From a writer's perspective, how true is it when people claim that Mike's perspective has been hidden from the audience for the past 2-3 seasons?
How much proof is there of that, actually? Or do we just not want to believe that S3 and S4 Mike really was just hyper-focused on El, and we were given his perspective, but all he talked about was their relationship drama and his insecurities bc that's what took up most of his attention?
Mike's Hidden Perspective
So, I do think it's pretty accurate insofar as "his perspective" is being used as shorthand for us as the audience getting to see into his head without filtering it through the lens of another character. I actually think season 5 volume 1 had the very first tidbits of Mike's perspective in a long time, and those were extremely telling about his character, but we'll get to that.
First, let's look at some season 5 scenes we've gotten from other characters that are very clearly rooted in their own POV.
Consider Nancy's breakdown in the hospital in 502, her can't wash blood off hands, out damn spot moment. She is alone, and we see her fall apart in a way she rarely does in front of anyone else.
We get Lucas's POV when he talks to Max in 502 and, while he seems to have held himself together during his visit to Max with Will in 501, we now see him start to fall apart, crying, asking for a sign. This scene is very clearly in his perspective as, once again, we're getting insight into his headspace directly from him when he's alone.
Last, we get Will's perspective throughout volume 1 as he struggles with his connection to the hivemind, but most notably, of course, during Sorcerer, when he finally looks inward and ultimately discovers abilities he didn't know he had.
The key features of these core POV scenes are a focus on an emotional reaction while alone or otherwise looking inward. Additionally, these POV moments feature, if not explicit flashbacks (as with Will), then the implication of memories and past trauma affecting them today (as with Nancy and Lucas). In this way, we feel an emotional throughline from the character's arc across seasons where we see how the events of not just this season but every season has affected them. We have not yet gotten such a moment from Mike.
Next, let's look at some scenes Mike has had in previous seasons where we get only glimpses into his head, but were still being filtered through the lens of another character.
The closest we get to seeing into Mike's head (prior to season 5, which we'll get to) are his heart-to-hearts with Will. In 404, he admits to "worrying too much about El," where, as you see in the screenshot, the narrative focuses more on Will's response to that than to the internal feelings Mike may have been having to inspire him to say so. We have him in 408 talking about feeling unneeded in regards to El, and again, while he is being honest, the story focuses primarily on Will's response to that: the painting. These scenes with Mike are clearly rooted in Will's perspective, not Mike's.
Similarly, Mike's "I love her and I can't lose her again" in season 3 is not focused on Mike or his feelings and reactions, but on the group's reaction to him saying so. His "I love you" speech to El in 409 focuses on Will pushing him to say it, and on El's reactions, but once again, not on what really fuels him internally in that moment. His fight with El in 403 is another example where we are meant to focus on El's reaction to his words, not on Mike's intentions and feelings themselves.
In other words, every time Mike talks about how he feels in season 3 and 4, we are seeing it through the lens of someone else.
Last, let's look at those season 5 scenes where we do start to see Mike's POV, and what they tell us about him
I've already talked about how Mike's scene with Holly in 501 is not just him comforting Holly, but him explaining his own psyche and motivations. This scene is in his POV - we even see him alone at the beginning of the scene, waiting for Holly, making it clear this is in his perspective rather than Holly's.
When he tells her that he turns to Mike the Brave when he's scared, he is admitting to the audience that he is putting on a facade - being the Mike The Brave he needs to be for others, even while being "scared shitless".
The only other Mike POV scene we have in season 5 volume 1 is him in the hospital, when he sees the Wrinkle in Time book and begins to theorize about Mr. Whatsit.
It is no coincidence that both of the scenes we see from Mike's perspective are about him using fiction to make sense of a horrifying reality. Yes, his theories help save the day; and yes, his bravery makes him a rock for the other characters. But when it comes down to his perspective, we see clear as day that he is suppressing all of the trauma, emotional response, and fear that comes with these horrors by using fiction to filter it all.
Note how these Mike POV scenes differ greatly from the POV scenes we've seen with other characters so far in season 5.
While Nancy, Lucas, and Will's POV scenes allow them to look inward, have emotional reactions, and connect their current characterization with their trajectories as characters across seasons, we have not yet seen such a moment from Mike. That is because his POV moments show us just how deep he is burying those feelings in favor of moving forward and saving the day as Mike the Brave.
This is precisely why we are long overdue for a Mike breakdown, and the longer he seems to hold it together, the bigger that breakdown must be.
So when we talk about lacking Mike Wheeler's perspective, it's not just about seeing him alone, or seeing camera angles from his perspective, it's about seeing into his psyche, into his head, into his motivations in a way that is unfiltered by other character's perception and unfiltered by his own emotional repression.
