I just know Finn and Noah (well, and probably the entire cast lbr lol) are going to be so smug about Byler happening when the promotion of S5 finally begins 😏
I literally can't wait for it...
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I just know Finn and Noah (well, and probably the entire cast lbr lol) are going to be so smug about Byler happening when the promotion of S5 finally begins 😏
I literally can't wait for it...
Let's Talk About Noah Schnapp
In light of everything that's happened in the last few days—namely Netflix releasing its first teaser for Stranger Things Season 5—many are returning to Stranger Things spaces online here and elsewhere for the first time in months. Maybe years. So, it's time to have this conversation again, because many people weren't here when some of us were having this conversation in the lull between content; and we're due for an update.
Buckle up—this is going to be long. I intend for this to be a mega post on the whole situation in so far as I can cover it, with receipts and screenshots.
The Conversation Around Noah
Put bluntly—the vitriol around Noah Schnapp has become dangerously insane. It's been that way for 2 years, but the renewed spotlight on Stranger Things, especially as Noah is set to take center stage in a Will Byers-centric season, has revived some of the worst elements of the conversation.
"What do you mean?", you may be asking. Well, I think it might just be better to show you:
This is just a sampling. If I showed you every tweet — every post — every video I've seen with this rhetoric, I'd need another medium to do it. A tumblr blog alone couldn't contain it all. But I take it you see my point now.
How Did Things Get This Way?
There are people on this app and on #that app who will say this behavior/treatment is warranted. They'll tell you that Noah is a "genocide supporter." That he "cheered for the deaths of Palestinian babies." That he "celebrated as people were being murdered." But none of this is true.
As a reminder, this was what Noah actually said—his very first comments on the matter—right after the Hamas attack that happened on October 7, 2023:
Important to note:
"...we will hope and pray for safety, justice, liberation, and self determination in Palestine."
and
"...we will say a Jewish prayer for peace for all Israelis and Palestinians."
That is the literal antithesis of support for a genocide or the wholesale slaughter of anyone.
The very next thing to happen was the infamous "sticker video" about which the most lies have been told, so let's debunk them one by one:
He did not make the stickers.
He did not wear the stickers.
He did not hand out the stickers.
He did not hold up the stickers.
He did not even touch the stickers.
He did not post the video on any social anywhere.
I've posted a pair of screenshots here that give you the gist in lieu of the video itself, but you can Google the video and watch the entire thing to see that I'm telling the truth.
What actually happened was that Noah was taken to a restaurant by a pair of influencers who were his guides while on a school-sponsored trip to Israel. Both were significantly older than him, were responsible for the video in question, were the only ones in it (aside from the waitress) to actually touch the stickers in question... and yet? Noah bore the brunt of the hate that ensued. When the backlash came, they abandoned him and left him to the wolves. (And perhaps because of that, he no longer associates with either one of them, nor follows any related social media accounts—all of which he was required to follow in the first place as terms of going on the trip through his school.)
Noah had just come out of the closet earlier that year and was 18 years-old. He would only turn 19 years-old in the ensuing weeks.
He has addressed these events several times. Most famous was the TikTok that he made explaining his actual position (that he doesn't want anyone, Palestinian or Israeli, to die). Less famous were remarks he made to fans on Snapchat:
I'll post his remarks here for those who can't read the text:
Hey guys! I appreciate you reaching out. To give you context, I did not post this language or sticker. I was at breakfast with friends, it happened to be an Israeli cafe, and a girl was handing out stickers. Someone photographed me and posted and tagged me. As you guys know better than most people, social media can be used however people want to use it. I understand the weight of the situation and take it very seriously. I have friends of friends who are currently being held hostage in Gaza right now. My friends kids were killed in the massacre at the Israeli music festival. Standing up against this terrorism is important to me and why I made my statement after the attack. As one of the only few Jewish people with a platform, I absolutely think it's important to share my message about hatred for Jews around the world right now. However, everyone online is obviously twisting everything and saying I support genocide and am Islamophobic which is obviously entirely false and never have I stated either of those things. Seeing what is happening to the innocent people in Palestine pains me so much and I wish it would stop. I fully support everyone in Palestine as I said in my post on Instagram. One of my best friends in college is Palestinian and we talk about this issue allllll the time and agree on most things. I think people on social media are just animalistic right now so it's hard to even chime in because they just rip me apart so now I'm staying out of it.
