BYLER ENDGAME @catherinebyler - Tumblr Blog

Bylers, I beg you to read this article!!!!!!

https://tvmicroscope.substack.com/p/stranger-than-you-think-example-stranger

(this should be very popular!!!)

and then your world turns 180 degrees (maybe already but…)

Byler isn't just endgame and canon, the series was literally written and created around them from the very beginning 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

maybe it’s just one more proof for someone, but for me this is SENCE OF LIFE NOW!!!!!

#byler theory #byler analysis #byler evidence

walkablepurse50

Fly or die Buy? Bradley's Big Buy and how Erica foreshadows how we win

I've tried to make this post as accessible as possible if you haven't read my previous Bradley's Big Buy theory but it does provide useful context. The main things you need to know for this one:

The Bradley's Big Buy lorry is Camazotz/Vecna's mind. Murray is Santa and therefore Vecna.

Will is possessed in the coming out scene. It's a game of chess and this is where Mike is finally 'taken' but it's likely our characters are flayed all season.

Robin's Tammy advice makes her unintentionally one of Santa's (Vecna's) elves. Vecna exploits her advice to drive Mike and Will away from each other.

If you want to know how we got here read that previous post. I'm going to take them for granted here.

Housekeeping:

I include meta stuff like the documentary in the 'ending' of the show. I'm going to refer to this as a 'timeline' despite believing the other 'timeline' will follow on from the current one.

Whenever I talk about fault I'm only talking on a coding level. The moral of the show is that these characters' actions are a result of social conditions that affect their interactions with others. Likely supernaturally explained by our characters being 'flayed.' I don't think anyone's evil or intentionally unhelpful.

I stand by that Lucas' friends should have come to his basketball game.

I am going to jump back in at Will's coming out scene. At this point we've identified that almost every thing Will lists that he 'loves' is odd or a clue in some way. I want to talk about two more odd details: drinking Coke and Pop Rocks, and NASA. First...

Coke and Pop Rocks

This is weird because of the myth that drinking Coke and Pop Rocks could cause your stomach to explode. It was especially popular in the 70s and 80s.

It came from an urban legend that the actor who played Little Mikey in the Life cereal advert had died from a stomach rupture after drinking Coke and Pop Rocks.

We've seen coding related to Little Mikey and Life cereal before.

Oh yeah. So we're in the cereal aisle of Bradley's Big Buy again.

This makes it two times Will references cereal in his coming out and both times it leads back to Big Buy.

This shot has been interpreted as Byler evidence because of the Life cereal advert. Little Mikey is given Life cereal to try. His two brothers say he won't eat it because "he hates everything," but when he does eat it they say, "He likes it! Hey Mikey," which has since become an iconic line associated with the brand.

It's very similar to the whole "try before you deny," situation from S4. Will being framed with Life cereal suggests it's him that 'Mikey' likes.

It's interesting then that Will brings up Coke and Pop Rocks which people believe killed Little Mikey. The thing is though it's a myth. Little Mikey is fine and drinking Coke and Pop Rocks won't kill you.

This fits into the Vecna is a cereal (serial) killer puns.

Chrissy wants 'Special K' before she gets Vecna'd

Vickie has a bowl of cereal before she just straight up disappears.

When Jason is dressed as One in 4x02 he's eating a bowl of cereal.

I completely forgot about this thread in my previous Big Buys posts. An aisle of cereal suddenly seems very sinister though when we know that Vecna absorbs his victims. If this Big Buy is also Vecna's mind then it having a cereal aisle is just a tad concerning.

And it is implied that this also might be the mindscape. They break in through the window in the door -> they break into the Creel House through the window in the door -> the Creel House is Camazotz -> therefore Big Buy is Camazotz.

Mike and El sit underneath a big sign that says meat which is a hint that our characters are flayed (this could be true of S3 technically but I believe it's more likely foreshadowing for S5). This links to some other hints like Hopper being 'beef' since S2 (when he absorbed all the particles in the tunnels) and ordering a filet (flayed) in the epilogue.

Thank you to @there-was-a-hole-here-itsgonenow who pointed this out in 2022 but on the wall we also have a neon sign that says "Always #1 at Bradley" above Will. Also concerning.

It creates a purplish red light, especially on El. They used a similar technique in S5 with the red light in the Big Buys lorry. It's less starkly bright red in S3 because at this point going inside the mind of those possessed by the Mindflayer looks more like this colour.

Because I've brought up Coke and cereal we've gotta talk about Lucas. He is both in the cereal aisle and has a speech about Coke.

We got a reference back to Lucas' New Coke speech in S5.

In S3 Lucas' remarks about New Coke is met with the Classic Mike Disgust. Mike, and literally everyone else, prefers Coca-Cola classic. Mike and Lucas then go on to have a very meta argument about whether Coke can be used as analogy for the film 'The Thing' and its remake. Mike's relationship with El is described as "this thing" by Hopper. With all the coding that El is Will's replacement then his relationship with Will is Coca-Cola Classic and his relationship with El is New Coke

People have already pointed out that Lucas' and Erica's plans are a reference to the two 'endings': Lucas' is stupid as shit, Erica's is slow as shit.

But GOD does it go deep. It's not just their plans that foreshadow the two endings, their simultaneous wins in 4x01 do too.

Lucas' ending, the ending we got, is New Coke

There is a conspiracy theory that New Coke was brought back to improve sales of Coca-Cola Classic. Theoretically it would remind people why they should be drinking the original formula. This would be one of the points of making a bad ending to Stranger Things. You either have to choose the straight, boring, bad ending or the well crafted, entertaining, gay one. Do you care more about good art or heterosexual art?

