lae !!

"they massacred my boy" [talking about Mike Wheeler] • 19 • i might be insane but at least im passionate

[trytogethappy]

the humanity of the AIDS crisis: the ward by gideon mendel

colorized by me

[miwiheroes]

"you just wanted to see two boys make out"

to date to date to date to date to date to date to date to date to date to date to date to date to date to date to date to date to date to date to date to date

[michaelqueerlerslipstares]

I just wanted to see two guys make it work out

[maidenvault]

Not “Only my reading of canon is correct” or “Interpretations are subjective and all valid” but a secret third thing, “More than one interpretation can be valid but there’s a reason your English teacher had you cite quotes and examples in your papers, you have to have a strong argument that your interpretation is actually supported by the text or it is just wrong and I’m fine with telling you it’s wrong, actually.”

[bloody-andblunt]

I made this with my bare hands I hope everyone likes it

[thewisewill80sbyers]

the SA visuals with Vecna are so constant that I really wonder how people can say it wasn't intended as such, obviously it's not *literal* in a sexual sense but it is in a power struggle sense and he is a predator in that way, actually the main source of SA is them wanting to impose power over someone and it's not even about sexual gratification per se so this might also be considered literal for how I see it but whatever

[whatisstevenabt]

Jane and Kali died in a hell dimension created by their abuser. Robin’s only arc this season was propping up Will. She got together and broke up with Vickie offscreen. The only thing mentions for Max in the ending is that she’s still with Lucas. No one looks out for Erica because she’s “tough”. You can’t convince me this show doesn’t hate women.

[thebestofmyrmidons]

All roads from Copyrightgate lead to an interactive film

Disclaimer: This is a post in a series of collaborative posts that provides evidence that the next piece of Stranger Things content is going to be an interactive film using Episode 2 to 8 as the base.

⁠Bandersnatchgate Contributors:

@thebestofmyrmidons🌠 @fixthehyper @whispering-goat @vecnapilled @power-kinesis @nuffit the notable ⋆.˚ ☾ @arubikhandy0707

An exciting revelation has been made by a group of conformitygate theorists. At the center lies #copyrightgate 🌠.Or shall I say ... copyrightgate 2.0.

Copyrightgate TLDR

As mentioned in my original post, and this and this follow-up post, there is a weird delay in the copyright registration of episodes 2-8 - it's now been almost 3 months since Volume 1, with no registration for any of those episodes in sight. This is very out of character for Netflix, that usually register copyrights for their flagship shows as soon as possible (the recent Bridgerton S4 volume 1 episodes were all registered within a week).

Some excerpts from my original post(s) are below:

"My main gripe with cut/copyrightgate is that if the missing scenes were added back into the original episodes, I know many people would be put off from rewatching if it’s just a case of “filling in the gaps”. 

"the season has 7 incredibly mediocre episodes (4 if you’re generous) that would ruin the rewatchability of season 5, even if volume 4 is incredible."

So, there are two main issues with both cutgate and copyrightgate (version 1.0), as I posited in my initial post:

release of a new volume wouldn't lead to a delay in copyright registration, and season 5, as a whole, has been mediocre, so adding new episodes will still ruin its rewatchability

similarly, releasing a single, "second" version of the current episodes with the additional cut scenes has the drawback that many people will not sit down and re-watch 7 episodes that they've already seen (even if they're altered)

I actually got so close to the answer in my original post, I can't believe I didn't even consider the possibility of an interactive film!

"I don’t know how they would do this. This type of “redo” may work for an interactive game like G ‘n G, but I genuinely wonder how this would bode for Stranger Things, and how they would pull this off."

Like I mention here, we know for a fact that the copyright registrations are delayed. But biases come in when we start interpreting why it was delayed.

Why cutgate no longer makes sense

Like I mentioned in my original post, I wasn't a fan of cutgate, and I thought it would be difficult to implement well.

While I still stand by original stance that episodes 2-8 aren't the finished versions of the work, I no longer believe that there is a single "second" version coming.

(The big flaw with this hypothesis is that, while it's annoying to have to register two versions of an episode, this hypothesis assumes that they're not at all interested in registering version 1 (i.e. the episodes we've already seen). This is problematic, as it assumes that Netflix is only interested in enforcing version 2, but doesn't care at all about version 1. While not ideal, it is still doable to register 2 versions, in principle, so the "two-version"/cutgate theory crumbles under pressure.)