I'll let that stand on it's own. I think it provides the context behind his remarks, the situation with the video/stickers, and his actual views versus how social media portrays his views. It also explains why he hasn't said anything else in almost 2 years.
The key takeaway: He was speaking out against antisemitism and the attack on Jewish people on October 7 and he supports an end to what is happening in Gaza and fully supports Palestinians. He literally says it.
And this support, by the way, has been corroborated by his own actions and the word of mouth from Palestinian organizations he has contributed to:
What Has Happened Since?
It would be easier to list the things that haven't happened; but I'll try anyways:
Noah has been called antisemitic slurs; gay slurs and targeted with gay stereotypes; been compared to antisemitic caricatures; he's been threatened with death and had posts go viral fantasizing about his brutal murder; his family has been threatened; he's been threatened with rape and sexual abuse; there are massive accounts on Twitter that doxxed his location while he was filming Season 5—particularly targeting him when he was alone; he's been hacked, had personal pictures leaked; he's had lies spread about his treatment of his cast mates (all of whom have spoken out and said that they've loved him at some point since, making these claims unequivocally false.
Here are a few examples:
Again, I can only post a sample. I hope that sample is enough to get the message across.
It's hard to overstate how cataclysmic this has been. Obviously, he's recovered and healed a lot since the initial incident; but the damage done needs to be acknowledged. These attacks drove him into a dark place by his own admission. He talked about needing therapy on his (now deleted) private spam TikTok account. And they are starting up yet again.
And Then There's the Fandom
The Stranger Things fandom in the wake of all this has been an irritating place to be. Not just because of the above behavior but because of the blanket hypocrisy.
The shipping sub-fandoms in particular have been rank with antisemitism and homophobia—even the Byler fandom, which is predominantly queer. People have:
A) Taken pre-Stranger Things photos—like his baby pictures or pictures with his family—to use as part of their content, their profile pictures, their banners, their fan art, their fan edits, etc.—violating his and his family's privacy for "Will" all while calling him "ugly," a "fag," and lobbing the above-listed threats at him. B) Tried to recast him with a fan cast. These fan casts are almost never Jewish actors, you'll notice. In fact, there's someone on this very app that recast Will Byers as himself. This is gross and absurd. Will Byers is intrinsically tied to Noah Schnapp. Tied to his identities as a Jewish person and a gay man. Tied to his experiences being a character he helped bring to life during his formative years. C) Persist in stanning or support his cast mates despite the fact that they continue to associate with him. This, in particular, is gross hypocrisy. If you're going to be mad at Noah Schnapp for being in a restaurant around stickers you object to—guilt by proximity/association, in other words—those SAME standards should apply to his cast mates, who continue to hang out with him outside of work, state that they love him, and post him on their social medias. I have a whole post about that here.
Instead, the cast is continually afforded blanket immunity while he is singularly targeted for continued abuse and harassment.
It should give the fandom some pause that openly pro-Palestine actors like Maya Hawke not only continue to hang out with him; but in her Instagram story, even stated that she misses it (check the link above for a screenshot of said story). She wouldn't do that if she thought he somehow supported mass-murder; and she knows him way better than any one reading this blog. That goes for the rest of them, too.
They know him better than you. They know his moral compass and what he believes. And they haven't abandoned him and obviously aren't going to. So, are you going to stick to your guns and apply your anger evenly; or maybe consider that you don't have the full picture?
So, Why Care?
I get this in my Asks so often. "Why do you care?" "He's a celebrity." "He don't know you." "He's not your pookie."
I know. It's not about that.
Yes, full disclosure, I am obviously a fan of Noah's. Have been since the show started. And no it's not because I'm gay and he's gay or because he plays my favorite character in Stranger Things.