This week we got yet another reference to the current bad timeline being 'New Coke'. Tales From '85 was announced to come out on April 23rd, the same date New Coke was released.

Information about this animation comes from an account called @/BradleysBigBuy (there it is) who might be a Netflix plant, discovered by @whispering-goat (source) and some of the other folks on the Conformitygate discord server (thanks guys).

Why Big Buys though? Because we are being 'sold' the current ending by Vecna/Mindflayer. Murray keeps advertising products like Truman's wife from the Truman show, and WSQK sync plays adverts over characters 'selling' you a certain narrative. It's the music that wakes you up from your trance. Will's coming out speech reads like an advertisement because he's possessed but they're 'selling' that he's not. Big Buys is the kind of big-box store that cares more about profit not quality. The ending of the show, the untrustworthy journalism afterwards, and the animation all fit into this narrative. Everyone, including the writers, have been Vecna'd.

But why is Lucas the person selling us New Coke?

Because he's selling us Mike and El's relationship. Lucas is the person who we see pushing Mike to be with Eleven over the course of the show, enabling Mike's compulsory heterosexuality.

In the S3 vending machine scene, Lucas encourages Mike to get back together with El and as he does so we see him take all the skittles from the vending machine. This gets paralleled in S5 by Robin who symbolically takes Mike's opportunity to "taste the rainbow" (sorry) away from him with her Tammy advice.

We get further parallels between Robin and Lucas as Robin calls Steve and Jonathan 'lovebirds' in 5x08 like Lucas does to Mike and El in 5x01, and Robin has a New Coke can in the epilogue (missed this one in my last post). Lucas and Robin both project assumptions onto Mike based on their own experiences.

Why do I think our 'ending' is Lucas' plan/win?

The S3 and S5 battles are very close parallels, complete with a fancy new meatflayer, and both times it's Lucas who suggests raining fire down from above (S3 in Big Buy again). The final battle we get is how Lucas thinks we should defeat the monster and likely copied from our characters' memories of the S3 meatflayer fight.

We expected a psychological final battle, likely with Mike and Will's relationship helping to save the world. Instead they saved it with firepower. We know that doesn't work.

It links back to the Big Buys Lorry again, where Murray (Santa/Vecna) sneaks grenades in under the expected greens.

Projectiles are usually associated with Lucas because he's our Ranger, and grenades specifically get associated with Lucas in S5.

Lucas' plan itself led to the Mindflayer particles going up the tower (interfering with signals) and Will being trapped in Vecna's mind. This is likely where Will became possessed and gave the Mindflayer the opportunity to exploit Robin's advice.

(Here's Lucas next to more cereal when he comes up with the plan).

Then there's the basketball game in S4 which is absolutely full of clues. Lucas plays on the Tigers. Tammy sings for them. Robin and Vickie are in the band, and Nancy and Steve are also there. Vecna has always been the Tiger.

We've got a lot of suspicious details in this scene:

The number 14, which should be a symbol of our characters winning (Mike 7 + Will 7 = 14), loses against the Tigers.

El (011) is on the falcons, Henry (001) is the Tiger mascot.

Tammy sings and the mascot supports her. Robin's Tammy advice is used by Vecna/Mindflayer against Mike and Will in 5x07. We get the sense here that Tammy and Vecna are aligned; the mascot likes her singing.

The name of the team that loses are the falcons. Mike's chess piece is a falcon (source).

It's difficult to read but I believe one of the posters behind the crows says "Tigers eat Falcon meat" which might be another flayed hint.

The Coke (New Coke not Coca-Cola Classic) logo is next to the scoreboard.

It's also interesting that the falcons have 69 points. The 'good' timeline has a lot of innuendo associated with it (like a lot) and I wonder if the SA allegory (and therefore sexual liberation) might be a bigger part of future episodes.

Lucas wins. But Lucas wins for the Tigers, therefore he wins for Vecna. A win sponsored by New Coke.

So what about Erica?

Well firstly Erica doesn't seem to have any qualms about what relationships should look like. She makes He-man and Barbie kiss, despite the fact they're from different planets, and she straight up calls Lucas Jason's boyfriend. Plus, she gets into D&D as a result of Will and Mike's gay little D&D donation scene and the scene of her receiving it opens on a rainbow.

Erica was very pro-capitalism in S3 and while it hasn't been explicitly brought up since, Erica's general belief system has since obviously evolved.

There's also the very very obvious: it's Erica's natural 20 that kills Vecna. The game starts with him coming back from what they believed to be the dead.

Erica's crit hit takes place backstage. Considering all the play imagery this feels really significant.

I talked previously about how the food items characters touch and eat in the 5x05 WSQK planning scene are significant. There's the skittles exchange and Lucas' popcorn. This is symbolic of Max's survival (their movie date Friday) so it foreshadows that his plan will save Max's life. It pays off that same episode.

Erica is a lot more complex. She briefly touches Chips Ahoy to remind us of Scoops Ahoy and then takes a juice carton of Hi-C Ecto-Cooler. Already we've got a little bit of symbolism in the colour; Hi-C Ecto-Cooler is bright green when it would usually be orange. The opposite of the current timeline.

It's a Halloween speciality drink that's inspired by the ectoplasm in Ghostbusters. This immediately links back to the Scoops Troop in the elevator in S3. There Erica was trying to drink the green fluid, which is also inspired by Ghostbusters' ectoplasm. It's a substance left behind by paranormal activity so this is meant to be the first sign to our characters that the supernatural is involved.

