byler swiftie 🏹

mostly textposts because my brain needs an outlet 🧣 an outlet 🧣

[didyoupainthis]

Byler as Taylor Swift songs part 1

Every passing day makes me believe the Duffers or at least someone in the writing team is a swiftie because how can you relate almost every song to Byler at this point + If you’re a Byler that’s not into Taylor Swift, you have got to at least listen to Foolish One. The resemblance to their story is uncanny

[doyoungunion-deactivated2023120]

Did Mike Fall First Or Did Will?

I personally think Mike fell first and that he started to realize his feelings about midway into Season 2.

I think in Season 1, he hadn't thought about his sexuality and was purely focused on 1. Playing D&D and 2. Finding Will. Mike is extremely defensive and caring towards his friends, so if Dustin or Lucas went missing, I believe he would try just as hard to find them. There were small traces but he only saw it as friendship.

Season 2: It includes A LOT of Byler scenes and I think this is where it becomes obvious that their relationship is a bit different. Will is mostly in the hospital and Mike is always by his side; you can't say the same for Dustin and Lucas. It's at this time when I think Mike notices that how he feels towards Will is not the same compared to his friends. He doesn't really know how to describe how he feels though and is left questioning himself.

Season 3: Mike's feelings have been confirmed within himself and are getting stronger. As a response, he throws himself at El. Between Season 2 and 3, he's realised that he likes Will romantically and is uncomfortable with himself. I mean being brought up in a house that supports Ronald Reagan would cause some internalised homophobia, right? He's trying to appear as hetero as possible, using EL as a beard without her knowledge. It is particularly during his goodbyes with El and Will that makes him realise he doesn't like El like that and would rather be with Will, romantically and physically (playing D&D).

Season 4: Mike has had a lot to think about over the time apart from Will and El, and his feelings for Will have grown even stronger. So much in fact, he can't even hug his best friend of how many years at the airport. His attraction to Will is begining to cause problems in his relationship with El and friendship with Will. He treats them both unfairly because of how he feels on the inside; it is absolutely killing him. He so badly wants to confess to Will, but remember, the 1980s were hostile towards queer people and Mike didn't want loose his family and friends over this, so he kept it to himself. His feelings are becoming impossible to hide...

So, how about Will?

I believe he started to like Mike during the time between Season 2 and 3.

Season 3: He complains about how much time Mike and El spend together, and that him and Lucas (as well as Dustin) are abandoning him for their girlfriends. This hurts him because he knows he will never get to be "normal" (straight). He is also the only guy out of the main four to not have a girlfriend in Season 3. Girls did like Will; this was seen in Season 2 at the Snow Ball and Season 4 during a class, but he is G-A-Y and in love with his bestie. Anyways, this understanding hurts him more when Mike says "it's not my fault you don't like girls" (clearly projecting); Mike verbally wanted to create a separation between him and Will :(

Season 4: After moving to Lenora, Will feels much more comfortable with himself (I do think he has a little bit of internalised homophobia but it's no where near as bad as Mike's). He is excited to see his bestie again but Mike doesn't hug him, making him feel like he doesn't want to be friends with him anymore. Will gets more and more annoyed with his attitude and eventually confronts him after Mike blames him for "sabotaging" the whole day. At this point, Will believes there is no way Mike would ever like him but he still wants to tell him how he feels. He gives the painting to Mike, not knowing that he read about it in El's letter. This was the only way he could express his feelings for him without having to actually come out. By the end of Season 4, he still believes that Mike would never reciprocate his feelings but my sweet summer child does not know Season 5 is going to make his wishes into a reality <3

So basically it was both Mike who fell first and Mike who fell hardest even though Will is canonically gay and canonically in love with him. Plus, Mike's character has so much queer-coding, it's crazy it's not confirmed that he likes guys and he likes Will.

[TLDR: Mike fell for Will first midway through Season 2 and Will fell for Mike after Season 2 and before 3; he was just a lot quicker to accept his feelings.]