Like many of his fans, I've spent the last decade seeing his lives on Instagram and TikTok, seeing his fan interactions, watching his vlogs and videos, and I've come to respect him as a human being quite apart from Will Byers or his role as an actor. Fundamentally, I really believe he is a kind and caring human being. The word of mouth from everyone who knows or has met him bares this out—and, yes, he's even been kind to me in the few conversations we've had.
This is only one example from Instagram during The First Shadow premiere this year; but I think it encapsulates what I like about Noah most. He's kind. He goes out of his way to be kind. He does things he doesn't have to do, contractually or just in general, for the sake of being kind. He always has been.
He's also stood up for a plethora of causes. Black Lives Matters, trans rights, the rights of women. He's known to be his cast mates' biggest supporter—and they'll tell you as much, too.
But quite apart from my personal feelings about him and more importantly: this is wrong.
Antisemitism is wrong. Homophobia is wrong. Both kill. Still, to this day. As I am sitting in my kitchen writing this, the news just broke that an Indigenous gay man and a celebrity was shot dead in front of his husband—after having his home burned down and dogs burned alive—in the United States. Yesterday, news broke that a gathering of peaceful Jewish protesters (which included children and the elderly) demanding the release of hostages still held by Hamas was firebombed in Colorado. Luckily, they all survived, but six people were injured in that attack.
Violence and bigotry are ascendent everywhere right now. Minority communities are being targeted. Normalizing the behavior I've described and shown above kills marginalized people. Regardless of your feeling about Noah as a person or celebrity, normalizing the violent and bigoted remarks, tweets, and behavior towards him harms Jewish and LGBTQIA+ people—all of us.
And just as an example of that, I give you the treatment Finn Wolfhard is now receiving just for the "crime" of shaving his head and being deemed no longer conventionally attractive by the fandom:
Yes, the general audience found out about Finn's Jewish heritage and now he's a target, too.
And this fandom is at fault for it.
You cannot normalize bigotry towards one person and expect it to stay contained to that one person. It will always harm everyone in that community. Finn Wolfhard—or any other actor/actress—being your favorite is not going to spare him from the consequences of a discourse you started.
ALL antisemitism and ALL homophobia needs to be called out. The people who insist it's okay that they do that for ANY reason—regardless of if they themselves are LGBTQIA+ or not—need to be ejected from the fandom and never let back in.
Noah Schnapp is a human being. He does not deserve this treatment. No one does. No one is saying you have to like him or even care about him. But you SHOULD care that this is how he's being treated and the impact it is having on others. The impact on Jewish people. The impact on queer people. Standing up and saying that does not mean you support genocide or murder or bigotry of any kind. Quite the opposite, in fact.
I am a person with left-leaning values. I'm tired of those values being spat on and dragged through the mud by people who think THIS is activism or is in any way helping a cause. It's not. All it is doing is perpetuating harm on a real person and real communities—queer and Jewish alike. And it needs to stop.
Related Blogs:
I've compiled some related blogs that expand on other elements of the situation that I've mentioned above in greater detail. This post was already long enough. I'll be updating this as more content comes out.
Examples of Noah’s Support for Gaza and Palestine (by @nymphus-fan-account)
The Evolution of a Lie
No, the Stranger Things Cast Does Not Hate Noah Schnapp
Lyric Vault’s Obsession with Noah Schnapp
There is also now a Twitter version of this post if you are on that app and want to share it there. It links to this blog post.
You know what I find interesting Mike could never tell the actual problem between el and him in s4 to will. He was always beating around the bush with the topic. But he never said the actual issue which was he didn’t want to say he loves her and she wanted him too. It’s just very strange that he never mentioned the actual problem to Will and when Will said “whatever it is whatever you didn’t say you can say it to her when we see her” and this is mikes reaction…
We're definitely not talking about this scene enough.
Mike didn't want to tell Will what he couldn't (didn't want to?) say to El.
And look how he blinks confusedly at Will's encouraging words.
I need to rant.
I'm getting so tired of the Byler haters but also of all the Byler doubters. Byler canon cannot come soon enough.
I'm pretty sure atp that volume 1 will be clear enough about Mike's feelings and Byler's relationship for most viewers to see it coming yet a lot of people will probably still be in denial until the finale (especially if the kiss only happens then).
Ugh.