Steve uses the canister to prop open the door and help them all escape. This foreshadows that Erica's plan will save Dustin and Steve, specifically from an underground lab (in this case the lab in the Upside Down). There's quite a few parallels to the Scoops plot-line in general with everyone looking over the wall to see Murray near the entrance. Mike both times struggles to pick up signals from Dustin.

The implication in the S3 scene is that Mike's attempted relationship with El is leading to a breakdown in the party's communication. Guess where this happens guys. Guess! It's Bradley's Big Buy! Because where else?

In S5 it's Murray and Robin (Santa and his elf) who are found at the scene of the crime; they're where the breakdown in communication is coming from.

Mike couldn't tell El he loved her, even in Big Buy. Mike couldn't tell El he loved her even in The Rightside Up aka Camazotz.

Destroying the wall

If we track back to the Russian elevator scene we also got the first reference to peeing on the wall of the Upside Down. Steve refers to it as 'taking a leak' like the S5 soldier.

Before the soldier 'takes a leak' he mentions the letter H and the number 1. H1 is Lover's Lake.

Both peeing and leaks get associated with Mike in S5.

^ All of those parallels take place in bathrooms. There's the additional parallel of Robin saying "Shit." when Will's can explodes.

Mike's coffee and the soldier peeing are also parallels (stream of fluid, steam), and Mike takes a sip as he walks by the bathroom. Can we get another "You still wanna drink that?" from Robin please?

It's suggested that water harms the Upside Down. Water symbolises emotions, memories and romantic feelings. The analogy here is that these things can break down your emotional wall (what the Upside Down represents). Mike needs to use his memories to break down his emotional wall. Robin tells Steve to redirect his stream. Another crime, Robin yet again on the scene. She's stopping Mike from breaking down the wall.

It is interesting that they chose to make a reference to this scene during Erica's plan when any other scene from the Scoops plot would have the same implications for an underground lab escape. Combined with all the other evidence of something going on at Lovers Lake? I think it's likely that LoversLakeGate will happen

So far we've talked about a lotta different subtext and analogies but since Erica's plan involved rainbow balloons we've gotta talk about one more piece of the puzzle...

The Queer Subtext of Flying

There's a lot you could use to support that flying is queercoded in Stranger Things but I think the clearest example comes from Robin's 5x04 speech. She describes the feeling of queer joy/freedom as feeling "Like [she] could fly."

It's not an isolated event; Will is described as flying around in "fairyland", El makes Mike fly to save him from suicide, Will draws a rainbow spaceship.

El is partially an allegorical character but for queerness or queer love ('childhood magic' means the same). I understand why people are uncomfortable with El as an allegory, but the point is that when queerness leaves the subtext El will gain the freedom to be her own person. There is a meta narrative of allegory/control -> text/freedom going on here.

El being able to fly at the start of S5 is foreshadowing. Our queer characters will soon be able to 'fly' too.

In Rink O' Mania we find El crying in a closet next to a broken plane (the inability to 'fly') and a broken water fountain (remember everything I just said about water?). While she does Mike and Will fight outside and the track, "In the closet at Rink-O-Mania" plays. El then lashes out like Mike does. The subtext here is very clear.

The 'Plane Crash'

The plane is very interesting because in S4 aviation is a reoccurring motif. There's 3 planes (to Cali, to Alaska, to Russia) and 2 helicopters (the military, Katinka) but they also get mentioned repeatedly.

My favourite example of this motif is from 4x09. Jonathan tries to get a plane for El (and he says she's not going to make it through the night) but there are none available right now.

As much as there are references to flying there are also references to crashing aircraft.

Joyce and Murray get sedated (Vecna sedates his victims) while drinking coffee (Mike is our S5 coffee drinker) and put on a plane that subsequently crashes.

El crashes a helicopter in 4x08 (the painting lie happened earlier that episode).

Yuri tries to sabotage Katinka in 4x09.

If we go back to Lucas' basketball game, Lucas' vest number (8) was chosen to honour Kobe. He died tragically in a helicopter accident. Kobe also wore the number 24 later in his career as a symbol of his maturity which we see worn by the falcons, not the tigers. Kobe played for the Lakers, which is significant for the water coding.

Will's NASA reference in his coming out is not weird per se, but it is important. In 1987 NASA was recovering from the Challenger disaster, making improvements to safety so that they could reattempt flight. The Challenger disaster occurred because of a known fault that the O-rings were unable to seal properly in cold weather. Lift off took place in very low temperatures -> the disaster occurred and seven people were killed.

The cold makes Will susceptible to possession -> Will gets possessed and crashes the 'rainbow ship' (his and Mike's relationship). Will's memories of the ship are missing alongside his memories of Mike when we see them again in 5x07.

Will needs to keep warm so he doesn't get possessed but he uses his jacket to suppress the leak (his and Mike's feelings).

Then there's a few references to 'The Day the Music Died', the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and 'The Big Bopper' near Clear Lake. In S5 one of the things we get sold are Boppers ("Bopper while we wait?").

Repeatedly in the Russia plotline our characters and the aircraft they use are referred to as birds (Hopper continues to refer to them as such in S5). They again tell us what needs to happen to win.

Get the traitor in line by reminding them of who they really are -> get something to fly -> orchestrate a prison escape. The Russia team are the only team who truly succeed in their plan. Hopper becomes a paladin when he does.

There's the possibility that Robin is Yuri. It's hilarious that he might be named Yuri, as in the genre. He compares getting Katinka to fly with sex. He is the 'Peanut Butter Smuggler' after all and peanut butter gets used repeatedly as a gay innuendo.

Hopper and Joyce get caught 'indulging' in peanut butter in a Church and a plane that crashes.

