whenever the topic of mlvn breakup comes up, i think people severely underestimate how unhappy was eleven in their relationship. i know the point comes from the fact that el had romantic feelings towards mike at one point - which was pretty much just a puppy crush - but she hates being treated wrong in her relationship way more than mike.
their whole thing is that, yes, mike did need her more she ever did. and it's not a romantic thing at all. mike thinks he won't ever get another girl in a lifetime because eleven was the only girl that has ever shown interest towards him. she's his only chance at being normal and keeping his sexuality under wraps.
el isn't stupid. yes, she partially sees mike through pink glasses because she has a crush on him. but that also means that when he fails to live up to her expectations and hurts her feelings... she cares about that way more than mike. and she was tired of being the only one trying, making plans, writing cute letters while mike is giving her bare minimum if not less.
so coming back to the topic of did mike and el breakup? are they still together in s5? i think a lot of people center mike too much in this issue when it's as much about el as it is about him. mike has a hard time trying to keep the relationship up, yes, but at the same time - he's not the one pushing for breakup. it was always el. in both seasons now! the dynamic here is clear.
we literally have a footage - not once, but multiple times - of el being reminded of brenner from what mike said. it's not even a sneaky parallel, it's right in front of viewers' faces. frankly i cannot fathom how people can root for them after this. "it was a fight you cannot come back from" alright.
meanwhile mike's season 4 arc is basically a push-pull with himself. he's well aware of his situation but he has a hard time deciding what to do. it scares him. exactly why he seeks will's help so much. and will, who's been deeply hurt after s3 and has zero hopes but still wants the best for mike, pushes him to be back with el, all the realizations mike may have had resulted in nothing at the end, he's back at square one...
however, it's not the case with eleven. she leaves her boyfriend with a note bitterly signed with from and not love like before. i don't know why people don't pay much attention to it. it's shown not once but twice (highlighting mike's reaction being torn). directors clearly want you to read it and think about it. and if she was the one who stressed so much on the 'love' thing and was upset about mike not writing... that means she's done and doesn't want to have this type of relationship any more. if mike doesn't love her, she won't love him either.
the thing that mike and el made up after his love profession is purely an assumption. we never even saw proper moment from el's point of view about mike. all we know from the scenes is that el didn't speak much to mike after his miserable attempt at love confession and they don't have any actual romantic scenes after s4e2...
there's the surfer boy pizza conversation too but not only it was from pov of sad, jealous will - there was nothing that could be interpreted as strictly romantic, too. they wanted to make up after a fight. mike looked incredibly stressed and was literally stuttering while trying to speak. and el didn't have an expression of love, but the one of concern. and then argyle interrupted them.
the writers are purposely hiding eleven's pov about the situation and consequently mike's pov in s5. they want to leave a free space for people to assume what happened - and since heteronormativity is a bitch, most people will assume that they're together and going strong... but they don't actually show you that. however if you connect all the dots, you get a clear image of what - in my opinion - did happen.
the note from el was the breakup scene all along.
and i personally think it would do a huge disservice to her character if after all she's been through, she would go back to him because of his half-assed love confession. it goes against her arc of facing past traumas and moving on in season 4. she's tired of lying and i'm pretty sure besides her own motivations, she's starting to figure out what exactly is up with mike - but this part is merely my speculation.