Now that it is confirmed that Robin is Will's go-to this season (and that they have some one on one scenes together), I'm gonna bet that they'll talk about Mike and that Robin will have clocked Mike pining for Will.
I could see her hinting at it and Will just denying it coz he can't imagine she's right. And well, if she hints at it in volume 1, we and the GA will know Byler is actually coming, lbr.
I'll add that Mike being jealous over Robin and Will hanging out (especially if Will does try to avoid him and seek Robin instead) is now more than ever possible.
Like, I read that possibility in a couple of fics (and thought it would only ever just be a fun fic idea) but it doesn't seem so impossible now that Mike would be jealous and thinking that Will likes and/or has something going on with Robin.
After Mike being jealous of an imaginary girl in S4 at the airport, jealous!Mike would make a fantastic comeback here 😂
Btw, we Bylers don't talk enough about that split second when Mike looks down, notice the painting and nervously looks up to Will to ask about it. Like the first thing he said to him when reuniting was that.
Poor boy was jealous and panicking, definitely thinking of the letter. His eyes... 😂
:)
"you guys will be hap- satisfied.. and I can't say how" - Noah about s5 Byler getting together today 🤨🏳️🌈, here, he was about to say "happy" but corrected himself because it was too spoilery
From here
video of Noah's panel here
Let's be real, just the fact that he can't talk "about that" is telling. Coz if Byler can't happen, why can't you deny it or at least hint it's unlikely to happen?
Why would a gay man be giddy about queerbaiting with his own gay character?
All the Byler Crumbs in Dungeons & Dragons Tales from the Table: A Campaign Archive
1. Drawings & Writing
The entire first quarter of this book is primarily Mike and Will collaborating on their campaign. We see Mike being the writer, filling in all the stats and information, answering questions filled in margins by Dustin and Lucas. Meanwhile, Will draws all over and provides illustrations, both big and small.
I love the mix of Will’s own drawings directly on the paper, and then torn out and pasted in drawings put in there by the rest of the party (presumably Mike).
These two provide the majority of the new ideas and insight, with Dustin providing stats and commentary now and then.
Their campaign was interrupted half way through due to Will’s disappearance.
2. Mike’s Letter(s)
This first one is written from Mike when he leaves to go help find Will. We’ve seen this one. We know it. We love it.
There is another secret letter between Lucas and Mike, though, purposefully hidden in the background.
"Lucas,
Those are some good ideas. If I use any of them later you’ll get credit for it.
Honestly though, I can’t think about the game stuff right now. I probably won’t be able to til Will is back.
Sorry.
Mike"
3. Mike’s Family Calendar
"Will out of hospital today!!!" - Written by Mike
4. Cool 😎
Real slick, Michael.
5. Will’s Letter to Mike
I miss clouds. I miss you.
"Say hi to Lucas and Dustin for me. I can't wait to see you again.
-Will"
6. Mike's Hellfire Club Character
"His idealistic outlook has been replaced by a simple truth: evil will never die and his war will never end."
"He's thought about giving up but he can't. His holy mission carries on because he can't turn his back on his paladin vow or the promise he made to the Eldertree so long ago. His sword is still sharp, and he fights on until he has no more life to live."
I think this is all a projection of Mike's relationship with El. He made this vow to her, and now he feels responsible for it and must keep fighting "until he has no more life to live." Oh, Michael Wheeler.
7. Corroded Coffin Page
This one is a bit of a stretch, but says a lot.
"We are a screaming middle finger in the face of conformity, laughing at the naive lies that being normal and obedient could ever make us happy."
Mike just is trying to be normal this year, though, right?
8. Mike's Final Message
Truly being the heart here.
"There were times I thought we'd never play Dungeons & Dragons again..... Like Will passing along his game books, we pass this scrapbook over to you."
And don't forget to never split the party! Thank you, Dustin.
EDIT:
Uhm I totally forgot that this entire book was literally Mike’s idea as a gift to Will. Check out @sunhufflepuff ‘s post about their matching love letters to one another. I’m sick. Byler is so endgame. We are winning.
This page in Dustin’s diary is killing me 💀
“Mike, Will, and whoever else”
To anyone getting byler doubt, just remember the plot.