So basically I think there's a reason that all of Vecna's chess pieces are birds. There's a reason the team that lost against the tigers are the falcons. Robin herself is named after a bird. Our characters have to fly to win.

In 5x07, when everyone is planning how they will get up to the Abyss Hopper suggests using a Helicopter.

Everyone else ridicules him for it but Hopper is wearing a shirt that says "music lives on TDK" that we basically only see in this scene. His plan is the one where the music lives (flight), rather than dies (plane crash), and likely involves a cassette tape.

In this exchange we get the pointed lines, "Fly or die." "Well then I guess we die." We're told that to win we need to fly but that just doesn't happen. So the logical conclusion is that we lost.

This all links back to Vecna's plan which is supposedly to bring the Abyss and Hawkins together to merge them. A plane (as in dimension) crash.

We have a very weird pattern regarding the reporting of Tales From '85 and aviation disasters. I talked earlier how @whispering-goat identified suspicious articles regarding the animation where they take the @/BradleysBigBuy account as an official source (here again). What was most interesting to me are the dates, because they all align with the major aviation tragedies that have been referenced to in the show.

January 26th - Screen Rant article - anniversary of Kobe's death (helicopter).

January 28th - Collider and Dexerto articles - anniversary of the Challenger disaster (spacecraft).

February 3rd - Tales From '85 trailer drops - anniversary of 'The Day the Music Died' (plane).

They're selling us this plane crash. And then there's the two other important dates, also aligning with the things they're selling:

April 23rd - Tales From '85 release date - New Coke's release date

November 6th - Tales From '85 teaser dropped - Date of Will's disappearance.

Additional minor hint I want to point out here: There is an upside down... box? That says Blue Bird in the WSQK basement. I briefly noted in my last post that the WSQK in the Upside Down might be where Vecna is actually residing. This is because it has a red tower (Circuit city) and the lorry (Big Buy).

If Will's powers are proximity based it would make sense that there was something in the Upside Down WSQK basement since he tapped into the hive-mind from there. Vance and Mindy are radio hosts and their chess pieces (King and Queen) are inside the booth. This might be where they're keeping everyone's bodies while they're in Camazotz. It would make sense if I'm right about the coming out scene being where we enter complete unreality rather than partial unreality.

Rainbow Balloons

Erica, Mr Clarke and Murray use the balloons to get signals. But they have to cut the string and let them fly to do so. There's references to the Voyager space probes. Voyager 1 is the furthest man-made object from Earth. Literally could not fly higher. Erica is by a lake again.

We know the balloon scene is about Mike and Will because Murray makes the same suggestion that Robin makes:

Been there, done that, didn't work.

This balloon thing also fits with birthdaygate and all the clown coding.

Edit: clearly I was tired when I made this annotation. Gremlins have to be kept away from water because they duplicate and I circled the lion on the big top, which is important to point out because it's significant in relation to El and Will's lion plushies, but the way I've circled it makes it seem like I'm calling the lion the tiger. The tiger is on the bottom left of that image.

There's the suggestion that the balloons relate to Mike or Will's cave memories. It might be both of their cave memories. Someone 'popped their green balloons' at Will's birthday. More about the clown imagery here. I'm curious how supernatural this memory is because the Tiger shows up a lot. (The flayed want to go back to the source, as in water source? Go back to the first feeling/memory/trauma. The source of the water.)

Loosing their balloons might again mean letting go or processing something so that you can accept yourself (fly). Like the riding in the baggage compartment thing from earlier. Then you can pick up signals.

This is a very long post, so... Conclusions?

Bradley's Big Buy (Mindflayer) is currently selling us a bad timeline where:

We get the New Coke ending. Hinted by Lucas.

Mike can't tell El sincerely that he loves her.

They 'defeat' the big bad with firepower.

The plane crashes and therefore music died.

Will is possessed and everyone is flayed.

Vecna uses Robin's Tammy Thomson advice.

But we'll get the good timeline (hinted by Erica) where:

Queer acceptance allows Mike to fly.

The signals get picked up again.

Mike and Will get together.

Our characters breaks out of Camazotz.

We destroy the wall using water -> possibly to do with Lovers Lake.

They finally unpack Mike and Will's baggage - Birthdaygate

The music lives - possible via a cassette tape (For Will?)

So really the question is which ending do you choose?

Do you fly or do you buy?

There's no way to cover everything and how it all connects together but here are some posts I think are relevant. I don't agree with all of the conclusions or all of the connections but I think many of the things brought up are something to chew on with these theories in mind.

Theory that Mike witnessed something happen to Will and that's his cave - I think this is very likely. Lots of the same imagery as the fairground. Links to the coffee stuff I talked about as well because Mike sees into the hospital room after taking that sip of his coffee.

Santa's gifts and Mike's mental space - More about repression and water coding. Not mentioned in post but relevant, there is another 69 in Benny's Burgers.

Vecna is Santa and he ruined our Christmas - More about Bradley's Big Buy and specifically Robin and Tammy's role in it.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Parallels - More about chess and flying.

Clown imagery and Will's fear of clowns

Cherry Cola Float - Connections with ice cream floats, balloons and clowns at the Superbowl. Think about Erica, Scoops and balloons.

Robin, spaceships and Project Mercury - More subtext that flying is queercoded.

Is everyone flayed? - My theory comes down to the coming out scene being where Camazotz starts but I think everyone is flayed before.

More El as allegory for Mike's feelings

Twins and 3 Byers children imagery - Queer subtext becoming text allows El to become a real person with her own arc. Joyce becomes a mother of three on a plane.

