byler byler byler lwg lwg lwg

#2 warkivensininetamtince shipper i wont even lie(unless someone already assigned themselves that lol whoops) Also I’m BLOWING EVERYTHING UP /pos

[going-south-within-the-brain]

ST Narrative Structure Analysis + CG Analysis/Prediction

Introduction

Whattup, fellow bus-goers.

Okay so… from all the way in late January until recently there have been two things that have been bothering me. One was that I felt like I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the very basic narrative structure of ST. The other was that, for a while now, I have felt pretty strongly that if we’re right and CG is real, we’ll be getting about another season’s worth of new content, but until writing this post I couldn’t quite explain why.

Over the last several months, I’ve been both trying to essentially solve the show like a Rubik’s cube and also figure out if there’s any logic behind my intuition on CG. Now, I think I’ve finally figured out both well enough to write a post about them, and how the two overlap.

First, let me explain my methods.

(Warning: this post is pretty long)

Section 1: What Do I Mean By Narrative Structure Analysis?

Okay. So. If you’ve ever taken a high school literature class or something similar, there is a very good chance you’ve seen this before. If you need a refresher, it’s essentially the framework by which you can understand how the order and pacing of events in a story create unity and cohesion for the story as a whole. There are lots of varying perspectives on the best way to approach narratives and different ways to slot them into structures(although many of them use the same basic principles). For this post, I wanted to have a reference roughly explaining the one I will be using:

Story Structure-

Hook: create interest right away. Introduce characters, world, goals, & stakes.

Inciting Incident: turning point! Conflict enters normal world. Call to adventure.

Key Event: adding info, tension rises. Character crossroads, deciding to act. End act 1. Struggles to understand, plans go awry.

Midpoint: Story turns! Twist or disaster, moment of truth.

Cross Roads: Figuring things out, moving toward action, reminder of stakes.

Dark Moment: all seems lost, dark night of the soul. Reexamine motives, commit to go on.

Climax: final confrontation, problem overcome.

Resolution: wrap things up, end hook.

Lol, yep. This thing. Yes, I just found this through google. This version of it is very simple and pretty straightforward, which is part of why I picked it.

(To be clear, I pulled these definitions straight from this infographic, I was going to put the actual image in but it was big and annoying so I didn't. The website it originates from is at the bottom.)

Something I’ve felt for a while is that, while I love the common theories going around that rely on either analysis of things like set design/dialogue/acting choices/other little details, or real world tangible things like promotion choices and copyright deadlines/trademarks(and those perspectives are definitely very important and we shouldn’t lose sight of them, keep ‘em coming, please), one perspective that I personally haven’t seen much of in CG analysis(although I haven’t been online as much so it’s possible I just missed it) is the fact that this show is, first and foremost, a story, and stories generally follow predictable rules and patterns. ST from what we’ve seen of it so far, seems to be following the common patterns of your typical long-form narrative.

When I say analysis, I mean that for the last few months I’ve basically been trying to sort the various big plot points in the show into these neat little boxes/labels the way I think makes the most logical sense, while also trying to consider multiple possibilities for how much new content could be coming out.

First, though…

Section 2: A Few Disclaimers

Firstly, I’m aware that the basis of this post kind of inherently ignores certain theories like bandersnatchgate, or at least partially operates under the assumption that if it’s real, it will exist in a way that won’t really change the major story beats of Season 5. However, I don’t think this theory and those ones necessarilyyy have to totally contradict each other? (Plus, I kinda fw bandersnatchgate) Idk, you’ll see.

Secondly… if you’re the kind of person whose mental health is still lowkey riding on this show, and you know that believing even a little in a full new season’s worth of content only for something less than that(or nothing at all) to be released will crush your heart and break your soul, I give you full permission to ignore me, plug your ears, yell LALALALALA out loud, preferably not in public, and keep scrolling.

Anyway, onto the post.

Section 3: Short Narrative Structure Lesson

Okay. So.

While I feel like most people could get the basic gist of what it is just from reading the infographic, I wanted to apply this structure to another story that most people are familiar with, to use as a somewhat simpler example of what I’m going to do.

Structure Analysis of Star Wars: A New Hope:

Hook: The very beginning scene.

Inciting Incident: Leia is captured and the droids are sent to Tatooine with the Death Star plans.

Key Events: Obi-Wan and Luke are introduced, Luke’s aunt and uncle are murdered, they meet Han Solo.

Midpoint: They get caught on the Death Star.

Crossroads: They find Leia, get stuck in a trash compactor, and nearly escape.

Dark Moment: They escape, but Obi-Wan dies.

Climax: They manage to defeat the Death Star.

Resolution: The award ceremony at the very end.

See how the different plot points can be fit neatly into the beats that the infographic describes?

Okay, bear with me, I want to do another one, but this time for a work with multiple installments and several different plotlines, since that’s more similar to how ST and TV shows in general work. Here’s an attempt at a breakdown of the Harry Potter series(yes, I know, I think it works well as an example for what I want to do, for this I'll be talking about it extremely neutrally):

Harry Potter Structural Analysis:

Hook: Harry’s living with the Dursley’s, he keeps getting weird letters.

Inciting Incident: Hagrid shows up and tells him he’s a wizard, he goes to Hogwarts.

Key Events: The events of the first few books/movies.

Midpoint: Book 4, Voldemort comes back, Cedric dies, but Harry escapes.

Crossroads: Events of books five and six.

Dark Moment: Dumbledore dies, and Voldemort takes over Hogwarts.

Climax: Voldemort is killed.

Resolution: the very end of the book and the epilogue.

(I would recommend trying to either internalize these analyses of these structures or your personal constructive criticisms of them at least a tiny bit before you continue.)

Now, back to Stranger Things.

Section 4: My First Attempt(s)

Back in January, when I first tried doing this, my theory at the time was that the current finale felt like it could potentially be the Midpoint of a completed season 5. I tried to apply the structure to the season itself from the perspective that it was over, then compared that to an analysis of the perspective that it wasn’t. I also tried to analyze the structure of the whole show, to try and figure out how season 5 most logically fits into it.

During this phase, I was working with the idea that this was the narrative structure of the show as a whole:

Hook: First episode, we’re introduced to the 80s setting, the kids, and their relationships with each other.

Inciting Incident: Will’s kidnapping.

Key Event(s): El’s appearance, Will getting found, Will’s possession.

Midpoint: Season 3, but particularly the Season 3 finale, Billy and the meatflayer, Hopper’s “death,” the Byers’ move to California.

Cross Roads: Vecna’s introduction, Max’s possession, Nina Project, Byler being gay in the desert.

Dark Moment: Season 4 finale, Max and Eddie dying, Vecna escapes, Mike’s confession.

Climax/Resolution: If CG isn’t real, Season 5 finale and epilogue. If it is, we haven’t seen it yet.

You may or may not notice a few issues with this way of structuring it. I will get to those later.

Trying to fit Season 5 into this structure under the assumption that it wasn’t over was sort of working, but I kept getting stuck. While the season not being over inherently implies that the finale can’t be the climax, I felt like I couldn’t prove that the finale was specifically the Midpoint and not the Dark Moment of the season’s narrative. It certainly seemed like it could be a Dark Moment; the villain winning and the characters being stuck in an illusion world is pretty Dark, lol. Plus, Will’s scene where he gets powers seemed to be functioning as the season’s Midpoint(which in itself is CG evidence actually, I think I will write a different, much shorter post on that).

Basically, it just wasn’t working. Then the Superbowl happened, and I got distracted. Then life happened, and I got distracted even more. I proceeded to forget about this post for about a month(lol).

