The way ST4 breaks up Lumax and implies that Mileven are going strong in the first episode but then proceeds to develop them in entirely different directions for the rest of the season makes ST5 all the more incoherent.
Even while broken up, Lumax still show their compatibility. He doesn’t need a third party to point out to him that she isn’t alright; he notices himself. He checks on her and lets her know he is there for her, and she listens to his ball game despite her depression. They proceed to spend the rest of the season together, reconnecting and strengthening their bond, especially as Lucas stops trying to be someone he’s not and makes Max smile as soon as he returns to his real dorky self. She never needs to say out loud “I love you for exactly who you are”; she shows it in how she finally starts responding to his efforts once he quits the basketball team and starts pressing piano keys to “open the door to Vecna’s secret lair, voila” like the nerdy guy she fell in love with. They also find a new common interest in Kate Bush, as her music’s salvation of Max makes Lucas a fan. The power of their “show don’t tell” romance reaches its peak when they arrange their movie date without a single spoken word. They don’t say it, and they don’t have to. She draws the picture of them, and he smiles, and they make eye contact, and they both know they want the same thing. Key point there: she draws the picture. No pretense or deception there. It is her picture, her authentic gesture of love from her heart to his. Even though tragedy strikes and they end the season separated, their relationship has never been stronger.
Mileven is the opposite. Though they are technically in a relationship, all of their screen time reveals how wrong they are for each other. It’s all pretenses and facades for them; Mike dresses in a totally different style that doesn’t suit him at all, and El lies to him for months. Unlike Lucas, who sees Max’s pain with his own eyes, Mike doesn’t even notice El is getting bullied right in front of him; Will has to tell him. And this is a guy who has dealt with bullies himself for years, but still cannot notice the red flags in Angela’s behavior toward El. When the facades drop, there is nothing left. While Lucas recognizes that Billy’s loss is hurting Max and knows what to say to get through to her because he knows her so well, Mike does not understand why El lied at all, and cannot say what she makes it very clear she needs him to say. And then they spend the rest of the season apart. He plays no role in her character growth because she undergoes her arc without him. All the rest of Mike’s screen time is devoted to him sharing the same communication and compatibility as Lumax with someone else: Will. Mike notices Will’s frustration at the rink, and Will knows exactly what to say to get through to Mike, without even spelling it out. He doesn’t say it and he doesn’t have to. Just as Max loves Lucas’ authentic nerdy self and shows it in her emotional reactions to his quirks, Will loves Mike’s authentic nerdy self and shows it in his artistic expression. In the end, Mike finally tells El what she needs to hear … after falling in love with the picture that Will created. While Lucas knows and sees for himself that Max has created hers, Mike thinks El created “hers,” but she did not. While Lumax share eye contact as their love is reaffirmed, Mike makes his big speech to El while her eyes are closed. While Lumax reunites because of honesty, Mileven reunites because of lies. Thus, in their respective final moments of shared screentime in the season, Max is in Lucas’ arms, while El walks away from Mike, who sits and talks with Will instead.
The fact that s5 expects us to believe that these two couples share the same thing, the same depth of love, after the entirety of s4 shows us that they do not, is inexcusable.
The Duffers are the delusional ones.
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