[mikesbasementbeets]

jonathan byers: byler observer (x)

[super-nova5045]

friendly reminder to every holier than thou new gen gay mike truther who hates bi mike that after s2 when byler was literally DOGPILED and treated like a crack ship, it was bi mike truthers who defended it and got it to where it is today, creating like half of the base theories...show some respect and lose your straight up unabashed biphobic attitude you actual freaks

[miaisagirllover]

Most of the audience does think similarly to reddit st fans though. Bylers are the minority part of the fandom. Spending so much time in byler places made bylers ignorant to the reality side of the audience members imho.

yea because the majority of ppl who watch stranger things believe that the actors all have secret agendas when it comes to shipping and that leaks into their acting 😐

btw i made that post like 2 minutes ago why r u stalking my page lol

[greenfiend]

Does Jonathan suspect that Mike has feelings for Will?

Yes he does

No he has no idea

Other… leave in comments/tags

Voting ended onAug 27, 2023

[didyoupainthis]

Mike saying he’s loved El since he first met her = he doesn’t have a real moment where he fell in love with her because he knows he never did

vs

Mike saying that asking Will to be his friend on the swings was the best thing he’s ever done = Will has been Mike’s best friend ever since and Mike has always thought of iit as his best thing

———————

Mike needing encouragement from someone else to say something he thinks El wants to hear when he isn’t even sure if she can hear him

vs.

Mike not hesitating to be the first to spill his feelings in the shed, knowing that he caught Will’s attention and Will can hear him

——————— 

Mike’s ‘love confession’ having every other person in the place involved in it, Will being literally in shot for it

vs.

Mike and Will being the only two people the camera focuses on, even darkening the background as if it really is just those two in the room

I mean it’s not even subtle, people are missing it on purpose

[theoriginalbylergod]

What do you think about the whole Mike was only so protective of Will in S2 because El was gone thing? Do you think he’s going to ignore Will again in S5 and be super focused on El? I’ve seen recent discourse about this and it’s making me sad.

Anon, full disclosure I haven't seen this discourse recently. But I'm gonna take your word for it and tell you what I think. This is gonna be kinda long because I am incapable of being normal.

I think anyone who thinks that this is the case has a very very poor understanding of Mike. And also a poor understanding of literally the entirety of s2 and s4.

Mike cares about Will, and he cares about El. It's possible for him to care about both of them at the same time. The only reason he has a hard time balancing his relationship with both of them is because he's denying the true nature of his feelings for both of them. With El, he's trying to convince himself that his platonic feelings are romantic. With Will, he's trying to convince himself that his romantic feelings are platonic. It is my belief that he is fully aware of his romantic feelings for Will, and his lack thereof for El. But being aware of something and accepting something are two different things. However, by the end of s4 I think it's clear he's headed in the direction of acceptance.

So, about s2:

Mike is protective of Will because he's protective of Will. Simple as that. His fierce protectiveness of Will is established in s1.

We see it when Hopper is first questioning the boys about the last time they saw Will. Mike is insistent that he wants to be there. He doesn't just wanna help by answering questions, he wants to be out there actively searching.

We see it when he defends Will against the comments Nancy and Ted make about him at the dinner table. "All because Mike's friend got lost in the woods" "oh so this is Will's fault?" // "See what happens?" "What happens when what?"

We see it when he is the one to plan to go out to where Will's bike was found and search the woods.

We see it when he confronts Troy after the assembly and pushes him down

Mike being protective of Will in s2 is just a continuation of an already established trait. We just didn't see it in the same way in s1 because Will wasn't there. In s1 it was almost like Mike was being protective of an idea, but in s2 he's being protective of a real and tangible thing. He's not just protecting the belief and hope that Will is still out there, he's protecting WILL.

And that isn't because El is gone, his protectiveness of Will persisted throughout s1. El was there and he was still protective of Will. So El's absence cannot be a cause of his protectiveness of Will. However, the intensity of it was likely influenced by the events of the previous year, which would include watching El "die". But his behavior regarding Will definitely has more to do with what happened to Will than with what happened to El.

I think that if El was present in s2, he still would've been just as protective of Will. Because that's just who he is.

Now, about s5:

He's not going to ignore Will in favor of El. Anyone who thinks that definitely just blatantly ignored his entire s4 arc.