Remember “it’s a show about Will.”
Remember the fact that Mike can’t be a good friend to Will and good boyfriend to El when they’re in the same space (which wasn’t a problem he seemed to have with the others).
Remember “You never say it” “I say it!” vs. “I didn’t say it” “You didn’t have to”
Remember that Max told El that Mike would come crawling back, begging for forgiveness because that’s what boyfriends do. And it’s followed up by Mike at Will’s house, begging for forgiveness.
Remember that they left the painting lie unresolved but that “it will pay off.”
Remember that if Will was going to be rejected, it would’ve been right then in season 4. Why drag it into the final season unless it will have a satisfying, significant, and meaningful pay-off?
Remember that Will was in focus while Mike professed his ‘love’ for El.
Remember “in the closet (at rink-o-mania).”
Remember Mike’s bedroom. Remember the fact that we were shown his parents had voted for Reagan for seemingly no reason.
Remember that in the very first episode, Joyce mentions Will’s sexuality and the fact that he was called slurs.
It’s always been there. Promo isn’t changing that.
The heart-shaped lightning flashes at the RIGHT moment. Noah: "Little do they know what's (flash!) COMING"
The heart-shaped lightning is a tiny Byler clue in the final shot of Season 4: it appears right above Will and Mike's heads. This show has had electricity mean romance. Will's half of the heart is lit by lightning -- remember, he is the one who (kind of) confessed his love -- there's half heart above Mike suggested by a cloud that isn't lit up yet.
At the end of the Season 4 cast reaction, it lights up at JUST the right moment!
Another clue that Noah's line is specifically about Byler.
Just sayin'!
Link
-teambyler
Suspicious 🧐
So they had Finn react to an object that represents El and an object that represents Will.
In El’s case, it was the pizza-box glasses, something they used to cover everything, something that if you put on you won’t be able to see. In Will’s case, it was the painting that *showed* Mike who he is in the party along with Will’s feelings, even if they were veiled behind a lie.
Interesting…
vs
Also, block the light… This reminds me of-
Mike could have used the glasses to talk about the scene with El and his speech but he didn't, while he didn't hesitate to talk about Will in the Van scene.
Very interesting imo 👀
Oh. My. God.
Noah said it. He fuckin said it.
Then he looks at the Hawkins and the duos and says
"I can't believe like this is what the world knows. Little do they know what's coming."
And that's how the Season 4 rewatch ends.
-teambyler
Ngl, I expected their reactions to the monologue scene, the fight, the Van scene... But not to that final shot. Again, Noah said a lot in a small sentence.
It's always Noah 😆
But Finn's reactions we're also very interesting. Talking about the painting, and his 'first' girlfriend, and how it should be easy to say I love you if you do love each other... "So why not say it?"
Also saying that Mike should have said that monologue earlier so that El could actually save them all. Overall, Finn was mocking Mike's inability to say I love you to the girl he's supposed to love.
I also like how both Noah and Finn were frustrated with Mike's obliviousness in the van...
But well, we do know it'll pay off so... :)
It's official: CASA BYLER!
This is the most exciting thing to come out yet for Byler fans!!!!!!
@woah-someone-actually already makes a lot of observations. I just want to point out what jumps out at me the most:
The Byers are living at the Wheelers! Mike and Will live together! Byler Byler Byler! (For anyone who doubts this is 100% confirmed, they're eating BREAKFAST. That's what people who live together do!)
Mike and Will are sitting next to each other! They will look at each other and talk. They will live together and talk. LOL (EDIT: And yes, there's the sliiightest hint of a rainbow between their heads!)
In fact they parallel Nancy and Jonathan (a canon couple), in how they're sitting. They're even paralleled in what they're doing in this very moment (Will and Jonathan arguing, Nancy and Mike working on their drinks.)
Will and Jonathan having the SAME exact expression and gesture is so funny to me.
EDIT: Saw the theory that Will might be mad that Jonathan just grabbed the syrup. If Will likes syrup on his eggs then that is a huge Byler hint lol. You don't just have a shared interest with Mike like that if you're not hinting at Byler endgame.