But... then @whispering-goat asked me to look at the copyright registrations of Netflix' interactive media, which have multiple versions, multiple endings, multiple parallel timelines, and oh boy, did this open the floodgates...

The copyright registrations of Bandersnatch and Kimmy Schmidt vs the Reverend

Let's now look at the copyright registrations of Netflix' biggest and most expansive interactive films: Bandersnatch and Kimmy Schmidt vs the Reverend

First and foremost: the copyright for Bandersnatch was never registered.

Why? There are over a trillion different permutations (see here and here).

Even though there are approximately 5 major endings, there are many more different paths that can lead you to those endings (and other minor endings). One of those endings is the main character breaking the fourth wall and realising he is controlled by a 21st-century Netflix viewer, leading to a fight in his therapist's office.

It would've been (and indeed, it's proven to be) impossible to register Bandersnatch in a straightforward manner at the copyright office.

Secondly: the Kimmy Schmidt special had less permutations than Bandersnatch, and so the copyright was registered. However, the copyright registrations were both segmented and delayed past the 3-month mark.

I've been so busy trying to understand their copyright filing tactics compared to traditional episodes, that I haven't even considered looking at the registration timelines of the interactive media, which break the patterns we've observed with the Bridgerton, Squid Game, Stranger Things S4 etc. registrations.

The Kimmy Schmidt specials were registered as three separate paths: paths A, B, and C (starting to sound familiar?)

As I explain in my corresponding Kimmy Schmidt parallel post, there are broadly 3 major endings in Kimmy Schmidt, with one "good" ending, and two "bad" endings (see here too).

Although three registrations for three paths are filed, none of the paths are one linear segment. Broadly, speaking, there is one major ending in each path, with alternative nodes to get to the major ending(s), as well as some "early endings" that re-route you back to the major path.

What is happening with the season 5 registrations?

So now we have actual evidence that supports a more conclusive reason for the registration delays:

Episodes 2-8, as currently aired, are just one linear segment within one of those paths (i.e. doors).

Max explains those three paths:

Door 1: take your own life

Door 2: accept your fate

Door 3: ESCAPE

We also know that Hopper no longer presents Door 3 as an option to Mike in the epilogue, as he tells Mike he either can either:

Keep blaming himself and suffer (i.e. Door 1) OR

You find a way to accept what has happened (a.k.a. Door 2)

So what we've currently seen is one linear segment of the option Mike has chosen: Door 2: accept your fate. The episodes aren't registered, because this will be a broader path (representing Door 2) once the full interactive film launches.

So, to me, it seems likely that we'll get these three paths as an interactive film - the only "good" ending will be Door 3: Escape. And again, this might sound crazy, but I think it's highly probable that once the viewer does manage to escape, this will unlock an actual finale, in standard episodic form.

But why did they air episodes 2-8 and not launch the interactive film straight away?

This post by @power-kinesis explains how Max and Holly's Camazotz escape is actually a tutorial for the viewer on how to actually escape Camazotz via memories when the interactive film drops. This explains why they broke the fourth wall so much this season and gave directions to the audience multiple times.

The goal is to escape Camazotz - but we'll know if we've made the wrong choices (i.e. are on the wrong path) if we start overlapping with the path that we've already seen (i.e. existing episodes 2-8). They also had to prime the viewer to look out for clues and inconsistencies that signify that something is "off" about a scene and how to look for a way out by way of conformitygate!

This outcome also resolves the question we've all been having: why are they seemingly punishing their hardcore fans by ragebaiting us?

Airing the "second" versions of the "real" episodes will allow the GA to consume these mindlessly, as they have with S5. Whereas an interactive film rewards those who have been paying attention.

And also, we are aware of what exactly is wrong and why the ending is conformist. It's going to be a perfect way to hold up a mirror (ha! a Black Mirror) to those that had no issues with the current ending and, also, to those who refuse to acknowledge Mike's (suppressed) feelings for Will.

This will literally make the viewer choose between the blue pill and the red pill, Matrix-style. They either choose to face the reality, or stay in Camazotz.

All theories lead back to an interactive film

The great thing about this is that most of our conformitygate theories converge and can all be explained by an interactive film.

