???

777

[angel-tube]

So that didn’t happen.. LOL… so done this writing was so weak

[angel-tube]

Why Byler being unresolved in episode 7 is intentional, and why Will’s coming out scene was necessary

After my last post, I did some more thinking. After taking some time to rewatch some of the episodes, and think deeper after a joke a friend made, I think I can finally say that I think I know why byler was left unresolved and why Will needed to come out.

NOTE: I am NOT a duffer I do NOT know the ending I’m just saying my top thoughts and theories at this moment.

1) Byler being left unresolved

Anyone can see this was purely intentional. But why would they do this? Why would they purposely leave it open ended like this? Especially with all the holes left unresolved (Mike’s POV, the painting, etc). But the fact that they didn’t close up all the loose ends shows that this is not the end for Mike and Will.

a.) Compare this with other arcs

Let’s think of Jancy. As we know, the two of them broke up. And this was BEFORE the finale. The triangle between Steve, Nancy and Jonathan was very important and central during volume 1, but during volume 2 they wrapped up EVERY loose end with them and tied it in a nice little bow.

NO point of view was left open, we had Steve accepting and letting go of Nancy, we had Nancy closing it off with both of them, and Jonathan accepting this.

But byler on the other hand?

No direct confession, no direct rejection, no POV of the other party involved (Mike), no emotional aftermath. So many gaps left to be filled and explored.

b.) But why would they do this?

I mean after all they could’ve just gave Mike and Will a Jancy moment where they broke up (in byler’s case a rejection) but… they didn’t.

I think this is a very important choice and it goes to show that while the Nancy-Steve-Jonathan triangle wasn’t significant enough to be brought into the finale, Byler was important enough that they gave them an ambiguous ending MEANING they have to address this in the finale.

I just don’t see the point of pushing something this far or elongating a relationship situation like this into the finale if not for a good reason.

The finale is there for payoff, closure of very important arcs, firing Chekhov’s guns. Not introducing new things, resolving unimportant arcs, repeating info. So anything that they want to resolve before the finale, will be resolved before in order for it not to interfere with the emotional impact of the finale.

I’m telling you, if they could close up that love triangle with Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan without leaving any open wounds, they could’ve done that for Byler too, meaning they chose deliberately not to do so.

2.) Why Will coming out was actually important.

This could possibly be my biggest stretch but at the same time I feel like I’m actually going somewhere with this.

My friend had made a joke on how Mike only figured out being gay was an option when Will came out, and even though it was a joke I really thought about it. What if he really thought being gay was an option just then?

When I say “being gay is an option” I don’t mean it as if Mike didn’t know that gayness existed, or didn’t know he had the autonomy to be gay, but rather a realization that he could still be gay, and still be Mike.

a.) Coming out scene was actually for Mike

To many people, (including me at first), Will’s coming out scene seemed rather sudden, random and simply horrifying. I mean who the hell makes the shy gay boy in a small town in the 80s come out to a billion people some of them he doesn’t even know well like that. 😭

But, when you really think about it, it all makes sense.

Narratively, this scene was for MIKES benefit, not necessarily Will’s

Mike had to be able to see in real time people accepting Will for who he is even WHILE being different, how people embraced him, accepted him with love and kindness regardless of everything.

b.) Mike’s internalized homophobia

Mike is a leader, he’s the heart, which has been established many times throughout the show and he has natural leadership instincts and qualities. He also worries about the feelings of others and how is perceived.

Growing up in Hawkins, the environment he lived in with a family that didn’t seem to be as accepting of things like being different (especially taking into consideration that the Wheelers are basically the “picture perfect” family) Mike’s internalized homophobia becomes a defense mechanism. He’s scared of being judged, he’s scared of people being disgusted by him, especially after seeing how Will got treated growing up.

This fear he has explains different moments like: The distant airport hug, the “We’re friends, we’re friends” after Will asked “what about us”

I feel like Mike subconsciously sees Will as a threat to the version of himself that feels safe, normal, and socially acceptable. Not because he doesn’t love Will, but because loving Will would force him to confront parts of himself he’s terrified of.

C.) Will coming out creates a shift for Mike

This is important. Mike seeing Will be able to come out in front of a group of people from many different areas, many different places, many different people in the time that they live in, and be able to see how Will was treated with love and kindness, respect, and compassion, and NORMALCY can make a HUGE impact and impression on Mike and how he feels about his self and his own feelings.

Now he knows that if he were to tell the people around him such a thing they wouldn’t judge him or feel disgusted or treat him differently, which can be a big stepping stone that allows Mike to accept his self and his feelings for Will.

Mike is aware of how he feels for Will, I believe, he’s just been so used to repressing his feelings for so long and not fully examine and acknowledge them, but I think this could be a good starting point.

3.) So in conclusion…

If I’m reading this correctly, Byler has their biggest chance of happening in the epilogue, and Wills coming out scene was not unnecessary but rather a necessary moment for Mike.

Of course this is all just speculation but, I think it all has a possibility to happen, and I believe that a conversation between Mike and Will AT THE LEAST will be required in order to complete byler, whether it’s together or apart. But, I still do believe that they wouldn’t come this far just to end it there.