It looks like they'll play up for comedic effect how chaotic the Wheelers' new housemates are lol. The Wheelers are a stereotypical middle-class, quiet, composed, and atomized family who don't talk much to each other, while the Byers are more working-class and grew up in a loud home with Lonnie where they're used to saying what they think to each other.
The Wheelers are so quiet that Holly normally reads at breakfast. Which implies she's a nerd in the making! I'm guessing she plays D&D and will probably bond with Will, with Will drawing her characters. Mike might be the dungeon master. (They've said they're returning to Season 1 dynamics.) Holly and D&D mean more time for Byler! And if she gets taken by Vecna, then more Byler!
Where will Will sleep? And I wonder if Nancy and Jonathan will share a bed? I doubt they would, as having your kid sleep with someone else under your roof is probably too "out there" for the apparently conservative and traditional Wheelers. Wild speculation: if the house has a single guest room, Joyce would get that. Then I'm guessing that Will and Jonathan share the basement. But events could cause Mike and Will to share the same bedroom, like Will having nightmares...
EDIT: The idea that the house is crowded and chaotic might be setup for Mike and Will having to share the same room! I totally see Jonathan and Nancy being separated but it being okay for these 2 best friends to share space "because they're both boys." Hehe. Poor Mike AND Will will have heart attacks!
The Wheelers are probably going to be a bit annoyed by their guests. (But they were nice enough to take them in, bless their hearts.) But Mike probably won't mind because he's slept over at the Byers before and, of course, his best friend is here. <3
After a season where all the main characters were spread out, it will be REFRESHING for the show to "go back to Season 1 dynamics" and for us to see the Byers as a family, the Wheelers as a family, and something new: them being a JOINT FAMILY. All the characters we know and love will interacting non-stop! (Even when they don't want to LOL)
PREDICTIONS:
Jonathan says a swear word and Ted says "LANGUAGE!" trying to establish this is his house. Then Joyce drops cuss word and Ted rolls his eyes and gives up. =D
We know from teasers that Karen and Holly get attacked or stalked by a monster. We now also know it'll be in what is now the joint BYLER HOUSE. All the people in this picture who know about the Upside Down, etc. will likely be blindsided. Perhaps they are lured somewhere as bait, leaving Karen and Holly alone? Perhaps they failed to include them in the know about the supernatural? Mike, Will, Joyce, Nancy, and Jonathan will be wracked by GUILT for leaving unprotected people who are now part of THEIR JOINT FAMILY. The potential for all their bonds and relationships to strengthen -- particularly Mike and Will's -- is INSANE.
Will is a main character and a protagonist against Vecna this season. Mike and Will's relationship will deepen, as Will is directly involved protecting and saving Mike's family who are now his own.
-teambyler
EDIT: Can we please call it Casa Byler/the Byler House? Certain people won't like it I'm sure. =D
New promo has Finn with Will's gay-coded Ghostbusters proton pack
I know this is a bit of a stretch but we all know that if Byler is endgame they have to be super subtle with any hints they give. And hey it's promo season and we all love to overanalyze!
Alright, so they've been releasing videos of the cast being shown old props to get them to recall memories from old seasons. Well, a new video shows Finn being shown WILL'S Ghostbuster's proton pack:
It's the GAY one =D. Will's indicator has the colors of the rainbow pride flag on it, in rainbow order! Probably a deliberate Easter egg that he's gay.
Of all the boys' backpacks, only Will's was rainbow themed. In these pics from s2e2, you can see Will's backpack on the left, and Mike's on the right:
In this pic, Dustin's on the left and Lucas' is on the right. Dustin's has 4 colors (and the colors you'd expect a meter to have), but not a rainbow.
So aaaaanyway, Will's GAY backpack is the one they hand to Finn to promote Season 5, even though it wasn't the one he wore!
EDIT: Silly me for not including this (I'd noticed it before): the arrow's pointed at the color green, between the blue and yellow!
-teambyler
Perhaps THE most emotional Milev*n moment in s2 and Finn has nothing to say about it?
The Milev*n reunion was clearly the biggest part of the scene, and a high point of the SEASON.