I mean, Mike and Will's s4 arcs were almost entirely dedicated to fixing the damage that s3 did to their relationship. Mike apologizes to Will for how he acted since he got to Lenora, but there's also a sense that he's apologizing for more than that. He says "this last year". He's not mentioning anything specific, but we know what happened. Will knows what happened. And although it still should be, and likely will be, explicitly addressed, this is a start.

I kinda think that the "cool" "cool" scene is when Mike starts to prove to the audience that he's worth Will's love. Because if s3 didn't happen, I don't think there would be doubts. If s2 Mike was also s3 Mike, I don't think anyone would be saying "Will deserves better". But s3 did happen. I love Mike, but he did mess up. He did treat Will like shit. And that should be acknowledged by the characters and by the plot. So when Mike apologizes for his behavior, and subtly addresses s3, and then Will decides that it's worth it to bring his painting - which is a declaration of love - it's a confirmation that this was a turning point for Mike. This isn't a fluke. Mike wants to be better, and he's trying to be better, and that's going to continue for the rest of the season, and it will carry into s5. This conversation, which marks a real change for Mike, includes the line "I have no idea what's gonna happen next. But whatever it is, I think it'll be easier if we're together. A team. Friends. Best friends." And then Will makes the decision to bring what is a plot device for byler's development specifically. Like it's pretty clear what behavior the plot is rewarding.

"I think maybe I was worrying too much about El... And I don't know maybe I feel like I lost you or something" is worth mentioning here because not only is this Mike explicitly stating that his s3 behavior was a deviation from the norm for him, but also the plot rewards this confession. It rewards Mike's vulnerability (although tentative) in this moment. Mike's vulnerability is returned tenfold in the van scene. And since we know Mike's vulnerability was rewarded, it only makes sense for the same to be true for Will's. The painting is the catalyst, Will's vulnerability (although veiled) has to be rewarded by the plot.

And then again, in their last scene together, Mike reaffirms that they're a team. Yeah, you can say that when he says "we will" he's referring to everyone involved. But he says this while firmly grasping Will's shoulder. He wants Will to know he's here, and he's not going anywhere. Yes, it's about everyone, but underneath that there's a sort of desperation for Will to believe him. He's determined to live up to what he said in Dear Billy. He wants them to be a team. So when he says "we" he means everyone involved, but there's an unspoken "you and me".

AND THEN AGAIN, in the final shot, they're together. But more than that, Mike makes a CHOICE to stay by Will's side. He's there because he wants to be with Will. Nothing is stopping him from walking to stand by El's side. But he doesn't do that. He stays with Will because he told Will they were a team and he meant it. I could go on and on about what this means from a storytelling perspective. About how there is obvious thought put into using this to tell the audience what to expect. But from a character perspective, thinking of Mike as a real human with his own thoughts and motivations, it's clear what he's thinking in this moment. They're facing something terrifying, and he knows exactly where he wants to be while he faces it, and that's by Will's side. This scene is undoubtedly foreshadowing for s5, and it's very reasonable to conclude that it means his priority will be Will.

TL;DR Mike was protective of Will in s2 because that's just what is natural for him. And his priority in s5 is going to be Will, because that's what s4 very deliberately set up.

[willbyerssupremacist]

is it just me, or does noah look NOTHING like will? like i can't get it through my head that he plays will, that man plays him so well that it seems like a whole different person.

[doriandrifting]

I bring a certain kind of “well actually I’m bisexual” vibe that “gay mike truthers are inherently biphobic” accusers don’t really like.

[didyoupainthis]

this is actually peak will is good at hiding vs. mike hates lying

Mike’s love being written all over his face vs.