Multiverses/parallel universes? ✅

Travelling through memories Eternal Sunshine-style? ✅

Copyrightgate? ✅

Playgate? ✅

Bobgate? ✅

There are many more theories which can all converge: an interactive film is Occam's Razor. The most simple explanation for all of this nonsense.

And it's so in line with Netflix' MO (I mean they did it for one of their biggest IPs, Black Mirror, and then went all out for a smaller IP like Kimmy Schmidt). The more I think about it, the less sense it makes not to incorporate an interactive element into Stranger Things, their biggest show in its final season.

There will be more posts coming from other contributors, but Netflix have already announced that they will be collaborating with the game developers of Life is Strange for a mysterious, undisclosed Netflix IP (which many were already speculating to be Stranger Things).

They did a lot of mysterious ARG in the lead-up to Bandersnatch that is very similar to the conformitygate ARG - see @whispering-goat's post.

Many, many of the casts interviews actually now make sense (think Sadie's "butterfly" comment, Noah being confused by season 5 etc). I suspect that the actors didn't actually know which "ending(s)" would be initially aired when they gave their prerecorded interviews (they hadn't yet seen the finale), which explains all the seemingly contradictory statements.

All in all - I think we've finally gotten the answer as to what to except. Now we can patiently await the drop...

Over and out!

[mikewakeup]

i can't put my thoughts into a concise post so i'll just ramble

i don't agree with the notion that anyone should "just let it go." i don't mean wallow in misery, i mean that there's nothing inherently wrong with continuing to speak about what you love and what you're critical about. i think it's very social media brainrot of people to think a month is too long for fans to keep talking about something.

and i think people just don't understand that fans had their trust betrayed. this isn't a typical instance of a bad series finale that oh wow i guess some people didn't like it. it wasn't a case of the fans just got their hopes up too high either. the writers went against the core values of the show that had been projected onto the audience for every season prior. they uprooted the integrity of their show in just a few episodes. it was like whiplash. stranger things lasted almost 10 years and was like the most popular show ever. for good reason imo! fans were invested... for a long time. i was only here five months before the finale and i still completely understand. i feel like i was just as invested, but i was still only here for like just a millisecond in comparison. you've gotta think about what this story meant to fans and how long they followed it. and then think about why it meant so much.

stranger things was heartfelt, meaningful and detailed. and then the writers turned around and said none of that ever mattered and fuck you for being invested. they said that in the show and out loud. that is betrayal and with no explanation. it is completely understandable to be hurt by that.

it's like the show lured in its audience with a false sense of security. it was touted as a show for the outcasts. we were finally safe. even when the show got globally popular, we were still safe. even when bad things happened in the story, we could hold onto hope. stranger things was the response to the cynical media of 2015. the duffers said this of their own volition when describing the story of stranger things. and then, they used the last few episodes of the whole series to pull the rug out from under invested fans and slap us in the face. it became one of those bitter and jaded stories they never wanted to tell in the first place.

you can usually see why other shows and movie trilogies end badly. they fail because there was no clear vision, or they changed writers midway through and/or there was poor communication between writers. but that was never the case with stranger things. this was just their show that they had placed on a consistent track. and they wrecked it for no good reason. they had the money, they had the brilliant production teams, they had the talent. and it was consistent. until it just... wasn't? and story-wise, the characters previously had natural progressions towards a good ending, but the ending we got was so unsatisfying because the writers ignored or dismantled what they had set up. the show was so detailed and thought-out that every clue mattered. until it suddenly didn't. and there's no explanation why.

conformitygate makes complete sense as a theory in and of itself. but it also makes sense why so many fans would latch onto it. there has to be something missing or some kind of reason for this. the evolution of conformitygate into an alternate ending theory also makes sense. i do believe we saw the bad ending of stranger things - not just because it sucked but because that can't actually be how it ended. is it any wonder why fans are still talking? after what just happened?

but anyway. if anyone tries to tell you to just let it go, ignore them lol

[upsidedownlurker]

Why MWTFDYDgate = conformitygate

Ever wondered why Will suddenly had hope for a relationship with Mike during Volume 1, then gave up again?

Vecna told their story in reverse.

MIKE'S CAMAZOTZ (and the mandela effect)

Mike is stuck in his own version of Camazotz: the Rightside Up.

