I feel like I’m the only one who really appreciated Will’s monologue explaining the painting to Mike. It’s actually really disheartening to see everyone saying that they are upset by it and how it was used to further Mike and Eleven’s relationship. If you think that, you’re missing the point that this was a really great scene showing the experience of a gay boy who is still processing his own sexuality in the 1980s completely on his own.
Let me break this down: at this point we know that Will is gay and has feelings for Mike. Will is complex and his character from the first episode has been highlighted as being emotionally intelligent beyond his years. That being said, they haven’t actually told us that. To me this suggests that Will is still figuring this out himself and the painting monologue was a huge part of him processing and accepting it. Additionally, you cannot expect Mike, the hard headed dude who can’t process simple emotions, to be able to pick up on anything that Will subtly hints towards. That’s just not the character that makes up Mike.
In my personal experience, I developed feelings for a friend before I knew what sexuality even was. I grew up extremely sheltered from gay relationships and was extremely confused and frustrated that I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I grew slightly possessive and jealous of my friend when she would spend more time with other people. She started to question why and I immediately threw up walls and pretended like I never felt that way. I can only imagine that this situation isn’t as common as it once was. I know it still happens but let flashback to Robin worrying about asking the wrong girl out and being outed and ostracized. Contextually, it makes sense that Will does not fully come out to Mike or tell him how he feels. One, he feels hated by the world and two, he doesn’t want Mike to look at him differently. It wouldn’t make sense for this to be moving slowly. I mean for fucks sake, they are only freshmen in high school. I didn’t even accept my sexuality until I was 25!
The scene with Jonathan at Surfer Boy just highlights the fact that Will has been very much forgotten and left behind, even by his family. El’s lack of friends is highlighted but if you look close, it kind of seems like Will hasn’t really made any either. And his best friend who was always the one who checked in on him is pulling away even more. Will and Mike’s friendship was always Mike chasing after Will and in season three we see Will’s distraught over Mike pulling away. And even though they reconciled at the end of that season, season four told us that Mike has pulled away even further. (Now is that because he is somewhat aware of Will’s feelings and maybe unsure of how to handle that with a potential for somewhat requited feelings? I believe so.)
I personally think it would be a disservice to a portrayal of a queer experience to undermine Will’s painting monologue as simple plot device for a straight relationship. Will love El and Mike. More than anything, he wants to comfort Mike and for him to be happy. So he used the painting to do that. But I’m the midst of it he got caught up in processing his own experience and emotions. That’s the whole reason that he started getting teary eyed. He was upset that Mike is with Eleven. He was upset because this is probably the first he ever been able to put into words what he is going through. It was a cathartic release and a moment I really resonated with and felt because I have been there! That was a big first step on my journey to self acceptance in my sexuality.
OKAY what I would like to see happen in the future but also just don’t know if we will have time for it in Will’s journey to self acceptance: Will and Mike do have a chat and Will comes out to Mike and admits his feelings but knows, accepts, and communicates that 1) even if Mike in some way reciprocates the feelings, that he is not at a place of self acceptance where any type of healthy romantic relationship is viable and 2) Will doesn’t actually want a relationship with Mike because he has recognized that it would never be what he wants it to be because of romanticizing the whole thing.
In the end, Will is able to use this as a development situation where he fully comes to terms with his sexuality. Simultaneously, Mike begins this process. Together, they remain very good friends that have come to terms with their differences in situation but look beyond that because their bond goes beyond that of any thing romantic or friendship. Maybe down the line we see them in a relationship later in life ala Harry Potter epilogue style.
I think the prioritizing self acceptance and portraying the differences in that process of coming out to yourself versus the ones around you could be so freaking impactful to the community as a whole. It also would just be so great to see gays who have feelings for each other accept this but recognize that they aren’t ready for an actual relationship and may never be but use it to develop themselves.
If complex queers and their relationships is what you want, this is a great example of movement towards that. That it’s not just about the relationships themselves anymore. We’ve achieved that. Now it’s about the complexities of those individuals and relationships that make them different and harder to navigate than straight ones.
In conclusion, Will Byers in season four is the perfect example of the representation that we need.
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