When I came back a few weeks ago, I had a few new thoughts. I wanted to consider the possibility that instead of a second half to season 5, we were actually getting what would effectively be an entire season 6. A season 6 wouldn’t require a recontextualization of the basic structure of season 5, because season 5 would be complete, and season 6 would have its own structure. This fixed many of the issues of my original analysis.

However, that alone still didn’t fix the problem of why I felt like we were getting around a new season’s worth of new stuff. It just gave me a new place to start looking.

But now that I was looking at season 5 as a penultimate season instead of an ultimate one, that was making my original analysis of the structure of the show as a whole start to look a little wonky. If season 4’s finale really was the Dark Moment, and the Climax is going to happen in a potential season 6, then season 5 and 6 would be two entire seasons happening in between those plot beats. Generally, that is not the case. The Dark Moment is supposed to happen relatively soon before the Climax. This being the intended structure would be like if in Star Wars, after Obi-Wan dies, the movie just decided to introduce some other plotline and do that for like fifteen minutes before getting back to the Death Star plot. It would be really weird to do it that way.

I also considered the possibility of there being two Dark Moments… for some reason, or one really long one that lasted like a season in total…

However, I don’t think either of those are right and you may have already figured out why.

Season 5’s finale is the real Dark Moment of the show.

When I realized this, my first response was basically:

Ohhhh…

Fucking.

Obviously.

I mean, come on. I think we all understood this unconsciously, even though most of us maybe didn’t quite realize it, at least in terms we could fully explain to others. Look at the way we’ve been talking about it: the villain won. If the story ends now, it will be cynical. A tragedy. Something needs to happen to save the characters. It's not just the dark night of the soul for the characters, it's the darkest hour for us. We talk about the ending the way people would probably talk about the end of A New Hope if it ended right after Obi-Wan’s death for no reason. Dark Moments don’t generally make for very good endings(a Dark Moment is different from a tragic ending, to be clear).

Imagine if the sixth Harry Potter book ended with Dumbledore dying and Voldemort taking over Hogwarts like in canon, except that last part was kept hidden and non-explicit. Instead of announcing the next book, J.K.9.5. Rowling went around gaslighting everyone into thinking that that was the end, and there was no more coming. That’s literally exactly where ST is at right now.

Plus, when you actually compare the two, the season 5 finale’s “the villain won” makes the season 4 finale’s “the villain won” look like chump business. What’s a couple characters dying(with one being there for a season and the other being immediately resuscitated) and the villain being injured but escaping compared to the entire cast being trapped in the villain’s mind without even realizing it?

And there’s another reason why, in the context of there being a season 6, season 5’s finale being the Dark Moment makes perfect sense.

Quick exercise. Think of a TV show, any TV show. Or, well… one that’s comparable to ST anyway, in the sense that it’s three or more seasons and is primarily one long arc instead of multiple one or two season long arcs. It should probably also be finished, or almost finished. Now, think of the moment that was the darkest for the characters, the moment where it felt like all hope was lost, the Dark Moment of the entire arc or series.

…It was (most likely) in the finale of the penultimate season, wasn’t it?

That’s almost always where it is, because it’s generally where it makes the most sense for it to be, pacing-wise. That’s part of why I, and others, assumed that the season 4 finale had to be the Dark Moment, because we thought it was the penultimate finale, but when you actually look at it in the context of season 5, it’s not really that dark.

Plus, the season 5 finale being the Dark Moment of the entire series and not the Dark Moment of only season 5 gives any new content room to have its own Dark Moment(Will fake-out death Harry Potter parallel, anyone? That was the Dark Moment of the seventh book, by the way).

So, the season 5 finale being the Dark Moment makes sense. It’s fitting. But it presents a new problem.

Because, if Season 4’s finale isn’t the Dark Moment, then what is it, exactly? It’s clearly an important moment for the plot, so it’s got to fit into the structure somehow.

Before we can answer that, we need to take a look at the other question that was starting to bother me around this point:

Wait a second. What actually is the Midpoint?

Section 5: Where the Fuck is the Midpoint, Actually

No, seriously. You might remember my earlier attempt at an analysis of the whole show’s structure, where I said the Midpoint was this:

Midpoint: Season 3, but particularly the Season 3 finale, Billy and the meatflayer, Hopper’s “death,” the Byers’ move to California.

But now that I no longer believe the season 4 finale is the Dark Moment, this is starting to seem like it needs reevaluating too.

Real quick, let’s remind ourselves of the exact definition of Midpoint that the infographic I’m using described:

Midpoint- Story turns! Twist or Disaster, Moment of Truth.

While this definition works, it’s a little simple, and I would like to add more.

After reading several articles on the topic and reflecting on my own experience with paying attention to narrative in stories, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are a few things that usually signify that you’re looking at a Midpoint.

The first is what the infographic described: there’s usually a twist of some kind. In A New Hope, it was the characters realizing that Alderaan was destroyed and the plot point of them getting caught by the Death Star. In Harry Potter, it was Voldemort officially returning.

Another thing that many agree on is that a Midpoint usually signifies the moment that the protagonist(s) starts being less of a passive force reacting to events happening around them and instead an active force who’s pushing back. Before book 4, Harry mostly just defended himself when something big happened. After Voldemort’s return, Harry starts trying to fight back by creating the DA and looking for horcruxes.

It also generally raises the stakes of the story in a significant way, as is the case in the examples I mentioned.

…Does anything that fits any of that really happen in season 3? I mean, sure, season 3 has its own season Midpoint, but nothing that I would say really works as the Midpoint for the whole show.

But just to be safe, let’s go over season 3 for a second.

One important thing that happens is that Hopper dies. If this moment is the Midpoint, that means that this is the moment in the story that is THE twist of the story, the moment that totally changes the rest of the narrative going forward, raises the stakes, and marks the point that the characters start acting instead of reacting.

That’s… not really true, is it?

The climax surrounding Billy and the meatflayer doesn’t really do that either.

Now what about the Byers moving to California? That’s also not really a “disaster.” It has some negative consequences, but it’s far from a “moment of truth” of the entire series.

El losing her powers? At most it raises the stakes, but El reacts to the plot of Season 4 just as much as she does in Season 3.

It gets worse when you try to analyze it from specifically a Byler perspective. I could not for the life of me figure out what Byler’s Midpoint was while under the assumption that it happened in season 3. I tried to be lenient with it and looked through the entirety of season 3 for a possible Midpoint for them. Again, the Byers’ move just doesn’t quite feel like a “disaster” that changes their entire relationship for the rest of the show- at most it feels like a build-up for another later event.

The only other really significant scene for them in this season is the rain fight, so I tried to consider that too. While it feels(and is) significant to us as the audience because it’s the first time we see them fight, I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a full-fledged disaster, or moment of truth, and it doesn’t really raise the stakes, at most just reminds you of them.

So, what moment does, for Byler, and the show as a whole, work as a “twist, disaster, or moment of truth?”

Well I don’t know about you, but when I first tried to find the Midpoint using that specific definition, for Byler and for the whole show, the first thing that popped into my mind was… Mike saying the words “I love you” to El.

Yep. You’ve probably guessed it by now. The Season 4 finale is the Midpoint.