Will being too dedicated to hiding his feelings to even see it

[didyoupainthis]

I just had an “oh” moment about Byler’s miscommunication issues

This scene;

So Mike is obviously saying that he understands what Will is thinking without Will having to say anything is actually a little tragic in this case because Mike has spent the whole season, through several heart to hearts, trying to get Will to understand him without having to specifically say what he’s thinking too but Will just keeps missing the point entirely

I think Mike has known since at least the end of S3 that he cares about El as a friend which is why he can’t tell her he loves her even when she’s straight up begging him to because he can’t lie to her. Input “the thing” he can’t say. I think Mike has been trying to subtly hint to Will that his relationship with El isn’t what Will seems to think it is (happy and loving), especially when he vent to Will in the van about how Mike feels inferior to her. Even though Mike has been trying to get Will to understand him without having to just say it, Will has been so focused on getting over Mike that he’s not picking up on the issues between them and instead keeps encouraging Mike to just talk it out with El

As someone who thinks Mike isn’t clueless about his own feelings and is actually very self aware; I definitely think one of the biggest differences between Byler is that Mike goes in and out of hoping for Will whereas Will just gave up on Mike instantly with the plans of never even trying because he thinks Mike is just forever unobtainable anyway and has never hoped for anything more than fixing their friendship

I just think it’s interesting that the writers made Mike the one to say he can understand Will without saying anything because Mike is also hiding something from Will and Will never picks up on it

[didyoupainthis]

bro mike was going through it here

one of his best friends is dying right in front of him and he thinks all the pressure is on him to save her and on top of that he’s just concluded that will *didn’t mean what he said in the van and it really was from el* all at once

someone give the guy a hug oh my god

[willbyersabyss]

I don’t get why people think Mike was a bad friend for not comforting Will in the van. If Mike had asked Will what was wrong, Will obviously wouldn’t have been able to explain so it would’ve made it worse. What’s Will supposed to say? “Oh El’s love for you is just so beautiful.” NO? That’d be so awkward. I feel like Mike was a better friend for respecting Will’s wish to cry in peace. Will was trying to hold back those tears so Mike wouldn’t ask why he’s upset and I think Mike picked up on that and chose to let Will cry in private since that’s clearly what he wanted.

[3vil1ntentions]

reblog if you're going to go through the old posts on the milkvan tag when s5 comes out then just point and laugh at them saying byler won't be endgame

[greenfiend]

How Clueless is Mike Actually?

Very clueless… he’s unaware of his feelings for Will and vice versa

Partially clueless… he’s aware of his feelings but unaware of Will’s

Partially clueless… he’s unaware of his feelings but aware of Will’s

Not at all clueless… he’s aware of both his and Will’s feelings

Other? Leave in comments/tags

Voting ended onAug 23, 2023

[didyoupainthis]

I think Mike has definitely known for a long time exactly how he feels about Will but doesn’t wanna deal with it because he thinks he has no chance

But then sometimes Will gives him some hope for them and has Mike considering that maybe he does have a chance until Will says something that breaks his hopes again. It just seems like throughout S4, Mike was going back and forth between letting himself believe Will loves him too to Will himself making Mike lose faith in them

By the end of S4 I think Mike ultimately concluded that Will doesn’t love him back, only because I think he was still hoping the painting was from Will until the whole SBP deal and I guess it also fits into the way S4 ending had no resolutions

[theoriginalbylergod]

Mike Wheeler is important and there's nothing wrong with analyzing him

Since y'all wanna be insufferable bitches about it I'm gonna explain to you why he's important, why Will loves him, why his struggles should be acknowledged, and why his character depth is pivotal to byler endgame being a satisfying conclusion for both Mike AND Will. Deal with it!

We are not seeing smoke where there isn't a flame. We are seeing smoke where there is a literal fucking forest fire.

Starting off with something a lot of people aren't ready for but I've seen more people talking about: Mike is the main character of s1 at the very least. He is the character that brings us into the world of stranger things. He is the character that the writers chose for this. Mike is the main character of s1 and it was an instant hit. The writers love Mike. Contrary to popular belief, giving a character an arc where they are struggling and their behavior changes from what is normal for the character we know and love does NOT mean the writers hate that character. It means they deliberately chose to give that character complexity and depth. Your inability to like characters that do anything wrong ever is not the fault of the writers. Your decision to act as if a character is not important is not reflective of the actual narrative because it in fact is in direct opposition to the narrative. So just to be clear, if you genuinely believe that Mike isn't important, or that the writers hate him, or don't care about him, or that his story "takes away" from any other character's - ESPECIALLY WILL'S - you are simply wrong.