More on water symbolism

Mike witnessed or knows about Lonnie's abuse

Another Brick in the Wall pt. 2 Meat vs Pudding - Does not include the fact that the 'filet' points to them being flayed so keep that in mind at the same time.

stranger-chichka

Mike + El

Michael (“Please, address me by my full name. my FULL NAME!”)

— Are you real? Did I make you?

— Oh shit, is that like a real thing?

— No, it's not. He [Michael] made it up.

tumblr

💞Ships Week 2026: #1 – #20 💞

It's the big one! Welcome to the final day of ships week. Here are your top 20 ships of the last year, with the full list under the cut:

1. Byler +22 Will Byers & Mike Wheeler, Stranger Things

2. Spamtenna Spamton & Ant Tenna, Deltarune

3. Jayvik Jayce & Viktor, Arcane

4. Phan +4 Daniel Howell & Phil Lester, YouTubers

5. Sonadow +14 Sonic & Shadow, Sonic the Hedgehog

6. Hollanov Shane Hollander & Ilya Rozanov, Heated Rivalry

7. Polytrix Rumi & Zoey & Mira, KPop Demon Hunters

8. Buddie -1 Evan Buckley & Edmundo Diaz, 9-1-1

9. Destiel -4 Dean Winchester & Castiel, Supernatural

10. Krusie Kris Dreemurr & Susie, Deltarune

11. Caitvi +74 Caitlyn Kiramman & Vi, Arcane

12. Superbat +31 Superman & Batman, the DC Universe

13. Pureshadow* Pure Vanilla Cookie & Shadow Milk Cookie, the Cookie Run franchise

14. Stobotnik Agent Stone & Dr. Robotnik, Sonic the Hedgehog

15. Radiostatic Alastor & Vox, Hazbin Hotel

16. Gelphie Glinda Upland & Elphaba Thropp, Wicked

17. Pazzi Paige Bueckers & Azzi Fudd, WNBA players

18. Radioapple -12 Lucifer Morningstar & Alastor, Hazbin Hotel

19. Bucktommy -7 Evan Buckley & Tommy Kinard, 9-1-1

20. Hannigram -7 Hannibal Lecter & Will Graham, Hannibal

«here comes the rain again» and why this is a BYLER song

1. Max said:

Mike wanted hot-orange mohawk

see something familiar?

On the cover of this song is Annie Lennox the vocalist of the British duo Eurythmics and the performer of the song “Here Comes the Rain Again.”

She has repeatedly named David Bowie as one of the key inspirations for her stage persona and musical approach.

Her short red hair and androgynous style in the early 1980s visually echo Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust era (1972–73).

her image(men’s suits/short haircut and rejection of a sexualized pop image) is often discussed in academic and cultural studies as a prominent example of androgyny in 1980s pop music.

ALSO: She is an active supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and fights the stigmatization of HIV/AIDS through real-world known activism and public work!!!

2. NOW DO NOT FORGET WHAT SONG IS NUMBER 4 (side B) ON WSQK VINYL

right! HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN

3. now let’s talk about lyrics

“Here comes the rain again»

water represents feelings and emotions (the Byler theme). rain-fight scene etc.

“Falling on my head like a memory” here I can assume that memories are coming back to Mike (a reference to the #birthdaygate and the fact that he is forgetting Will).

“I want to walk in the open wind” he wants freedom, but he can’t break free (Mike in the closet or stuck in the camazotz) yet he WANTS TO ESCAPE!!!

“I want to talk/kiss like lovers do” – no need to explain ;) we know Michael, we know.

“I want to dive into your ocean” – Mike says he doesn’t want to have regrets anymore!!!!

“Is it raining with you?” Mike seems to ask Will “Do you feel this too? I’m not the only one, right?”

IN CONCLUTION:

This whole song looks like Mike’s pov. as if he speaks every line of this song himself

A singer who supports queers all her life and wears a hot orange hairstyle and the song about water is on wsqk vinyl?

I do not believe in coincidences. not anymore.

#byler endgame #byler nation #stranger things #byler evidence #byler analysis #byler theory #byler #mike wheeler #will byers

your-ivy-grows13

why is mike lowkey giving bob newby in the new trailer

cara-ti-amo

Creelby is the key to Byler Endgame... just not in the way you're thinking (what I'm calling #BobGate)

Part One: The Missing Puzzle Piece

*#ConformityGate Compliant*

**Heads up that if you notice changes, it's because I'm updating/polishing things as they come to me!**

This is a BIG "hear me out" theory (then again, so was #conformitygate, and here we all are), but this is something so crazy it woke me up at the crack ass of dawn back on December 3rd.

Except as time has gone on, the evidence has been piling up in subtle ways I just need to get off my chest because I don't think these are just coincidences anymore.

People have grown to know and love Patty Newby in The First Shadow*, just as Henry Creel did. We've also seen undeniable Creelby/Byler parallels (check @miwiheroes' awesome analysis here).

*The prequel play was written by ST writer and Co-EP Kate Tefry; story by the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne, and Tefry.

While I largely agree, what if like so many fakeouts/distorted details we've been noticing this season, "Patty" was created as one more *red* herring to protect an even bigger twist that's been foreshadowed since Season Two, and has slowly been creeping its way back into the story in S5?

What if the truth is that Henry's true love is someone who would not only genuinely surprise the audience, but whose reveal would completely change the way we view the show?

This season there's been a huge focus on puzzles, both within the show and in Netflix's promotion of ST5.

We've been asked by the story (and the show's creators) to look for the missing piece.

While I definitely believe Byler, Mike's unacknowledged queerness, and #birthdaygate are part of the puzzle (more on that later), there is a piece that's been there the whole time that we've been missing.

And that puzzle piece is the show's established master of puzzles...