It fits the definition of a narrative disaster perfectly, for all of the particularly important plot threads. Vecna has escaped, Hawkins split open, Byler is in shambles, platonic Elmike’s not doing so hot either, really all three of those important characters are having a rough time of it and/or making bad decisions. It’s not just them though- basically all the characters are going through a disaster of their own. Eddie’s dead, Dustin’s having the beginning of a TimeTM, Max is entering a coma, Nancy and Steve are relapsing… etc.,

It also raises the stakes more than anything in Season 3 does. The Upside Down and Hawkins are now connected through the rifts. They know about Vecna now but they don’t know where he is and he can still access them. Max is in a coma. Several different relationships are struggling in some way, including Byler’s. Will and El are back in Hawkins now.

Byler’s stakes are raised too. Now there’s the possibility of Mike finding out that Will lied about the painting.

Additionally, if you look at Season 5 compared to the seasons before it, Season 4’s finale also marks the turning point where the characters are no longer passively waiting for the Upside Down to come to them(reacting), but instead are actively going towards the danger to try and end it(acting).

So, all in all, Season 4 is basically the perfect Midpoint for the show as a whole. When I first realized this at like 1a.m. three weeks ago, I was so excited because I felt like I had finally solved the whole show, at least from the one specific angle I wanted to, after months of thinking about it.

But… hold on. This presents another problem.

Even in the context of there being six total seasons, the final episode of Season 4 isn’t really… quite the middle of the show, is it? Like… it’s almost there, but it’s a little off. The whole thing with the Midpoint is that it’s supposed to be… the point in the middle. That was why I had originally assumed it had to have happened in Season 3.

But there’s an answer here, a way that this all makes sense. And it lies all the way back in Season 1.

Section 6: Season 1(and 2)’s Role in the Narrative

So, here’s the thing. This whole time, I’ve been assuming that the story starts in Season 1. Because, you know, it’s the first season. That’s generally where stories start: in the beginning, lol.

But there’s another option. I know I’m not the first one to conceptualize the show this way; I wasn’t really in the fandom until soon before Season 5, but I’m pretty confident that this was an idea that was going around at one point.

Basically, I think Season 1 is the prologue of the show.

What does this mean? It means that in terms of narrative, Season 1’s main purpose is to set-up and provide context for the rest of the story, which actually starts in Season 2. If this is true, then that means that the primary narrative of the show doesn’t start until Season 2.

If you think about it, most if not all of the story threads that are core to the majority of the show don’t actually start until Season 2. Byler don’t really interact until Season 2. Dustin and Steve’s friendship starts in Season 2. El and Hopper’s father-daughter relationship starts in Season 2. In season 2 El and Will, two of the main characters of the show, both become actual full-fledged characters instead of primarily plot devices like they were in Season 1. The Mind Flayer is introduced this season. Max and Lumax are introduced this season. If you’re a Bobgate truther, Bob is introduced this season. Etc.,

Season 1 creates set up for the world, the characters, and future storylines, but it’s primarily self-contained in its narrative. The narrative of the show overall doesn’t really start until Season 2. This explains how Will can be the Main Character of the show according to many of the creators and actors despite not really being present in the first season. It also explains how Byler, who many of us Bylers agree is the core of the narrative, can not directly interact with each other much at all until the second season. Season 2 is, in my opinion, the only season that feels more like a sequel to the season that came before it rather than a direct continuation.

So what does this mean for us? Well, if Season 1 is the prologue, Season 2 is where the narrative starts, and the show is theoretically six seasons long…

Well would you look at that! Season 4 is now effectively Season 3/5 in the narrative, and its climax is pretty roughly the middle point of the whole story. That means Season 4’s finale has all the freedom in the world to be the Midpoint. Hooray!

Plus, if it is, and Season 5’s finale is the Dark Moment, then that’s great for us Byler shippers, and our argument that Byler is the center of the narrative, because it means that the Midpoint and the Dark Moment of the entire story are both centered pretty strongly around them and their godawful communication issues(the s4 climax is Mike saying he loves someone else, the climax of the s5 finale is the symbolic manifestation of their relationship dying, may she rest in peace until s6). It means that Byler having a heart attack in the Season 4 finale is narratively similar to Harry nearly dying to Voldemort in book 4, and from a certain perspective their romance flatlining/El dying in the Season 5 finale could be considered to have similar narrative significance as Obi-Wan’s death and its impact on Luke in A New Hope(I’m choosing to interpret this as meaning that Obi-Wan Kenobi should be considered a Byler variant).

So, in my mind, that settles it. Season 1 is the prologue, Season 4 is the Midpoint, and Season 5 is the Dark Moment.

Section 7: Narrative Structure Analysis Final Version(for now…?)

Okay. Here’s our new and improved breakdown of the structure of the entire show under the assumption that there will be a season 6, 2026, colorized:

Hook: Season 1 as the prologue, beginning of Season 2.

Inciting Incident: Events in Season 2(admittedly I haven’t yet pinpointed in this post where exactly it is, but I don’t think I have to for the conclusion of this specific post to work. I think I might make that part of a different post too).

Key Events: Season 3 and 4 plotlines.

Midpoint: Season 4 finale!!!

Crossroads: Season 5 build-up to Vecna’s win at the end.

Dark Moment: Season 5 finale.

Climax/Resolution: to be seen in Season 6.

Look at it. Behold.

Section 8: Why This Structure Suggests a Season 6, Summarized

In this post so far I have laid out two different pathways that support my argument of CG leading to a possible Season 6.

Pathway 1: If I’m right and Season 4’s finale is the Midpoint, then it logically must be roughly in the middle of (or about 50% through) a finished narrative, since that’s about where Midpoints are supposed to be if a story wants to be well-paced.

If Season 1 is not the prologue, and CG isn’t real that means the Midpoint for some reason is about 80% of the way through the narrative. If Season 1 could be called the prologue, and CG isn’t real, then the Midpoint is about 75% of the way through the narrative. If Season 1 could be called the prologue, AND if there is a full Season 6 coming, then the Season 4 finale is about 60% of the way through the narrative. That is much closer to an exact 50% than any of the other options(and also pretty close to HP’s 57%). 

However, the less new content we’re given, the more that number goes up, the more the Season 4 finale gets farther and farther away from actually being in the middle, and the more and more wonky-looking the pacing of the whole show gets.

So either I’m wrong and Season 4 is not the Midpoint, the Duffers have decided they don’t care about the pacing of their beloved show being super weird for some reason, or there will be at least a full Season 6(or a secret fourth option that I will get to in a moment).

Pathway 2: If I’m right and Season 5’s finale is the Dark Moment, then it is most likely the finale of the penultimate season. Generally speaking, for good pacing, stories with multiple installments will have their Dark Moment at the end of the second to last installment, and then use a full last installment to take the story from the Dark Moment to the final climax. This allows the Dark Moment to have the fullest impact it could while preventing the story from dragging out too long before the climax. Not just TV shows do this, the Dark Moment of HP is at the end of the second to last book.

So either I’m wrong and Season 5 is not the Dark Moment, the Duffers have decided they don’t care about typical pacing for some reason, we’re getting a full Season 6, or… secret fourth option.

Section 9: The Secret Fourth Option/Have Any of You Guys Seen the Owl House?

Sorry, I'm going to plant some doubt real quick(so I can then try and uproot it before it grows).

Okay so, at this point in my analysis, I was very proud of myself. I had made the structure of the show make sense(to me anyway) and partially explained how a Season 6 would fit into the narrative if it were to exist. But there were still a few holes, and now a few new possibilities had occurred to me that my narrative structure analysis alone couldn’t debunk.

For one, Netflix interference.

If you haven’t seen the Owl House, or know what happened to it, basically it was a very popular show with a prominent sapphic couple that was canceled after its second season. Unlike most cancellations, it was allowed to finish its story, but with three special episodes instead of a full third season.