After Season 4, the gang prepared for a big battle with Vecna. Mike was kidnapped during that battle, on the anniversary of Will's disappearance: November 6th, 1986.

Every important plot point from Ep 1-8 was an edited version of Mike’s memories from that timeframe. Vecna just changed the order, characters or context to suit his own narrative and keep Mike trapped in the Rightside Up, believing he'd won. Because of this, Mike is kind of experiencing the Mandela Effect – remembering things differently than how they really happened.

My evidence for this theory is here! Especially Part 1 and 3. Part 1 (Reality = reversed), Part 2 (Will and Robin), Part 3 (12 Episodes), Part 4 (MWTFDYD)

We will flash back to what really happened in Episode 9, when Mike realises he's stuck in a fake world. The resulting plot will be a reverse of the current episodes; a reordered, recontextualised version of the same story – where Mike's real memories are crucial to his escape from the Rightside Up.

THE REAL STORY

Vecna told the truth in reverse. Upside-down.

After Season 4, this is what really happened: Will started with no hope -> befriended Robin -> Will came out, repairing his friendship with Mike -> Mike got closer with him -> and they both GAINED hope for a relationship. 

But after that came November 6th, 1986: the battle with "world-altering implications". Vecna trapped Mike in a fake world and altered his memories of what brought him there. He scrambled the truth into a tragic story of lost hope.

Remember, he doesn't lie. He tells the truth differently. Edits parts out, exaggerates others, and scrambles it to fit his vision.

In Vecna’s retelling, this is what happened: Will started with high hopes -> befriended Robin -> Mike suddenly got less close with him -> Will came out, half-repairing his friendship with Mike -> and they both LOST hope. 

That's what we saw in Episodes 1-8. Now, I dunno about you, but to me, Mike and Will's story makes a LOT more sense in reverse.

BUT WHY? To remove Mike's hope for escape, of course! :)

Max escaped with help from memories of Lucas and El. Will fought his possession with help from memories of Mike, Joyce and Jon. El saved Max with their shared memories, reversing her death. Love and memories are the key.

If Mike was to remember his love for Will, he'd be able to escape his conformist hell. But that would ruin Vecna's plans for a "better world".

...Which is exactly why conformitygate and MWTFDYDgate are intrinsically linked. The only way Mike can escape Vecna's curse is to REMEMBER what really happened in the months before the battle.

So, what did happen?

MWTFDYD: An Overview

Well, we've already seen parts of it, scattered throughout Episodes 1-8. Just with changes to the order, characters or context.

MARCH-MAY

Remember how El wasn’t talking to Mike at all at the end of Season 4? And how for most of Season 5, they weren't together? Mike and El break up. {Vecna later uses this memory to tell the story of Jonathan and Nancy's breakup.}

Eleven: "I hate [Eggos]"; "You are always exactly six minutes late." "You wanted honesty." Friends don't lie.

Mike: "That spring break, when you were in Lenora..." "[physics mention]"; "I just felt like I was doing something wrong. Like I was going against the natural order of things."

Mike: "It made me feel safe, but also... I dunno." Eleven: "It was suffocating." Mike: "Yeah."

Will + Robin start hanging out. {This probably happened the same way – after he saw Rovickie kiss.}

The Byers are staying with the Wheelers. Mike and Will share the basement, which explains why they forgot to set an alarm in The Crawl. Remember, Mike is ALWAYS late!!! Every season except 5!!!

Will: "It's always [Mike's] fault!"

JUNE-JULY

Robin and Will have their coming-out talk from Shock Jock! They quickly become friends. They both agree to come out to someone new. Will decides to start small, and Robin wants to go big.

Will: "You wouldn't happen to have any more of that truth serum left, would you?"

Will quietly comes out to Mike, Jon and Joyce – his own choice. This explains why they originally wrote it this way, but changed it. During that coming-out, Mike gives his apology from the tower in The Rightside Up.

Mike: "Hey, um… I’m sorry. I mean, not sorry about what you said. That came out wrong. I mean, not ‘came out’ wrong! Jesus Christ!" LMFAOOOO

Because of that coming-out heart-to-heart, Mike and Will become much closer again.

Robin comes out to everyone, so she can “double her audience”. That's why there was so much rambling in that scene, and why Tammy was mentioned! Robin says she likes girls, talks about her "Tammy", and maybe even mentions finding her "Vickie".

