. It is the best it has been since s2. They are as close as ever. Maybe even closer than they were before. They are attached at the hip. They continued on to go have multiple other meaningful and tender conversations with one another. They supported and comforted one another and were just there for each other (van scene, cabin scene, etc). Things have never been better between them.
However, after Mike's monologue to El...they are ignoring each other. They have barely spoken a word to each other since he gave that speech. This is probably the most emotionally distant they have ever been. Mike isn't trying to reach out to El and El isn't trying to reach out to Mike. In fact, Mike is still attaching himself to Will's hip and not even trying to go talk to El and ask her what is wrong. He just made an assumption about what was upsetting her and that was it. He didn't actually go ask El what was wrong and didn't try to offer her any comfort like a boyfriend should. And El is just straight up ignoring Mike and GLARING/ROLLING HER EYES at him. Like they are not in a good place right now after his "love confession" to her. They are on the brink of a breakup.
In conclusion, these two monologues directly contrast one another and that is very intentional and we are supposed to be noticing things like that. And idk I just thought I needed to compare these two monologues because I have seen absolutely nobody do it before despite the obvious differences between them. So uh...I hope you all enjoyed lmao.