...Bob "The Brain" Newby.

Before S5 dropped, the Duffer Brothers recommended we rewatch episodes from S2 and S4. Season 2 specifically because, per Matt Duffer:

Who was introduced in S2? Bob.

Now, I loved Bob as a character, but his introduction as Joyce's BF always seemed... kind of off to me? He was sweet, smart, but... normal. Unassuming. Not to mention Joyce never really seemed all that into their relationship.

Later, he'd try to help Will rid himself of his demons (to disastrous results), would crack the mystery of the tunnels, support Joyce through Will's possession by the MF, and finally, nobly sacrifice himself for Joyce and the others.

Immortalized as Bob Newby: Superhero.

And it seemed like that was that for Bob.

Except now, in S5, there've been details creeping into the season that have made me fondly think of him...

In Vol. 1/"Sorcerer", we see Mike trying to guide the kids to safety by getting to Radio Shack... which is where Bob used to work.

In Vol. 2, Dustin and Steve searched for "treasure" in the "dungeons" of Hawkins Lab....

Only to end up in the Rainbow Room, where Dustin and Steve find not treasure, but toys...

Including a Rubik's Cube that quickly gets dismissed as a --

But if it's such a piece of shit, why is there this lingering shot on the Rubik's Cube? Why did the Duffers post Dustin's Rubik’s Cube line on Day 1 of filming S5?

Well -- who do we recall being particularly skilled at brain teasers like Rubik's cubes?

Who else in the fandom is fondly remembered, but easily dismissed?

And then there was this last Easter egg, in what I'm calling the #fakeepilogue, that left me shook:

What's that about coincidences, Lucas?

How about one more?

Sleeping with BOB???

And another one --

When did we hear something similar???

Bob Newby, once again at the scene of the crime...

And I think it's safe to say that not only have we found the X, but Bob is the X. The key to unlocking this whole thing.

Given Patty's name is on the poster for Joyce’s play in "Sorcerer", she's definitely part of the show's canon.

But is Patty actually who we think she is? Or is she, in the way Vecna's changed details in Holly's (and likely Mike's) memories, just another distortion within Vecna's own memories? What if the person Henry fell for (and lost) in The First Shadow wasn't actually Patty at all?

What if Henry's great love was... Bob Newby?

And if so, what does their possibly failed love say about the outcome for Mike and Will?

I'm going to break my evidence for this theory into different posts under #BobGate (also #PuzzleGate), but if possible, let's keep this contained to Tumblr because I think there are folks who might care about being spoiled for what I think is going to be an amazing twist (if #conformitygate is in fact real. Again, more on that later...) **I haven't come across a theory like it, but in case someone else also had the thought -- lmk!

whispering-goat

Hello, one of the drivers of the conformitygate bus here. I'm going to explain why the opposing side has a harder time providing compelling arguments for why they are right. Spoiler alert: it is, because the likelihood of them being correct is VERY small.

It's a long, but extremely satisfying read, I promise :) It might be a bit logic-y and math-y. Don't be shy, ask questions.

Consider the hypothesis:

"Season 5 and the finale of Stranger Things, the documentary and other press surrounding it are all part of a larger meta narrative and social experiment."

We prove this hypothesis with what I like to call "the body of evidence". It includes, but is not limited to:

Unanswered questions about the sci-fi elements and the unexplained mysteries surrounding the villain.

Sudden set and prop design changes.

Tragic, incomplete or contradictory character arcs for all the protagonists that neatly fit into the villain's vision of the world.

S5 merch based on nothing from the first 8 episodes.

Unused, but licensed music. Unused, but filmed shots.

References of media with fake finales or alternative timelines inside the show.

Explicit encouragement to not believe in coincidences and discussions on questioning the reality inside the show.

Teasing of meta readings, alternative endings and the villain's victory during the press tour.

Puzzles and radio broadcasts hinting towards a meta reading and alternative ending.

This list is actually only scratching the surface, but this is more than enough for my point. I'll call the points from the body of evidence "inconsistencies" from now on.

Now, we claim that these inconsistencies have been created by the writers of the show intentionally. Intent is at the core of this hypothesis. Intent implies a set-up, and we argue it's for the meta narrative and social experiment. Our critics always try to disprove us by saying ALL of the inconsistencies are just a bunch of coincidences.

They are making a fatal error here! Or rather, this shows exactly why their hypothesis is weaker than ours.

For us,

It's already enough to have one or a couple of the many inconsistencies turn out to be intentional to prove that our hypothesis holds.

For example, 2, 4, 5, 8 and 9 are surely intentional and 1, 3, 6 and 7 are likely intentional. You could even assign scores or scales to each and every inconsistency from low to high intentionality, if you so desire. The more "surely intentional" inconsistencies we have, the stronger our case becomes. The "likely intentional" inconsistencies do not prove our hypothesis without a shadow of a doubt, but could move up to "surely intentional" with some substantiation.

On the other hand, our critics have to prove that:

"All of the inconsistencies in the body of evidence are coincidental"

And that, ladies, gentlemen and others, is a very hard threshold! Ask yourself this question:

What's the likelihood that all of the inconsistencies are coincidental?

To put some easy numbers on this, 5 coincidences are likely, 10 less likely, 100 even less likely, etc. The more inconsistencies there are, the less likely it becomes that they were random, accidental, coincidental, pure chance, purely probabilistic!

If even ONE of the inconsistencies is intentional, their claim does NOT hold.

So our critics have worked themselves into a corner. Moreover, the reality is that

The likelihood of ALL or even the majority of the inconcistencies in the body of evidence to be coincidental is VERY small.