That show followed the same structure I’ve been using. Its Dark Moment happened in its season 2 finale, but its overall pacing was punched in the face by executive meddling. The general consensus was that its shorter third season was still very good, but that it would’ve been much better if it was allowed to be a full final season.

This proves to me that it is technically possible to have a relatively good final season that is cut short. It also provides an example of how creatives don’t always have full control of their stories and how corporations tend to be motivated by appealing/conforming to homophobic audiences. It’s very possible that Netflix had the same qualms with Byler that Disney(presumably, technically I don’t think they ever specified why they canceled it) had with Lumity. In which case, it’s possible that they could’ve done the same thing and cut a potential final season short.

So… is it possible that that’s what’s happening here?

I can’t say for sure, but I have a few reasons why I think it isn’t.

1- I honestly do think Netflix was iffy about Byler(and probably other future plot points too, not just them), and I do think we’re seeing a compromise between them and the Duffers. However, I think that compromise is CG itself. I think instead of cutting a possible gayass season short but still allowing them to make it, their compromise is that they’re: hiding the the fact that the particularly gay season exists at all until soon before it comes out, milking the homophobic audience as much as they can by putting the fake finale in theaters and releasing Tales of 85, and pulling off a large publicity stunt that will motivate people to watch Season 6 even if they disagree with its contents. If they did that and cut the season short, that would be a little over-the-top and also a bit incoherent.

2- No fucking way in hell Dana Terrace would’ve banked her entire career on The Owl House Season 3 the way Matt and Ross Duffer have with the new content for ST. They’re clearly extremely confident in whatever new content will be coming out in a way that I doubt she was, even if she clearly put a lot of work into it. That, plus Shawn Levy’s comments on how an amazing ending can make up for a saggy middle, as well as Finn saying that they’re going to “go back and rewrite history” of endings like GOT’s, implies that multiple people who are at least baseline level knowledgeable in storytelling think the ending is good. This to me suggests that, at bare minimum, the ending will do a half-decent job at fitting the pacing of the show as a whole. I’ve already explained why a Season 6 would do that better than anything shorter.

3- Netflix makes way more bank from ST than Disney ever did from TOH. On the one hand, this means they stand more to lose from homophobes rage-quitting, but it also means that cutting the season short would just be preventing them from making a lot more money from just a little more content. Plus, we’ve seen that they’re willing to pour a ridiculous fuck-ton of money into this show, which suggests to me that they’re relatively more willing to take risks than others might be.

4- A shortened final season would be significantly harder for ST to pull off than it was for TOH. TOH only had to wrap up two season’s worth of story, with the first season having a lot of filler episodes. ST has to wrap up five while also having way more important characters and plotlines than TOH did.

5- The kicker... I really think that they've known they were going to be doing CG for a while now. Obviously the entirety of Season 5 is written with it in mind, and we know that they had extra time to plan both Seasons 4 and 5. I don't think they would've written those seasons the way they did, including the amount of set-ups for future story that they did, if they weren't planning on executing. It's possible that they didn't know Season 6 would be shortened until after they made Season 4, but again, that would imply that Season 6 is not what they were planning on doing, and therefore unlikely to be their very best work, and thus probably not something they would put this many stakes on.

It’s also technically possible that the Duffers chose to have the last season be shorter of their own free will… for some reason. That would imply that either they have their own reason for writing it that way that my brain can’t currently comprehend… or they’re bad writers who make weird unfathomable decisions, and isn’t half the point of CG that they’re not?

In summary, it is technically possible that the new content could be less than a full season despite the fact that I think it would be worse for the story, because we live in an imperfect world, but that seems very unlikely to me.

Section 10: Okay But… How Though

I’m not going to lie to you, there is one potential big hole in my reasoning… logistics. I lowkey don’t one hundred percent know how it would be possible that they filmed an entire season in secret without anyone noticing. I’m not familiar enough with the filming process to understand how that would work. Plus, it seems like paparazzi caught all the outdoor locations they used(with the exception of the mysterious circus tent…). Not to mention that with how many things about Season 5 were leaked, it seems unlikely that so little would’ve gotten leaked about Season 6 in comparison.

However, I will say that I don’t personally think it’s impossible. To start, I think a good chunk of the leaks could’ve been leaked on purpose. It’s objectively kind of insane that basically the whole epilogue was spoiled like a year ahead of time and Netflix didn’t do jack shit about it.

And we’ve seen that they can keep things hidden if they really want to. Will having powers was never spoiled, people only guessed Kali would come back because her actress was at the premiere, and Max’s whole plotline was never leaked either.

Not to mention, they filmed the whole thing in a year, with a very large budget. It's been long enough now that if they only started editing Season 6 right after 5 came out, I'm pretty sure they could be at least most of the way done by now.

Plus, we don’t know what happens in Season 6. Maybe they could’ve just filmed the entire thing indoors, lol.

Section 11: Bonus Supplementary Evidence

There being a Season 6 would explain why everyone on the cast keeps specifically debunking a possible episode 9 of Season 5. If there’s a Season 6, then Season 5 is over and therefore yeah, there isn’t an episode 9 lol. They’re not lying, technically.

Certain things that were said about the latest season that seemed to be lies could’ve been about Season 6. I’m pretty sure the Duffers said at one point there would be no new characters introduced in the new season… maybe that’s true for Season 6. Some rumors and things actors said implied that each episode would be movie length… maybe that’s true for Season 6. Maybe Season 6 is the “gayer than ever” season that Amybeth was talking about.

The talk of a “double feature” in the show… two seasons of a TV show released less than a year of each other when normally they take much longer to come out could be considered, in a way, the TV equivalent of a movie double feature.

In regards to the whole “A side” vs “B side” thing, it’s possible that the new content could technically be called Season 5b instead of Season 6, but it would effectively be the same thing.

At this point I just assume that half of what the actors say is the exact opposite of the truth so Finn Wolfhard apparently saying it would be “ridiculous” for ST to have more than five seasons… lol.

So now… we’ve arrived at today.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion…

I believe I've found the most logical way to narratively structure ST as a whole, at least when it comes to the Midpoint, the Dark Moment, and the role of Season 1/2 in the overarching narrative.

I think a Season 6 that contains a real finale for the series as a whole would be the most logically consistent way for ST to progress, for all the reasons listed above, but especially my best and currently preferred understanding of the underlying structure and pacing of the story itself.

Through making this post, I hope I succeeded in reverse engineering the show’s narrative structure as well as CG itself to produce something that makes cohesive sense. If nothing else, I hope I gave someone something to chew on until Tales comes out.

If you spot any issues in my reasoning, or just have questions, please tell me. I promise to at least try not to let my attachment to the time I spent on this post cloud my vision lol.

I have a few more CG and ST related posts I want to make using this type of analysis. For example: I have some thoughts on which characters I think might die in the new content, which relationships and plotlines I think will most likely be important, and why I think Jancy in particular is still going to be endgame, lol, as well as the other posts I mentioned I will possibly write. Please let me know if any of you would be interested in seeing those!

…I spent way too fucking long writing and rewriting this post you guys. Jesus. Anyway.

For now, thank you for reading, see you later. :)

-k

[gritstartar]

Sometimes can’t believe they called the ending meta (per Millie, no one can find this clip WHATEVER)

Meta like well and truly means self aware. A show about a show.

Season 5 is a parody of the show itself- but there is more to it under the surface. By calling it meta, it absolutely implies that THEY ARE AWARE of how it is received by audiences.

They’re making fun of the people who think they do important cinematic things for fun or just because it looks cool. They’re making fun of people who are okay with the answer “it happened off screen”.