In s1 and s2 Mike is established as an extremely caring person. He's loving, loyal, brave, intelligent, and trying his best. He is also established to be hot headed, someone who speaks without thinking quite often, someone who is capable of hurting his friends despite that being the last thing he wants to do. He is all of these things and more. He is a human. He is a kid. So in s3, when suddenly he is entirely different, it is completely logical to assume that there is a reason for that. He did not just wake up one day and decide he wanted to be an asshole, push Will away, make his friends feel abandoned, and echo the same sentiments their bullies held. Something is happening with him. He has so much going on in his head and it is painfully obvious. He's holding something in, he's hiding from everyone and from himself. We see glimpses of what he's trying to hide after Will calls him out on his behavior. Will gets through to him. Mike is usually unresponsive to tough love, except for when it's coming from Will. After their fight, it is obvious that he's trying to be better. But he still doesn't wanna face certain things, and he doesn't know how to navigate that. Because he's 13 years old.

There is a reason for all of that internal conflict. There is a reason it comes pouring out of him at certain times. He's crumbling. He is quite literally falling apart because he's holding on to too much. It's not a stretch to assume that, it just takes basic media literacy. Why would the writers have Mike act this way if he was just supposed to be a one dimensional character? Why would Finn be directed to portray Mike the way he does if there was nothing more going on? There are times where Mike looks like he's in physical pain because of his internal conflict. There is a reason for that. And acknowledging that DOES NOT mean people are taking away from Will. That's the most idiotic thing I have ever heard. Do y'all seriously not understand that more than one character can have emotionally complex storylines? Genuinely asking, is this a new concept for you?

Will's love for Mike

Will is head over heels in love with Mike. That is very much established. So when you're dismissing the emotional depth of Mike's individual arc because you think acknowledging it "takes away from Will" you are actually diminishing the significance of a huge aspect of Will's emotional arc. By taking away the significance of Mike, you take away from the significance of Will.

Let's do a quick recap of the very significant role Mike has played in Will's entire life:

Mike is Will's first friend.

They have grown up together and it can be assumed that they've reached important milestones together.

Mike has always been a safe person for Will. He's been a constant in Will's very chaotic and unfair life. Until the summer of '85, Mike had always been something good in Will's life. (That's not to say he is no longer something good, but it can be assumed that the summer of '85 is the first time Mike has been a causal factor in Will's unhappiness)

When Will went missing, Mike did not hesitate to search for him. It wasn't even a question of if. The moment he knew Will was missing he knew exactly what he'd be doing that night. He spearheaded the search amongst the party. He was the leader.

When Will came back, Mike was the only person that didn't treat him like he was gonna break. He cared for him, and he was there for him, but he didn't treat him differently; Will tells us as much. Which means we can infer that the way Mike was with Will in s2 - how gentle and loving he was - was nothing new. He had just always been like that.

When Will was possessed, Mike stayed by his side. Even when it was scary, even when it could've gotten him killed, he stayed. Because once again, for him, it wasn't even a question. That's just where he knew he needed to be. He was in the shed when they were trying to get through to Will. He was set apart from Lucas and Dustin, but he also wasn't equated to family. And his retelling of the story of the day they first met was the final push Will needed to find a way to communicate.

After a year of things being "weird" between them, Mike tells Will that he didn't deserve to be treated the way he had been. Mike tells him that he wants them to be okay again, and for the rest of the season he puts in the work.

Things get rough in s3, and at the beginning of s4, and despite all of that, Will confesses his love (albeit veiled). In a moment where Mike is feeling awful about himself, he tells him that he loves him and needs him, and he tells him why. And to him it doesn't matter that he's breaking his own heart to do it, because it's Mike. Mike, who makes him feel like he's not a mistake at all, and that he's better for being different. For Will, there was no other option. The person he loves was hurting and he knew how to help, and so he did.

Mike is the first person Will tells about Vecna still being alive. Because they're back to being a team. He knows he can trust Mike, and Mike seems to be very determined to prove him right.

SO.