They know this intuitively, but they have found a predictable way to circumvent that reality.

- Ad hominem attacks towards us and the writers.

They say we are unable to discern intent or they argue that the writers are unable to make intentional choices. They do not address the actual inconsistencies. They slightly decrease the intentionality scores of some of the inconsistencies in the body of evidence (like 1, 3, 6 and 7). But, they CANNOT prove that ALL or even the majority of the inconsistencies are coincidental this way!

- Blaming outside forces, like Netflix, capitalism, politics.

This is them trying to shift the focus away from the claim they have to prove. Is there a chance that Netflix could interfere at any moment and stop the release of an alternative ending? Yes. That's not what we are debating, though. (This point is mute anyway, because Netflix has been in on it from the start, considering they released the doc and are part of the press tour.) Once again, they CANNOT prove that ALL or even the majority of inconsistencies are coincidental this way!

In conclusion, the hypothesis

"Season 5 and the finale of Stranger Things, the documentary and other press surrounding it are all part of a larger meta narrative and social experiment."

is far more substantiated and easier to prove with the body of evidence, than whatever our critics are trying to accomplish. While we might not have complete certainty that all the inconsistencies are completely intentional, we only need ONE of 100% certainty to prove our claim. I post my personal favorite below. The more the merrier and the stronger our case, of course.

💬 2 🔁 28 ❤️ 167 · Post by @considermeadream12 · 10 images · Anyone who wants simple and strong proof that: Episode 8 is intended to be in

Another example, the dial changing from grey to red is an excellent one, that one is 100% intentional, so it's meant as a set-up. We can debate what it's setting up, but at least both parties have to admit it's intentional. The step from understanding there was intent to understanding the exact intent is a lot easier to make. That's also the far more interesting conversation, but our critics have not come this far yet.

Furthermore, if our hypothesis is true, the likelihood of there being an alternative ending is quite high, if we assume the authors intend to finish the story and Netflix will not interfere, that is (a debate for another time).

tl;dr na na na na na we right.

Small edit: Imagine the scenario they somehow manage to prove that the majority of inconsistencies ARE coincidental (unlikely), they still won't be able to disprove the couple of 100% INTENTIONAL inconsistencies. So, it should have never been a debate about coincidences in the first place, but about intent.

2xsin

so this is probably a huge reach, but why is the cave shaped the same as the M on mike's D&D binder?

M marks the spot indeed

(SORRY ABOUT THE SHIT IMAGE QUALITY, I HAD TO TAKE A PIC OF THE SCREENCAP)

willspainting

they-seem-to-be-very-good-friends.jpeg

bylerspite

let me gooooooooo

karonwheeled

me talking to the duffer brothers after watching the finale 💕

icedpeas

a (probably) far fetched theory of where stranger things may be going in its finale

hey everyone. i don’t know if this will get any reach but i wanted to make something to collect all my thoughts i’ve been having on volume 2. i may be playing a bit of devil’s advocate here so i wanna preface with that because i don’t want to give anyone false hope. i want you to draw your own conclusions of course, but i think byler still has a chance. it’s small, but it’s there. it’s clear season 5 has many inconsistencies as well as subtextual hints, so i essentially want to point out which ones have led me to have this sliver of hope.

the duffers have said that by the time season 4 was filmed, the script for season 5 was already finished. which leaves me with even more questions because if this is the case how is the writing so drastically different in season 5? i think there could be an answer to this, and it leads to the final, true villain of stranger things. conformity.

in season 4, eddie, a character who tried to be a hero and died for seemingly no reason (as pointed out by steve in s5) literally says in his first appearance that “conformity is killing the kids.” now this entire scene has been watered down and run into the ground as a joke by the fandom but i think it was a pretty crazy choice to have eddie, who was a character doomed to die a hero for a town that hated him, say something like this in his opening scene. becauseeee… walk with me. he was right. that really IS the real monster.

so where am i going with this? well byler shippers, i want you to think about how you feel right now. disappointed? heartbroken? well you definitely should be. and i think that is exactly how the writers want you to feel. this is why they’re coming out in articles and shutting down all these relationships that you love. they have just written their story to conform with what their general audience would accept. that being said… i don’t think mike and will’s story is over.

you see, if the writing is so terrible this season and some of these god awful scenes somehow made it past a group full of the same writers that wrote the earlier seasons of the show we know and love, i can’t help but think it’s purposeful. and i think it’s because there’s another writer involved that the audience is not yet aware has an impact on the story.

michael wheeler, our story’s writer. the dungeon master of stranger things. the boy will is in love with. and you know, when will has a feeling, it matters.

i know the duffers have shut down stranger things being a d&d game, but i think they’re lying, the same way we thought they were lying about forgetting will’s birthday. there’s a good possibility that the writers and the actors are lying to elicit an outburst from the audience and make the finale that much more emotional. in fact, millie even addresses this d&d game theory on the tonight show, and her response is… interesting to say the least.

hm. makes me think.

there are a few theories on mike’s possible manipulation of the narrative and how the plot is connected to his emotions. (mainly from @/connect-dots7 on tiktok, as well as @/achromatic_wh on twitter!) i don’t really want to make this post all about that but i do think these theories could be the only possible way to save the story.

i would first like to focus on the synopsis of s5e2. the cost of secrecy. this episode is the closest we’ve come to seeing what mike is feeling and even then, he’s acting extremely weird. actually, i think it’s safe to say he’s been acting weird the entire season.

i, like a lot of people, sensed a lot of foreshadowing in mike’s conversation with nancy and lucas at the hospital, and i fear it’s no coincidence that mike was adamant that the attack wasn’t their fault. he’s defending his secrets, his lies.