They KNOW it is not good. If it was a good meta ending, they’d be talking about it a lot more and they’re NOT. They literally sit on stage with Noah Schnapp and giggle as he makes fun of them. This is not him “standing up to them” this is them performing in their own show.

I know there is a clip of Finn on Jimmy Fallon talking about how working on the show is hard, and that the Duffer Brothers have never had to act on the show so he’s better at acting than them 😭

And look where we are now!

You’re they have written extensively about how important each creative decision is ACROSS THE ENTIRE TEAM. The artists, the writers, the actors, the producers, the whole deal.

Personally, I have NEVER known this many people who work behind the scenes on a set. Ever in my entire life. For anything. I know so much more about these peoples work now. They are showing us how important that team-work is. If you think that the ending was so bad and it’s all the Duffers’ fault, you are literally just disrespecting everyone else that worked on the show I’m sorry. Fight with the wall.

The Duffers are ~acting~

Also PLEASE if you think season 5 is bad that’s okay, but like it’s ‘meant to be’. Like there’s a reason people say that the show has been headed in this direction for years. They know and talk about their audiences’ least favorite things and then did it ALL in one season 😭

The issue is people don’t want to admit that they’ve been being played with since season 3 came out 🤷🏼‍♀️

You think you’re smarter than the Duffer Brothers, and that’s fine. But you’re not smarter than the ENTIRE cast and crew. And these people KNOW their shit.

This show has not just gotten ‘bad’ with Season 5, Season 3 and Season 4 are goofy as fuck (but that doesn’t make them bad!). The Netflix lighting has been there for a while… the CGI has been pretty central for a while… the dialogue has been silly for a while… but because YOU like those seasons, and felt smart watching them, it’s hard to admit you got played too.

Not that it’s bad and a bad reflection of you, but because that’s also what the narrative has been aiming to do…

They have literally referred to Season 4 as camp 🫪🙃 Season 3 starts with Dustin getting home from CAMP.

Now I hate the GA don’t you worry don’t you worry, but like… Season 5 is just where everyone got ‘clued in’ onto what the show is doing 🤷🏼‍♀️

The characters memories are being screwed up, the narrative doesn’t make sense, it feeling like it’s building somewhere and it goes nowhere, the ~watered down~ version of events, etc

I PROMISE you that if you look at CG as something that has been in the works since Season 2, it will actually make more sense than if it just applies to the ending / Season 5.

Gaten said the finale would make you see the entire show a different way, and he’s RIGHT

Does it mean it’s bad!? NO! It just means mayyyyyyyyybe we can also be tricked by media (another point I think they’re trying to hammer home)

[enterrial]

Mike is saying some absolute bullshit in Will’s ear right now but we all know he loves it !!!

[andshe-was]

Piggy backing on @throttlegainwell's post...

Now, honestly, all I can think about is Joyce with newborn Jonathan. Up all night, alone, doing her best to quiet and comfort him so that his crying didn't wake Lonnie. Crying softly to herself because her hormones are still out of wack and her brain just got rewired and because honestly, she's lost all sense of self. More than anything, because she feels crushing guilt and hopelessness over the life she knows she can probably never give that beautiful little baby in her arms. But when he does quiet and look up at her, because she's still the only thing in his world, all she can think about is how this tiny person is hers. Not Lonnie's, never Lonnie's. Hers. And that's what gets her through the day and the fresh guilt in the morning over having to drop her eight-week-old off with a sitter because she has a double shift at Melvald's and an overdue electric bill.

But even in those early moments, I think Joyce and Jonathan became a team. Not because he could do anything for her yet, but because they were already surviving the same life together. She was the only safety he knew, and he was the reason she kept dragging herself out of bed every morning, no matter how little sleep she’d gotten or how impossible the day ahead of her felt. Lonnie could frighten her, belittle her, make her feel small - but he could never touch the part of her that belonged to Jonathan.

And I think Jonathan grew up feeling that distinction long before he had words for it. There was Lonnie, and then there was them. He learned the sound of Joyce’s footsteps, the strain in her voice, when she needed him to be quiet or helpful or stay close by. Joyce tried to shield him from everything she could, where as Jonathan, almost instinctively, began trying to make things easier for her.

It was a bond built from enormous love, but also from necessity. And that is what makes it so tragic. Joyce never wanted Jonathan to feel responsible for her. She wanted to be his mother, his protection, the soft place for him to land, the one who carried all of the burden. But somewhere along the way, Jonathan began carrying it with her anyway. By the time Will came along, they were no longer only mother and son. They were co-conspirators, protectors, the two people quietly holding the family together.

They were a team because, from Jonathan’s very first night in her arms, Joyce looked at him and understood - it was the two of them against the world. Right or wrong.

[gritstartar]

Date Predictions

Scroll if you don’t like date predictions oops! @acecreamsandwich here’s a post about my predictions for dates !! (:

There’s lots of speculation around when the VHS Special Editions will drop for Seasons 2-5. Someone pointed out that if they released every two weeks, then the finale ‘tapes’ would be out September 5th - à la JK 95. I personally believe it will be once a month roughly until November 3rd. My timeline looks a bit like this:

Season 2 drops on Wednesday 12AUG26. This is 16 days before Haunted Halloween Nights opens on August 28th. With the carnival theme we associate with Will & his real birthday. The release on the 12th would be 3-fold: (1) twelfth birthday, (2) they’re 16 when they ‘defeat’ Vecna, and (3) it would likely provide needed context for why the carnival theme is so haunting for Will specifically. This is where I believe we will start seeing the storylines diverging a bit more, and where more people will realise that they are not just putting a filter over the show for a VHS effect. This will stir up some more hype, but generally still be quiet. Probably some actual big fans, and more Bylers.

Season 3 drops on either Wednesday 16SEP26 or Wednesday 23SEP26. Season 3 is where the seasons start getting subtitled: One Summer Can Change Everything. This is where they introduced the ‘New Coke’, it is not just Tales From ‘85 and I do think Tales from ‘85 will end up being incredibly important. I say 16SEP26 or 23SEP26 because it would either be going into the last official week of summer, or the first official day of fall.

Season 4 is where the show started releasing in ‘volumes’. Volume 1 drops Wednesday 07OCT26. Mike’s half birthday! There are many theories that Season 4 was actually taking place during the week leading up to Mike’s birthday, or that the audience sees the incorrect dates in the show. Tales from ‘85 Season 2 come out on 29OCT26, so I think Season 4 vol 2 would come out on Wednesday 28OCT26.

Season 5 vol 1 drops November 3rd - the first in-universe date for Season 5, vol 2 drops November 4th, and vol 3 drops November 5th. I think that on November 6th is when we would get ‘confirmation’ that there is another season coming, and that it’s coming on the same dates as the previous year. Probably they’ll do this by building hype around the ‘Spin-Off’, and I think the show we have right now will be renamed or explicitly stated to be what is not considered ‘real’. Now, I don’t know the legality for this, but they’ve been working on this for seven years they’ll figure it out especially with the DVD imo. Both versions of the show will be important, but for different reasons.

Season 6 drops vol 1 Thanksgiving, vol 2 Christmas, vol 3 New Year’s. We get the in-universe anniversary effect, and the anniversary effects for the audience - both fall/winter holidays AND July 15th.

Now… I do not have all of the information Netflix or Stranger Things has, so I’m going to probably get some of this stuff wrong. For instance, I still think an actually interactive version of S3-5 is a possibility! In this case, I think we could get something like the interactive part is available, then the ‘finalised’ version of the episodes is released a few weeks later so everyone is on the same page for the actual ending! I do not think the ending of the show will be a choose-your-own-adventure style ending.