Mike has an epiphany. Perhaps he had his Vickie all along. 

AUGUST-OCTOBER

Will talks to Robin. He asks how she knew that Vickie wanted to date – their talk from the hospital. He immediately starts flashing back to all their little snowballs... "a brush of the knee, a bump of the elbow, a shared look."

Mike talks to Robin. Maya Hawke said her character would "mentor" TWO others this season. What if Mike's the second? He's amazed after her coming-out, and asks her for a bit of advice.

Mike gets Jonathan's help to make something special: a mixtape for Will. Jonathan makes it, and gives it to Mike. {Later, Vecna uses this memory to create the scene where Murray gives Jonathan the mixtape for Nancy.} Also – Charlie Heaton said Jonathan would help his brother "get something he wants" in Season 5. This concludes Jonathan's arc of noticing what's going on with Will and Mike, but never intervening.

In the Wheelers' basement, Mike gives Will the mixtape. This is the avalanche; the thing that made it obvious.

Mike: "One last confession. A big one." He pulls out the mixtape. "I figure I've screwed up enough with you. It'd be nice to get something right for once in the end. Here." {Later, Vecna uses this scene for Jonathan and Nancy's breakup, where he takes the ring out and throws it away, in a confusing un-proposal}

This could explain the cutgate claims that Mike and Will were apparently supposed to have a basement scene together, and that music was supposed to play a fundamental role in scenes – e.g. "Just Like Heaven" by the Cure.

This could also explain birthdaygate – a late present!

I'm just speculating here, but... I think they'll use this to recontextualise the Purple Rain scene. Purple Rain plays from the mixtape as Will says Eleven's words from Episode 8. Quiet and intimate, not life-or-death.

Will: You understand me better than anyone. You always have. From the day we met, you've seen me. The real me. {Later, Vecna uses these words to evoke Mike's guilt – about Eleven's fake death, and his unreciprocated romantic feelings. This is to keep him trapped in the Rightside Up, AHHHH–}

After this scene, Mike and Will are either together, or basically together. This does multiple things narratively. It gives Vecna something he can use to manipulate them, it will also be one of the memories that helps Mike escape the illusion, and if Mike and Will were together throughout Episodes 1-8, they are totally recontextualised!

ALSO!!!! This explains why the Duffers said that Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind was a big inspiration for Season 5. Two lovers' memories of each other are erased, but they find each other in the end, with the help of a CASSETTE TAPE!!!!!!!!

Apologies for the avalanche of exclamation marks.

NOVEMBER 6TH, 1986

Will unlocks his powers during the battle with Vecna. He remembers Robin's words, and attempts to save Mike... but unlike in Sorcerer, he fails.

Will: "[Mike]... Vecna, he's got [Mike]... we failed. I failed."

This explains why both Mike and Holly have the same head wound, and why Mike heard the clock chime and had multiple reaction shots to seeing Vecna – but nothing came out of it.

Will has his talk with Joyce from The Bridge. He's feeling so, so hopeless. Not only did Vecna get exactly what he needs to enact his plan, but... things were finally getting better between him and Mike, and now he's gone.

Will: "...Today is the day. The day Vecna's gonna act. I thought I had him, but the truth... the truth is I never stood a chance."

It's not over, though!

After that are Mike's altered memories, everything from Episode 1-8.

And after that... the final episodes!

Robin: It's a mandala! [...] Is it a mandala? Mandahla? Or a man-dala? Or a mendela? Or...

(And hopefully, a somewhat happy ending :D)

[trailersaftermidnight]

Hot take (that shouldn’t be a hot take at all):

Mike Wheeler isn’t oblivious, clueless or dumb. His character has not been lobotomized.

He’s traumatized. Deeply and irreversibly traumatized.

He is a living breathing case study in “forced conformity is what is killing the kids”.

Both by the repeated traumatic events we are witness to through the series, but also the very real pressure of forced heteronormativity and toxic masculinity.

You cannot analyze his actions through 2026’s lens (where I argue these oppressive social structures are still omnipresent).

There is a real and ever present danger for LGBTQIA folx, especially in the context of Indiana in the 80’s (I will not entertain any arguments that Mike Wheeler is not at minimum questioning his sexuality. Queer media literacy 101 establishes that).