"And Steve's like who the hell is that?"
"The only thing I can remember is the candlestick, honestly."
I get Finn's flippant humor, but COME ON now. Isn't this according to some people "the main ship of the show"? Have we ever seen Finn be so detracting with Byler?
I honestly thought, if they were going to preserve the Byler twist, they'd throw a bone to Milev*ns and make sure Finn said something about how emotional this scene was for him and his character. (Somebody chose this scene and chose him to react for that reason.) But either Finn dgaf, the producers of the reaction didn't, or a combination.
It's comical in its lackingness.
-teambyler
EDIT: So many people in the comments noticing how weird this was, too. Also an unhappy person (probably Milev*n shipper):
They've got a point! =D
EDIT 2: Okay, so if they're bringing up the candlestick and even trying to make it a meme, doesn't this mean we'll see Mike with a SWORD in s5? Pretty please? =D
While I love all of the byler analysis and all of the theories and discussions we have, I think it also isn’t really necessary to prove why Mike and Will are going to be endgame in the final season. Will and Mike have always had a different relationship that is clearly presented as special and unlike the other male friendships in this show, from day 1. And the only reason people don’t notice it is because of heteronormativity, and the writers of this show are very aware of the audiences heteronormativity, that’s why they play with it like a toy. The relationship between Mike and Will relies ON that view, because it’s a plot twist for the final season.
Season 4 took all of the details, all of the subtext and the queer coding, and made it canon in as explicit way as we’ve gotten thus far that Will was in love with Mike. And they didn’t just do that much. They also broke mileven up, and made Mike incapable of telling Eleven he loved her for unexplained reasons. All while Finn is acting Mike as a character with such emotional intensity that people who have never seen this show think HE’S the one in love with Will.
They intentionally wrote a love triangle where the straight couple continuing to exist results in a homophobic message in the show’s narrative. A show that prides itself on uplifting people that feel like they don’t belong in our society. A show where the central character of the plot is literally a gay boy in the 80’s.
They did not have to write it this way. They wrote it like that intentionally. Every time mileven was on screen, what did they do? They panned back to Will, as if to make the audience feel genuine guilt over continuing to ship this toxic straight couple just because boy meets girl 🤪 Not a single happy moment was showcased between Mike and Eleven without the show itself continuing to side with Will.
The season wasn’t about mileven, it was about how Mike wasn’t with Will. They wanted you to feel like shit about it. They wanted you to sympathize with Will. They want you to ROOT FOR HIM! And the only way to root for him is to root for Mike to be with him.
This isn’t shipper delusion, and it’s not fanon. It is playing out right on our TV screens for everyone to see. This is not subtext, it’s textual at this point. They could have written mileven to be a happy couple that worked well together. They could have written them working their issues out and had Mike be a supportive friend to Will, platonic with a capital P. They could have made Will gay as they always intended but just scrapped the idea of Mike being Will’s one and only love interest. They could have made a new character in season 4 and had us grow to love him like we did with Eddie, and have that new boy be Will’s future boyfriend.
But they didn’t do any of that. This story could have been written a billion other ways, but they deliberately chose to write it in such a way that the only GOOD outcome IS byler. And that’s exactly why it’s going to happen. Season 4 was them putting their money where their mouths are and proving they were going to follow through with what they always intended this show to be about. That we weren’t crazy, and that it wasn’t just subtext and queer coding, that all of it means something when for nearly a decade we have been nothing but a laughing stock to the entire fandom.
We were right when we said Will was gay years before it was canon. We were right when we said Will was in love with Mike years before it was canon. And we will be right again when it is revealed as a plot twist that Mike is also gay and in love with Will, just as we have said he is for years.
Agree 100%, no notes.
-teambyler
this is byler crumbs To Me i don't care
To Mlvns those who think (for some reason I can't figure out) that Mike's answer (my mom) was genuine or Finn's (like what??), Lucas and Dustin's reaction to it should be all you need to realize Mike actually didn't have plans with his mom. Nor El for that matter.
I mean, come on.
Also, it is a skit. It's not like we're gonna see it in the season or something. It's promotion. But they're clearly gonna play around it and give us hints. This is one btw.