[angel-tube]

Robin said that it was like “a snowball turning into an avalanche”

Avalanches are quick and powerful. It can occur at any time given the right conditions.

Don’t lose hope, it isn’t over, we still don’t know Mike’s point of view, and an arc as big as this to be shut down has to be done so by a direct rejection, not by an ambiguous, whatever that was at the end.

They made the ending like this on purpose to give people just enough doubt that byler could be a twist in the finale, but leaving enough unopened in order for that part of the story to be obviously incomplete.

Not saying byler is guaranteed, but this cliffhanger wasn’t a sign of byler being bones at all.

[angel-tube]

why I don’t believe byler is “over” yet (spoilers)

I have never posted on this app a day of my life but after processing volume 2 as a whole, putting my initial anger aside, I did a lot of reflecting. I want to explain why I don’t believe this was the end of byler, in hopes that this may help someone, anyone.

ALSO I am NOT saying byler is guaranteed. It’s about recognizing when a story hasn’t actually finished speaking yet.

1) Will is an unreliable narrator

This is most literally canon.

Will has never known, nor been told how Mike feels. He simply has never asked to know this. He is interpreting Mike through insecurity and self protection. So, when Will is comparing himself to Tammy, that simply tells us what Will believes, not the OBJECTIVE truth.

This moment shows that Will is accepting his own feelings, not a rejection from Mike. The writers already stated before that the speech was about self acceptance, they didn’t mention it being about a romantic resolution and those are two very different things. (apparently now they said it was about moving on but honestly that doesn’t negate this point)

2) A rejection would NOT look like this…

If this was actually a rejection, we would have seen a direct confession to Mike, a direct response from Mike, and emotional aftermath with all strings tied up.

But did that happen? No. The feelings are still indirect and unresolved which is NOT how you resolve a 4-season arc

3) Mike’s point of view is still not clear.

This is a storyline centered on both Mike and Will, you don’t resolve a storyline centered on two people without actually… showing the perspective of both people …

We get a brief Mike reaction to Will coming out but never get a full reaction, we never get Mike processing this, we never get Mike sorting out his emotions about the whole thing.

Mikes point of view not being clear very strongly suggests that there is still more to be covered and that his arc is still in motion. Didn’t the Duffers say his arc would “pay off” ? Clearly it hasn’t yet meaning that we still have time.

4) The painting.

This is a big one, Chekhov’s Gun (literary principle; id advise people who don’t know about this to research a bit) has still not fired. The painting was deliberately set up to be very important and they do mention that it will come back.

And it didn’t come back yet meaning that it hasn’t been resolved yet, not that it was meaningless.

5) Will’s powers are tied to love and connection.

Simply to put it, when Will talked to Joyce about how those happy memories are the ones that helped him gain those powers in episode seven I think that was very important and intentional. Will may still need to use these powers, and Mike still remains his biggest emotional anchor regardless of what he says about moving on. (More of a theory than a fact)

6) Quiet storytelling ≠ Queerbait

I truly believe that byler was always meant to be a quiet subtle slowburn, not a loud and immediate romance, something way deeper than just onscreen kissing or the dramatics people seemed to envision for them.

The fandom made it louder, the expectations made it louder. But I seriously don’t believe it was meant to be perceived that way. Deferred payoff is not the same as erasure.

I honestly don’t think that bylers relationship was supposed to be this main show stopping plot point and that doesn’t mean it won’t happen, it doesn’t have to be this loud elongated obvious arc in order to be good or real.

7) Some additional takeaways.

I also want to say I don’t believe that Netfl*x would ever allow byler to look possible or even be considered in Volume 2. This is their biggest show and they cannot risk losing viewership because they heavily implied or made byler canon. The ending made it so it wasn’t direct enough to shut it down, but not obvious enough for people to still think byler is happening.

Plus:

- Finn stated he has a long monologue, hasn’t come up yet

- either the duffers or someone in the cast talked about how Finn and Noah cried the most at the finale table read

- stranger writers expressing their love for ships like korrasami, and catradora which both got canon in the finale of their shows.

- duffers talking about how the best twists are not those that are either really obvious or like completely unrelated and unnecessary, but those that make you think “how did I not see this before”

- mileven seems to be broken up (“friends don’t lie”, difference between friends and boyfriends was already established in season 3 to el, it’s been two seasons)

8) Final thoughts

All I have to say is that I’m not saying it’s guaranteed, but I’m seeing a lot of people saying a lot of different things when we still have a pretty good fighting chance of byler happening.

Saying that it’s over means ignoring all the prior evidence we have gathered, unresolved point of views, symbols, and arcs. This doesn’t feel like an ending but rather a temporary roadblock. It feels like they’re making us feel this way on purpose.

Maybe it was just supposed to be subtle until the end where this snowball turned into a full on avalanche, but I feel as if we had too much big hopes and expectations and wants instead of being realistic about their relationship.

And I’ve seen every article that’s come out since this volume came out and I still have that tiny little piece of me that truly believes it isn’t over based on this evidence.

I hope this helped anyone who may have been having a lot of doubt after volume 2.

Byler isn’t over yet.