These are all real and canon aspects of Mike's presence in Will's life. Will falling in love with Mike isn't something that just happened for no reason. Will fell in love with Mike because of who Mike is. When you acknowledge that, and when you acknowledge the reasons they've set out for why Will loves him - the reasons Will literally told us - you can better understand Will. But when you dismiss all of these things about Mike, you are dismissing a large portion of Will's emotional and romantic arc. You aren't being a Will Warrior. You are erasing so much of him and his feelings and his lived experience. That is not the hill you wanna die on.

Will loves a person. Not a feeling. Yes, he says that Mike makes him feel like he's not a mistake and that he's better for being different. But that's not why he loves him. He feels that way because he loves him.

Mike is a fully fleshed out character with his own feelings and struggles and fears and traumas and motivations. He's not a plot device. He's not just an accessory to Will's arc. He's not a character that was written only to be Will's love interest. He's Will's love interest because he's Mike.

If Mike didn't matter, and if Mike didn't play a significant role in byler, then they would be able to write in a love interest for Will in s5 and have it be somewhat satisfying. But they can't do that. Will's love for Mike has so much depth because Mike has so much depth. It is genuinely crazy that this has to be stated and that I have to back up this claim because it is simply a canon fact.

So yes, the rain fight affects Mike's character development and his involvement in it is important. Yes, the van scene literally could not exist without Mike and therefore his involvement in it is incredibly important. Yes, every single byler moment has an impact on Mike, and Mike has an impact on it because they are BYLER moments. Yes, Mike will have a lot of significant moments - with Will AND on his own - in s5 because his arc deserves and needs as much attention as Will's in order to execute byler endgame in a satisfying way.

No, none of these facts negate Will's importance or take away from his story. If anything, they add to it because Mike and Will's arcs are corresponding and intertwined.

Mike's struggles

To name a few

Dysfunctional family

Has been bullied his entire life

Extreme self worth issues

Inferiority complex

Hero complex

Lack of self preservation

Suicidal ideation (has been on display since SEASON ONE)

Internalized homophobia

To get this out of the way: Mike's internalized homophobia is allowed to be discussed. Discussion of it is not the dismissal of Will's internalized homophobia. Surprise surprise, two queer kids in the 80s have internalized homophobia! Who'd'a thunk it?! Their internalized homophobia presents in different ways but it is there for both of them. I personally relate to the way Mike's is portrayed way more than I relate to Will's. So why is it that we can't discuss it without being accused of erasing Will's experience? Or without people saying that we're "copy and pasting" Will's story? Because quite frankly, that feels dismissive of my - and likely many others' - real and lived experience. So please for the love of all things that are good just stop with this talking point because it will never hold up.

Moving on

I'm not gonna do a full breakdown of all of Mike's issues. Because contrary to popular belief, there are a lot. And that would be exhausting and I'd get carried away and it's not the point of this post. The point of this post is to defend the acknowledgement and mere existence of them.

If you're a byler that for some reason thinks Mike only exists to be Will's love interest and his trophy as compensation for his trauma, let me ask you this: Have you considered how awful it would be to have a queer character's individuality and emotional depth completely ignored for the sake of focusing on the queer character that "really matters"?

If Mike's own issues, with his queer identity and otherwise, aren't thoroughly explored... What's the point of all this? If Mike really is insignificant in this storyline and his individuality has no effect on it.. where's the emotional payoff? If his perspective doesn't matter... Why have the writers gone to such great lengths to ensure we don't have that piece of the puzzle yet?

Analyzing Mike and understanding Mike is very important to understanding byler. Once again, I think it's crazy that this needs to be said.

I also think it's important to note that characters can have similar struggles. There's no rule against that. Just like real life. Characters having similar struggles is not a bad thing, and acknowledging that their struggles are similar is not dismissive of either character. We're talking about STRANGER THINGS. Jonathan and Nancy's thing is "we've got shared trauma". They have literal matching scars. Shared experiences are some of the main building blocks for this show's romances. Byler has a TON of shared experience, basically their entire lives. We already know that. So wouldn't it be so beautiful for them to learn that they've been struggling with the same thing this whole time? That the entire time they felt alone in what they were going through when really they had each other and they never even knew it? Wouldn't it be so beautiful for Mike's acceptance of Will and Will's love for him was also a step toward accepting himself? Wouldn't it be beautiful for Will to learn that his love makes Mike feel like he's not a mistake? None of that would be in the realm of possibility if Mike didn't have emotional depth and if his individuality wasn't important.