We could also very likely see another ARG pop-up in between the release of Special Edition seasons between 2 and 3, since they did that for the original season.

Finally, we may not even be seeing VHS for each season! It might be some other formats, as the media formats change throughout the 80s. Maybe it will be another brand of tapes, or the characters will start to interfere and make their ‘own’ version of tapes to hide the true story in.

I do not have it right now, but there is a clip of Noah Schnapp saying “we will need your help more than ever this season” in the Season 5 promos- this is part of it.

There are some of my previous posts that kind of show my train of thought these last few months!

In 2026, you will be deceived and you will like it…

Stranger Things 5 Meta: Plot & Promo

Expanded New Coke Gate

Format Wars

Inverse/Swapped Dates Importance

Okay, as for what I’d expect each season to look like. Well that’s complicated, as I’ve said I don’t have all of the same information as Netflix or Stranger Things. BUT, I do think that we could roughly see something like

Season 2 - getting more backstory on Will’s life before the Upside Down

Season 3 - see more of how Hawkins National Laboratory takes over Hawkins (& possibly infiltrating more towns!)

Season 4 - the characters learning about the ~true~ history of Hawkins’ past & what Hawkins National Laboratory is actually doing

Season 5 - basically I think we could be seeing this as the ‘prison’ break, where the Party/Hawkins Heroes are trying to help another generation of lab kids escape the lab (who are likely being used to uphold some fucked up projection of reality onto Hawkins)

Season 6 - The actual defeat of Hawkins Lab. My most wishful thinking is that this includes an entire extended network of people all over trying to defeat Hawkins National Laboratory. Basically, all of the characters we’ve seen do exist, but as Hawkins National Laboratory expand and reach other towns, the towns become almost layered into one conglomerate. *I don’t know how this would work* A lot of this is just vibes, I don’t have evidence obviously because it’s been hidden from us.

FINALLY, why are swapped/inverse dates important?? Well, they’re easy to mix up! What does this have to do with Mike?

The date 4/7 could be April 7th or July 4th depending on what calendar format you’re using.

Additionally, I think Mike and Will’s importance doesn’t just lie in supernatural. Being queer and marginalised puts you in a place where you automatically question the world around you - this is the same for Dustin and Lucas & most of our characters tbh.

I think that (1) Will is a lab kid, (2) Mike’s family is related to the lab in some way & Mike’s queer love for Will motivates him to seek out information and justice they don’t want him to have.

I do not think it is just Will being erased, but Mike and Will being erased from each other’s memories. For instance, Joyce tells Will his birthday is March 22nd.

That is 3/22 or 22/3. Again, we must remember Mike’s birthday as April 7th (4/7 or 7/4). You add up 3+2+2=7. This is just a more complicated version of flipping/inverting dates. You take 2+2=4, and 2+2+3=7. 4/7. Mike’s birthday.

They are erasing the memories of each other starting in Season 2.

Season 1 AND Season 2 took just over a year to make, start to finish. Compare that to the 2 years between 2&3, 3 years between 3&4, and 4 years between 4&5. The teams got bigger, they had more people on screen. I’ve already seen people theorise that the Holly& kids plot could’ve been going on to free up time for the other actors to do alternate scenes. This could very well be the case for previous seasons!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. They’ve been deceiving us for a lot longer than Season 5, I think Season 5 is just when they clued us in on it.

[gritstartar]

Oh! On their ass!

[acecreamsandwich]

I feel like this is a detail that people gloss over completely and I honestly feel like it was important to Mike's coding as a queer character.

I know it is technically considered a stereotype about gay men that only they can be interested in wearing make up and not straight men, but I feel like context and time period matters here.

Mike is a 12 year old boy in the early 1980s living in the suburban Midwest of America.

Yes, I get that he has a big sister so maybe he just knows because he likes to snoop around or whatever. But it feels like an incredibly specific choice to insinuate that he not only knows where Nancy keeps her makeup in her room, but that he knows exactly what is what. He knew the proper applicators for blush and knew what the blush looked like and how to use it.

Then he silently critiques "his work" and just kind of makes an "eh, it'll do" reaction and seems satisfied enough.

But shouldn't her putting on a dress and long wig do the trick to make her look more like a girl or "normal"? All he does is put blush and Chapstick on her anyway.

Why give us details that Mike knows how to do makeup. Almost like...he's been interested in it before? Whether it's watching his sister and mom do it while he was younger, or even interested in playing with it himself? 👀

Mike Wheeler has been queer-coded since the very first season. (This is not the only example, I just wanted to make a post about this specific one).

[gritstartar]

Deadass seen GA/Mileven comparing all the makeovers El got and which one was the best and people fighting for the one Mike gave her

That is a gay man

[youaremess]

the rise and fall of mike's super ego

long time ago i have encountered an interesting take on jim hopper's character. unfortunately i don't remember where i've seen it and who was the author of the idea, but i know for sure they were the follower of the "el is a personification of mike's love for will" concept.

the take was: hopper represents mike's super ego and acts as his defense mechanism to protect him. unfortunately that entails keeping mike from expressing his love for will.

the concept intrigues me to this day so i want to elaborate on it and look at season 5 through these lenses. but before that, let me prove this idea to you.

hopper is a chief of police. an extremely ambiguous character. on the one hand he is the party's protector, a fighter, a powerful and strong man, a dad who controls the resources (food, sleep, spare time). he says who goes where and who gets to do what. he sets the rules and he makes sure others follow them. on the other hand he's angry, loud, scary and he does punish harshly when the rules are broken. he is a personification of the freud's concept of super ego.

The superego is the ethical component of the personality and provides the moral standards by which the ego operates. The superego develops during the first five years of life in response to parental punishment and approval.

to reduce it to an extremely simplified concept, super ego is basically a voice in your head that watches your actions, controls your desires and impulses, so you behave in a socially approved manner. if the super ego is too big, it acts as a punishing critic and disables a person from acting on their wishes. if it's too small, the person will lack in morality and act irresponsibly.

now let me demonstrate how this unfolds during mike and hopper's fight in season 2.

el shows up and mike learns that she's alive and she was hidden for almost a year now by hopper. mike's super ego had to hide his love for will to protect him. hopper is not an evil man and he hid her because there were real risks for her life and wellbeing. bad men are looking for her, and if they find where she is, they will get her and take her away.

mike just minutes ago confessed how important will is for him with his "you said yes" speech, and voila! his love for will resurfaced. mike saw that his love was still there and he got mad at hopper (himself) for hiding it.

mike starts arguing with hopper and hopper takes him away to talk with him "alone". meaning this 1-on-1 conversation is a private one. this is mike's inner-conflict and he's fighting with himself.

i think you already know that their conversation happens in the will's room, so essentially mike's crash out is connected to will.

hopper (mike's super ego) warns mike that if people learn about el (his love for will), he and his family will be in danger. sounds a lot like midwest america in the 80s, right? mike realizes that if he doesn't fit in the community of his town, he'll risk a lot.

mike's having a severe breakdown (reminds us that finn wolfhard can in fact act): the boy is so mad at himself for not being able to love will openly. he doesn't blame his love for will though, he doesn't think it is el's fault. he blames himself for keeping his guard and not letting himself be happy. he's at war with himself.

it's interesting that right after the season 2 finale mike changes his behavior towards will. in fact, he changes his whole character.