Additionally, the changes in his behaviour, including demonstrating affection to Will, can be ascribed to the overwhelming pressure to adhere to gender roles and stereotypes. The social construct he lives within tells him that the interactions that were natural and joyful are abnormal and wrong.

Finn Wolfhard is an incredible actor. You can see the internal anguish in the “quiet Mike” moments in Season 5.

Mike Wheeler is in agony. But he feels like he doesn’t have any other choice.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[bloody-andblunt]

I have never and will never subscribe to the lobotomized Mike notion. although a funny joke (to not overuse), my boy is not simply "slow", and i will not accept that as an answer, ever😭🙏🏻

[autoasta]

I just wanna go on record and applaud the Duffers, Shawn Levy, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp and the entirety of the ST cast and crew for successfully ragebaiting the entire world.

Like genuinely, it is so well done. And I cannot wait for everyone to suddenly do a 180 on the show and the people involved, just like I did.

I also wanna publically apologize for saying these horrible horrible things about you Duffers (/silly - I know the stuff is relatively tame but my apology is sincere):

(blacked out parts are just cause I don't wanna expose or direct any negativity onto anyone else)

To any- and everyone involved with Stranger Things, I love you. You're hilarious and amazing and I hope your coffee will always be the perfect temperature, that your food will always be perfectly salted and that your clothes will always feel so so so comfotable. I hope you live the rest of your lives perfectly comfortable and with tons of time to relax and rest.

(this whole post is sort of a shitpost. I couldn't get the idea of posting these comments out of my mind, since I no longer feel this way at all. It's so funny to look back on. Especially when so many fans still think like this. I genuinely hope the cast and crew are all doing well and are safe. I can't imagine how truly awful it must be for them right now)

(Also, I obviously don't expect any of the cast/crew to actually see this post, but I felt like spreading some love and positivity anyway, cause I see so much fucking hate at the moment)

This post is just as much for my fellow conformitygate truthers and/or doubters, as it is for the ST cast/crew. Cause times are tough for anyone not on the hate-train. (And I think it's funny and harmless to make fun of myself with these messages - and I wanna show how it's okay to change your mind and laugh at yourself). <3

[slytherflowerao3]

my predictions for who we can’t trust if conformitygate is real and the epilogue is vecna’s illusion

(sorry in advance)

okay, i read this post from @nightnut and it got me thinking. she pointed out some concerning parallels and foreshadowing we have with dustin and hopper:

now to add to that.

okay guys i’m sorry, but i genuinely think steve, dustin, and hopper are the most at risk right now. i don’t think we can trust any of them anymore. they were genuinely the most jarring characters in the epilogue, so here’s what stood out to me the most on rewatch: (because apparently this blog runs on self-inflicted pain)

steve: sanitized growth or scripted ideal?

i’m sorry, but that is not my steve harrington.

the tone is off. the body language is off. it feels like someone performing “babysitter steve” instead of actually steve. his arc has always been growth through insecurity. the epilogue removes the insecurity.

steve panics every season when he’s in charge of the kids. yes, he loves them. yes, he tries. but he struggles and doubts himself constantly. even in season 5 he’s still human about it — still imperfect with dustin.

the “six little nuggets” speech in season 4 was aspirational. it wasn’t proof of arrival. it was a twenty-year-old clinging to a comforting image of the future while the world was ending. it was fantasy coping.

epilogue steve, by contrast, is frictionless. confident. thriving. every kid adores him. there’s no awkwardness. no exasperated muttering. no nervous humor.

he feels like an idealised version of himself, following a script. that’s not growth, even if it comes after two years (that we didn’t get to see). that’s sanitization.

(credit to @howtobeanerd101)

dustin: false closure and wish fulfillment

the scene with his mom is beautiful — but almost suspiciously perfect.

she’s teary. proud. he reassures her he’s only a day’s drive away. he promises to call so much she’ll have to change numbers. they exchange i love you’s.

it plays like emotional resolution, but if the epilogue is artificial, this is exactly the kind of scene you’d construct: clean closure between mother and son, reassurance that nothing is truly lost. on rewatch, it feels eerie, like narrative anesthesia — the kind designed to soothe us before they pull the rug.

the graduation speech pushes this further.

earlier in the episode, lucas sarcastically says to dustin, “great job keeping morale up” in the abyss. by the epilogue, dustin is doing exactly that — flawlessly — in front of the entire school.