And that leads me to my concluding point...

A satisfying execution of byler endgame hinges on Mike's individual emotional arc being handled well

God I hope this isn't controversial to say. I sincerely hope most people haven't forgotten that.

Here's a hypothetical:

Imagine season five has been released. You're watching it, and you notice that Mike has been relegated to just a supporting character for Will. We don't get any of his perspective. We don't get any explanation for his s3 and early s4 behavior. His breakup with El doesn't have any real tangible effect on him, it's really just used for El's character development. We never see him pining for Will like we saw Will pining for him. And then suddenly Mike is learning about the painting and then suddenly he's confessing his love and then suddenly byler is canon and official.

Now wouldn't that just be awful? Wouldn't that be unfair to the audience, to Mike, and to Will? For us to never learn just how much Mike had to go through to even be able to say it out loud? For Mike to never get the chance to prove to himself through word and action that he is the heart? For Will to never get an explanation for why things did get so "weird" between them? It would leave us with one big, nagging question: What was the point of everything Mike has said and done throughout the entire show if his conclusion is that lackluster?

Disregarding Mike for a moment (I know that's incredibly ironic given what the entire point of this is but just bear with me) - how would that be a satisfying conclusion for Will? I mean, Will's s4 arc was basically dedicated to showcasing his struggle with his sexuality and with his love for Mike. We were shown just how deep that love is. We were shown how patient, unselfish, unwavering, and beautiful that love is. So how would it be satisfying for Mike's love for him to not be shown with just as much depth? How would it be satisfying for Mike to just be a one dimensional character whose s5 arc is essentially "break up with girlfriend, wait to find out best friend is in love with him, say he loves him back, then they live happily ever after"? I think Will deserves for his love to be returned with the same intensity at which he gives it. And I think it should be clear to the audience and to Will himself.

Back to Mike!

Mike has been through so much shit. I don't think anyone that is denying that actually believes he hasn't been through shit. Because you'd actually have to watch the show on mute and with your eyes closed to think this kid hasn't had just the worst time. It's so ignorant to act as if this stuff hasn't affected him. There's stuff we've seen but there's stuff we also haven't seen. There are issues he has that date back to his childhood pre-canon. Just like Will, Mike has been a queer kid growing up in 80s smalltown conservative america. Acknowledging the pain he 100% carries because of that is so important. His perspective has been withheld from us, not because it's unimportant, but because it's the final puzzle piece. If we had Mike's perspective in s4, byler wouldn't be a "will they won't they" (even though we all know they will). If we got his perspective in s4, byler would be a "100% certain without a doubt they will". But the thing about his perspective is that it's so much more than just loving Will. It's fear. It's pain. It's insecurity. It's doubt. It's the belief that his happiness just doesn't matter all that much. All of that has to be explored. All of that has to be laid out in the open for us in order for byler endgame to feel earned. Mike's emotional payoff will lead to byler's emotional payoff.

Mike has known he loves Will. In s5 we will see him make a deliberate and active effort to overcome the things keeping him from doing something about it. And then he will do something about it.

And so when it finally happens. When both Mike and Will finally know that their feelings are requited, and when their arcs end with us knowing that they will face whatever life has in store for them together, that will feel earned. That will feel like the logical conclusion for both of them. Not just for Mike. Not just for Will. For both.

And Mike is just as important to that conclusion as Will is.

And one last thing...

Some people are going to talk about Mike more. Some people are going to talk about Will more. Because newsflash, people have preferences. Some people just relate to Mike more, or they find his emotional arc extremely compelling, or they just like him. It isn't an attack on Will or any other character. No one is saying Mike is more important than any other character (I'm sure there are people that say that but they are a vocal minority and they are simply wrong). We are just saying that he is important. If you wanna engage in media analysis, please understand that "main character" or "central character" does not mean "only important character" and "only character that should be analyzed". If you wanna talk about Will and only Will, that's fine. But you don't get to act like people that talk about other characters are doing a disservice to your fave, because that's not how any of this works.