i think it's because he becomes aware of the super ego in this scene, and because he becomes aware of his love for will in the shed and finally at the snowball. he internalizes the super ego, it becomes a visible part of himself and he starts keeping in mind all of the society expectations. he suppresses his desires, watches himself closely, alters his behavior so much, that he loses his authenticity and passion. there is no passion when you control your each move.

mike is doing this to himself and he's angry at himself and he's calling himself a liar because this is what he becomes. a liar, who dates a girl he doesn't love and who hides his true personality.

i hope you are on board of this concept now. let's jump right to season 3, when it becomes really interesting.

mike's love comes back and he interacts with it regularly. someone joked that he does it privately and physically, which is not a surprise considering we are talking about a teenage boy here. although all of his interactions are closely watched by hopper. hopper sets the rules: how much time mike can spend with el, el still cannot go outside and be seen by other people, mike can't take her with him to see his friends, mike even can't get fully private with he because there is a 3-inch rule.

interestingly this happens while mike is going on double dates with will, glancing at will's lips and what-not he's been doing for the whole summer there.

his super ego cannot stop him from being in love, but it sets the rules so that this love doesn't get noticed by others. when mike breaks the rules and gets carried away (for example being too obvious with his lips glances), his super ego punishes and threats him.

when hopper tells mike to back off, i read it as mike trying to stop himself from loving will. sadly. but it's not what he's able to do and eventually this is why hopper is helpless here: he cannot stop el from having her own life.

hopper leaves with joyce and while he's busy and distracted, el is having the best time of her life with max. she's out there, having fun and becoming more independent. this coincides with mike's rain fight with will. super ego is out of town, so mike loses his grip and shows his true emotions and priorities — and it's will, of course.

in the end of the season mike is devastated. will leaves hawkins, he takes mike's love with him, and his super ego dies. he can drop the facade, stop watching his every move, and just be...

...be miserable am i right guys? because we're not stopping here — we are jumping to the season 4, the byler season.

mike's super ego is gone. it's still alive, but it's very far. i would say it is suppressed, and what does suppress a super ego?

breaking the rules - check - mike gets bad grades and doesn't care about school as he used to

emotional shutoff and numbing - check - mike wheeler basically came up with the idea. dustin calls him a shadow of his prior self in the book

denial of responsibility - check - our gaslight king can never get it right with jane

alcohol and drugs - well it's not canon, but it's pretty telling that mike knows so much about benzos in season 5. i read him as a depressed teenage boy in a small town who canonically hangs out with a drug dealer and is paralleled to his sister who also is known to drink when she's depressed. who knows what happened during that year?

good news though, while his overpowering control freak is desperately fighting to come back, it still struggles to get out, and mike hits the prime time of his refusal to conform: he is a part of the outcasts club, contemplating the possibility of his and el's relationship end, he's getting closer to will, acting very obvious and flirty with him, and refusing to say "i love you" to his girlfriend. el (his love) is training her powers and becoming stronger day by day as mike and will are becoming closer.

i don't know what's a chicken and what's an egg here, but i choose to believe that mike's a chicken (unintended) and his newfound understanding of himself and teenage rebellion keeps his super ego away, and not vice versa.

unfortunately for mike wheeler and for us, his super ego breaks out. and mike succumbs to his internalized homophobia. mike feels the need to protect himself from the horrors of coming out and as a result lies to his girlfriend about loving her, stays in comphet relationship and doesn't say anything to will.

however! please! don't be devastated! it isn't so bad as it sounds. take a look at this scene here...

as mike meets hopper in hawkins, hopper acknowledges that mike's grown. what does it mean? can mike protect himself better? does mike not need him anymore as before? will hopper treat him differently, trust him more, be less super-ego-ey with him?

well yeah, because mike's super ego shrunk.

we all need a super ego. it becomes a problem when it's too big or too small. if it's just the right size, it's alright. we can be happy. we can be responsible. and as i said here it looks like mike started his journey of self acceptance right after he returned to hawkins. he cannot go back to his season 3 self, because his super ego has shrunk, and he has grown, and he's not running from himself as he used to anymore. good for him.

ugh, this is becoming way too long, so i decided i'll talk about season 5 in detail in the next post. hope you liked it. stay tuned.

[gritstartar]

SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

Guys I fear I overlooked this one because it felt too obvious… 🫣

@going-south-within-the-brain 😝 thank you for bringing up the Frank Darabont of it all again

The Duffers talk a lot about Prisoners and how it inspired Stranger Things, and just really focused on the prison-break storytelling aspect this season (WSQK literally is full-operation break-in)

Frank Darabont directed the Turnbow Trap and Shock Jock. Came out of retirement to direct the Turnbow Trap and Shock Jock.

You know how this guy escapes prison?? By digging tunnels (thank God, his boyfriend already did that for him!) with a fucking tiny rock hammer

Yes it did take Andy 20 years to escape in the movie but we have Mike and Will here it won’t take that long

He digs these holes through his cell wall, and covers it up with 3 posters (3, to be exact!) of *and I kid you not* pin-up posters of three sex icons

🤨 did someone say gay sex saves the day?

Maybe this is why there’s multiple versions of the painting👀

Get out of prison NOW and go get your man!

Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.

[gritstartar]

You know what’s actually soooooo fucking funny is that at the beginning of Season 3 they introduce Dustin’s long distance girlfriend Suzie. And no one believes Dustin at first, because no they can’t really call her right. Because she’s Mormon and their relationship is a secret since her parents don’t want her dating a non-Mormon. And then he calls her using his Cerebro on the top of a hill, and she doesn’t answer.

And no one believes that Dustin actually has a girlfriend.

Because yeah likely story! Sure, your ‘girlfriend’ that you can’t talk to over the phone, your ‘girlfriend’ that lives in another state, your ‘girlfriend’ that you met over camp and have known for like maybe a few weeks, your ‘girlfriend’ who’s suspiciously like a super-tech genius. Your ‘girlfriend’ who’s like …

basically a superhero!! Like, Dustin’s best friends don’t believe him

And then as the viewer, I’m supposed to believe that *no one* in this ENTIRE TOWN would notice that Mr. Emo over here…

Is depressed as FUCK right after his boy best friend moves away to California? The same one who was acting out in Season 1 because his boy best friend was missing…? The same boy who Troy et al. targeted their homophobic bullying towards?!

Who *only* looks happy when he’s engaging with his hobby that is *directly* connected to his boy best friend?

**in the wrestling room mind you** I know what you are!!!

And sure, Dustin and Lucas know El, but like… !? NO ONE ELSE!

Sure…

Oh, Mike! Yeah, no he’s acting out because his ‘girlfriend’ moved to another state with the Byers

Sure, Mike’s ‘girlfriend’ no one knows (or, last they saw her, she was being confused with Will fucking Byers)

Sure, Mike’s ‘girlfriend’ that he can’t call because otherwise the ‘government’ will find out her location… so they can only communicate via radio (are we even sure that Dustin’s Cerebro is like a secure method of communication…? That is IF they even used it)

Sure, Mike’s ‘girlfriend’ that’s supposedly SuperMAN a superhero!

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH now he’s leaving for Spring Break to visit his ‘girlfriend’ who ‘lives with the Byers’

You KNOW how bad those rumors were this time around I’m sorry!!! And guess what!! El’s not even there to fucking make his bullies piss their pants anymore!

No wonder we don’t have a Mike POV book yet

And then the SECOND Mike is back in town. With the Byers. Where’s Mike’s girlfriend!?

Oh yeah… hiding from the government!!! Again!

But you know who he’s fucking living with now!? 💀💀

Oh and NOW HE HAS SUPER POWERS TOO!?