the same school that ostracized him for five seasons now cheers. they follow his lead in “rebelling” against principal higgins. confetti rains down. dustin throws his cap before everyone else. lucas gleefully mentions higgins “shitting his pants.”

it’s too neat.

he’s wearing a gray shirt instead of the original hellfire shirt (after this season deliberately made us pay attention to color continuity with holly and max). stacy — who hasn’t been relevant since season 2 — invites him to a party. suzie isn’t acknowledged. dustin is suddenly the universally adored class hero, and even some of the dnd references in his speech (as others have pointed out) don’t cleanly align with established lore.

that is not my dustin henderson and it doesn’t feel like earned triumph. it feels like wish fulfillment — dustin being granted a fantasy ending.

hopper: thematic erosion

hopper is the one that tipped me from “hmm weird” to “hmm weird.”

this man is defined by unresolved grief over sarah and by the terror of losing el as well. we watched him choose to sacrifice himself this season rather than risk losing her.

now he’s… composed. suspiciously at peace. dreaming about a future with joyce after losing his daughter again.

he tells mike he has “two roads,” but that directly contradicts a theme the show hammered home this season through max: death, acceptance, escape. narrowing that to two feels intentional — like he’s closing off possibility. the repetition of “three waterfalls” in this scene is supposed to foreshadow the end of the epilogue — we see el in iceland and the waterfalls are two as well.

three doors -> two. three waterfalls -> two.

also — he’s walking around hawkins freely as chief after the whole town believed he was dead. no one reacts. no one comments.

then enzo’s. the whole order is wrong from the one he gave in season 4, but hopper asking for caviar was the real “wait, what?” moment for me (not my jim hopper). suddenly he’s offering joyce the exact “let’s leave hawkins and start over” speech that bob gave her in season 2, and joyce — who hesitated before — is suddenly receptive now.

if hopper were truly alive and el were truly gone, he wouldn’t be this stable. we know him — we’ve watched his grief over sarah, and we’ve watched him fight el’s sacrifice. that contradiction in the epilogue feels deliberate — so deliberate i feel like it’s a direct reversal: el is alive. hopper is dead.

dustin in the dnd scene

dustin is the only one we see die in-game, the others die off screen (lol). dustin is also the only one who lacks an exit sign compared to the others. his road trip with steve — which mike calls an “adventure” — feels like thematic foreshadowing. traveling together. leaving together.

if this is an illusion, it’s curated.

steve gets an ideal career path for him.

dustin gets the school’s admiration.

hopper gets grief erased.

that’s not healing, just a script from vecna’s limited knowledge. the epilogue removes their struggle, and if vecna doesn’t have access to their minds anymore, i have to wonder why.

[chromatictapestryperdition]

No but like. It really is for us obsessive fans. Yeah, the GA will get the new, good ending, too. But they'll never know all the crazy funny little hints. They'll never know they rickrolled the stupid 5 minute fake Vecna fight. Like that was just. so. funny.

[bloody-andblunt]

This edit makes me so overwhelmed😭😭

This is what stranger things has been about the whole time

# They lost the plot of their own show... Houston, i repeat, they lost the plot of their own show....

[bloody-andblunt]

would it be bad to say that this is all the proof i need for byler

[sparklezart2000]

WAIT WSQKSYNC GOTTA BE REAL BECAUSE THEY SAID MUSIC WAS GOING TO BE A MAJOR PART OF THE SEASON AND THEN THEY BARELY HAD ANY MUSIC ESP IN THE SECOND HALF AND IT BARELY PLAYED INTO THE ACTUAL STORY BUT WITH WSQKSYNC MUSIC ACTUALLY IS A MAJOR PART OF THE SEASON

[lucystark12]

i understand joyce's manic bordering on helicopter parenting skills with will because if this was my little boy and he was being targeted by the most evil human alive i would probably explode from worry and also cuteness overload

like imagine this is your fucking KID. I FEEL LIKE HE'S MY SON. HE'S MY ACTUAL BABY. and don't think i only mean baby will either no i mean ALL will.

that's my child. i raised him. that's my actual kid, okay? he shares about fifty percent of my DNA. he got his green eyes and mousy brown hair from me, his mother. i feel like i'm being kicked in the stomach when somebody makes a bowlcut joke. that's MY will byers thanks.