but as said by our good friend argyle (coincidentally with only mike in frame?) his dominoes are going to fall. there’s going to be an avalanche of secrets.

actually… on the topic of mike’s room, what do we think is going on with the m.c. escher relativity poster below the one way sign? me thinks this is also foreshadowing another part of the finale. sarah from the labyrinth has the very same poster in her room. from what i’ve gathered about the movie the ending pretty much perfectly aligns with what i’m trying to say here. she ends the story by realizing she holds the power over it. sound familiar?

i think mike and will are coming of age at the same time, and their stories are total opposites of each other. one shrouded in darkness, secrecy, shame. the other in truth, light, and love. mike and will escape conformity (the way hawkins has treated them as two queer boys in the 1980s) through fantasy and d&d. this is described in the original pitch of the show.

we’ve been watching both of their stories this entire time without even realizing. will can control the supernatural hivemind. he’s a builder, an artist, and a creator. mike controls the narrative, a writer, dungeon master, a creative mind full of fantasy. mike has lost control of his own story and campaign, therefore so has stranger things.

so this leads me to my final main point. the disaster that is will’s coming out scene.

this scene is such a dumpster fire it’s a pain for me to analyze but i’m gonna try my best to prove my point here.

this scene is presented with love and light, an emotional scene for will. it’s set up to be heartwarming but for byler shippers obviously… that wasn’t really the case. it seems forced, rushed. almost heartbreaking. he seems scared even though he says he’s not, and the camera keeps focusing on mike who is sitting next to will while also saying “it was never about mike”. it quite literally seems like byler shippers are being mocked here.

however, it’s interesting to me that while will is panicking about vecna outing his “secrets”, holly is trying to convince the other children that henry is evil and they don’t believe her; they are worried for her. doesn’t will say everyone is worried for him in his vision from vecna? yup.

derek’s fear of henry causes him to conform with the rest of the children and holly is left to fend for herself. her necklace breaks, and she loses her holly the heroic figure that mike made to keep her safe. the entire ending of ep7 is grim and it’s hard to feel happy about will coming out with everything else going on.

“it doesn’t make any sense, it’s like there’s a missing piece of the puzzle.” - hopper, s5

hopper in s3:

let’s hope that’s true hop…

to conclude everything as best as i can, here’s what i theorize might happen with all the characters based on the details we do have:

- el/kali/hopper/max will be sorting through henry’s memories. i can’t tell if they’ll figure out mike is the root of it all, but they still think vecna/henry is the true villain at this point.

- i think holly will be the one to actually understand henry. she feels sympathy for him while she and max are watching his memory in the cave, which leads me to believe henry (not vecna, who is a flayed corpse of henry) will indeed have a redemption arc. or at least they will try and get the audience to sympathize with him the same way holly will.

- i think the rest of the group (steve, dustin, nancy, jon, etc) will be the ones to reveal what the upside down is. i theorize the upside down also has to do with mike which is why this hasn’t been answered yet. it’s his mindscape of what he felt the night will went missing and may have something to do with the symbolism of mandala which is the game robin and will find in the woods by the school. the mandala spiral represents a reflection of the mind’s inner state at the moment of creation, and the ud is shaped in a circle surrounding hawkins lab. the upside down’s moment of creation was november 6th, 1983. not really sure how else to elaborate because i could be totally wrong lol

- and finally like i said earlier, mike and will are they key to ending the never ending story. i think they’ll face the mind flayer.

that’s it. is what i personally wanted a korrasami-esque ending for byler? absolutely not. but there are worse case scenarios. i know things feel bad right now; disappointing. and i get it. but we have a week left to theorize, so let’s just be delusional until then ;)

icedpeas

hey everyone! i recently made this post of my thoughts and feelings about stranger things volume 2 and how i think the story could be saved and why the writing has gone downhill. check it out because i think just deciphered something from robin’s code in episode one that might confirm the writing is bad on purpose.

so robin has been a big part of the story, bigger than i actually expected. (don’t get me wrong i was pleasantly surprised) i would argue she’s been used more than once to communicate codes/messages from the writers (wsqk spotify, snowball>avalanche) and i always wondered if there was something about her code in episode one that i needed to figure out. so let’s unpack it.

“the supremes had 10 songs at the top of the charts”

i think this line is talking about volume 1, sorcerer, the second highest rated episode in all of stranger things.

“she tried to make it big in the movies with the wiz which was a colossal floparoonie”

this line is a direct attack on volume 2, the bridge, which is now stranger things’ lowest rated episode of all time. it mentions the movie “the wiz” which was largely controversial, widely hated, and, as robin said, a colossal flop. robin then says she still liked it, and to give it a chance.

here’s where it gets kind of crazy.

“make sure you bring your supersized popcorn, because this movie has a runtime of over two hours.”

yes, that’s right, our stranger things finale that’s just over 2 hours is going to be in theaters where you can watch while eating your supersized popcorn. robin is telling us that you need to give the finale a chance to explain everything. the writers are aware volume 2 isn’t good, but they’re also confident you’ll like the finale.

oh, and one last thing. there is one other character that mentions “wiz” in this very same episode.

yeahhhh… we usually see mike late in his opening scene. this is the one season we don’t, because he’s “gonna take a whizz”. mike is about to screw up the entire story.

“i hope you were taking notes, there will be a test later!”

catherinebyler

OH MY FUCKING GOD

howtobecomeadragon

mike's plans always include will

emblazons

someone just said the reason Karen got out of that bed despite not being in any position to do so was because she needed to save Lucas and now I’m sobbing on main like those are ALL her children playing dnd in the basement fr