I’m sure!!

Give me a fuckin break. That man was fighting rumors left and right I know it to be true!!

Looooool from convo with @disastertourwaterdeepedition

[lyxchen]

Happy screams or something...

I worked hard on this so if you like this comic then I would love a reblog or a comment <3

As always I'm putting a few close ups and some of my thoughts and favorite details under the cut ^^

I started this in march and it took me exactly 40 hours to fully finish.

A few close ups <333

I really just wanted to make a sweet little comic about El and Max playing that spin the bottle game again and then accidentally finding out about byler, who have been secretly together. (I have another comic idea for a funny "confrontation" scene later on but idk if I'll ever draw that. Maybe I'll make the idea into a little fanfic instead.) But yeah it was really fun to draw something with a little more plot and figure out what the frames should show, how much focus to put on the speech bubbles, the transitions between pages/the way pages blend together and also how to like progress from them being in El's room to them being in that mind void. I think it's so fun that El can bring others in there with her, she should use that to her advantage <3

Okay some more art thoughts ^^

I had lots of fun with the entirely black background, I rarely use just plain black instead of a dark blue because I feel like it sometimes can dull the feel of a drawing, but here it was appropriate in my opinion. I don't think the mind void would have worked if it wasn't truely entirely black. I also really liked drawing the little noises Will and Mike make in the background onto the fully black parts, they really pop so well on it and I did do a lot to blend it in properly, I even made the dot pattern around it lighter to show the shine more, if that makes sense. In general I think that all the vibrant colors look so nice on the fully black background but I also love how well they match the yellow background of El's room. I wanted to keep this in a really bright and comic-y artstyle and keep it a little more simplistic (if that's the right word?) so I didn't do much shading and instead focused on patterns/textures for detail and all the colors looking good together, which they do in my opinion. I really really love how all of this turned out, especially Max and El's designs, they look so cute individually and together. I based both their hair mostly on the epilogue so Max's hair being all big and curly and El's hair being loong and in a ponytail but still a little messy and just like herself. I think my favorite page is either page 2, 3 or 7, either because I really like the way I drew the characters there or because I really like how all the colors look together. My favorite frame is the one at the bottom of page 3 whith El and Max's side profiles and my other favorite frame is the byler one on page 7, the full body pose. That one turned out so pretty and I love the movement there and how in the moment it feels ^^

Okay, now... my favorite details, or at least some of them cause if I put all then this will get way too long: El's plants in her room, I feel like she'd be such a plant mom and take such good care of them and give them all cute, little names because it makes her happy; Max's hand in her hair when she's lying on the bed; the green outlines for Max's shirt even on the write parts of it; El's blue hairtie; El's many earrings and Max's nose piercing; the design of the pillows and the byler blanket on El's bed!!!; El wrote all the names on the pieces of paper in blue sparkly gel pen because she would!!! She would use those pens to write everything; the bottle they use is a water bottle lol; also I just like the way El's hand looks when it's next to her knee on the bottom left frame of the second page; all their nailpolish colors (including Will and Mike's; I really like both El and Max's shirt designs and the way El's pants are rolled up; the close up of the walkie turned out sooo good!!; El blushing when she tries to tell Max what she's seeing; El and Max friendship bracelets they made for each other (also they both have more specific designs than just stripes cause I love making friendship bracelets and think they have so many cute designs); I really like the way the transition from the yellow to the black background looks; Max also doing the little "huh" after she asked El what she means by "huh" and El calling her out on it; the blanket over the back of the basement couch (I've realized that I really like drawing those quilt-style blankets, they're so fun); also whenever I reread the comic the byler reveal makes me so excited like I'll be jumping up and down even though I've literally made this comic and reread it so many times already; both Max and Mike's freckles; Will pushing Mike's legs open hehe; Mike's fingers in Will's hair and especially the way they look when you only see the top of their heads (I also really like that view/perspective of it, like first you only get to see the hair and Mike's hand and Then you get the reveal of their full pose in the next frame); Will grabbing Mike's wrist; the hickeysss hidden under their shirts; I adore the idea of El not fully knowing what Will meant when he came out and then just. Not asking him about it; also her little excuse of "I grew up in a lab" is supposed to be a thing she says because Max, after she wakes up again, uses the "I was in a coma" excuse all the time and so El kinda decided that that was funny and she wanted to do that too and Max absolutely Adores it; Elmax having a cute little convo and it being broken off by Mike moaning so Loudly fhdvdusv; also pleaseee I love Will's pants!!! I love the shape and the little stars on his back pockets; the way Mike pushes himself up against Will on page 7 and also their linked hands and also the way Mike hugs Will with one arm and pulls Will's shirt and also his own shirt up with it, revealing more hickeys; I also gave both Mike and Will a bracelet and a ring of the opposite person's color <3; Will's green socks and Mike's yellow socks; all the little sounds and scribbles of words Mike and Will say to each other and the way they get more intense toward the end (especially Will's little "you're so-". it's really not that visible, it's on the bottom left corner of the 7th page but I adore it so I wanted to point that one out specifically); Elmax's little giggles at the end and I especially love the way El's face looks in that last frame <333

[ssentinl]

“jfc mike calm down no one’s gonna take him from you” yes they are!!! the entire fucking universe is trying to take will away from mike!!!

[gritstartar]

Do you believe in ghosts?

The movie the Duffers said Max and Lucas were watching in the epilogue btw

**I don’t think Max is dead, but she’s def still in that coma**

Max, with the help of a reluctant psychic, is warning them…

(Did you just fart 💀)

💬 7  🔁 10  ❤️ 65 · the fact that "whatsit" is short for "what is it", and "what is it" is said in the very first scene with the kids. by wi

HELP (from convo with @going-south-within-the-brain)

[chromatictapestryperdition]

Mike was gonna become a brick in the wall since S1, and it was always connected to him conforming in his relationship with El.

We NOW know from S5:

At the end of the song, a man shouts:

If you don’t eat your meat, you can’t have any pudding!

This is obviously a metaphor for conforming: enduring your unpleasant duties first, do what's enforced and expected of you (eating meat, the proper food), only then being allowed something you actually enjoy: freedom and joy (the dessert).

In the finale of S1, Lucas and Dustin are quite excited to find loads of pudding:

Mike doesn't seem so interested:

El seems intrigued but doesn't know what pudding is (this is so sad: she doesn't know joy, only her duties):

Mike explains:

El also wants to eat Eggos, but Mike says no, eat real food:

Eat your meat!

This is where ST first uses this metaphor and it's right before Mike kisses El for the first time. I don't need to explain that that kiss does not look enjoyable, that Mike surprises her with it and she asks him if he's like her brother right before.

Then again in S3, during Mike's first attempted love confession to El, they sit in front of this sign:

Mike tries again to perform his expected obligation to reconcile with her after the break up to become her boyfriend again, and isn't successful this time or any other time really telling El that he loves her.

So this metaphor has been connected to Mike from S1 and specifically to Mike and El and the quintessential hallmarks of romance (first kiss and first love confession), being an unpleasant obligation enforced on them by an oppressive and authoritarian system.

[lavenderlatte222]

when you're being surveilled and trying to convince the homophobic villain you're just friends

[demogorgirl7]

Mark my words: the VHS edition of the Snow Ball scene will be OUR snowball that officially turns conformitygate into an online avalanche.❄️

[fewplums]

A very belated little birthday morsel for our best gurl!! Look at her go!!

[sherlockbyers]

another unboxing of the arrow dvd box set just dropped! (link) nothing interesting that i could tell…

[gritstartar]

Just normal things