Mike sad as shit and still closeted, El has died or become Dora the explorer... meanwhile he's happy and thriving in the queer clubs and has new friends ❤️
I am so intensely devastated by volume 2 for a lot of reasons, but the way the Duffers handled Will’s arc is especially hurtful.
I feel absolutely crushed that Will shut himself down and minimize his love for Mike without ever truly, candidly expressing his feelings. I feel even more crushed that Mike gave such a distant, half-hearted reaction. I know how Will feels, or how he should feel if the writing wasn’t completely devoid of realistic emotions.
When I was 17, I came out to a room full of people who didn’t deserve my vulnerability, and one of those people in the room was the girl I was head over heels for at the time. I was certain she was straight (although in hindsight, was she? A story for another time) and I recall deliriously hoping that my coming out would somehow change things. I was hoping for an avalanche.
I didn’t get one. Instead, I got a lot of blank stares, and afterwards, the girl made sure everyone knew that she did not support the queer community and did not want to be associated with it. I still carry the pain of that experience with me. Not because I still have feelings for her, but because I devoted years of my life to caring about a person in ways she never knew, and it meant nothing to her.
I saw myself in Will. His love for Mike and his internal conflict about it reminded me of how I felt as a teenager- unloved, confused, alone, different, wrong. I wanted this girl so badly, and the realization that I would never have her wrecked me. Watching this stupid show, I let myself imagine Will’s happy ending, feeling loved and wanted and validated. I let myself imagine what my story would have looked like in another timeline. I had so much hope going into volume 2 that I might get to see Will’s story, my story, have that happy ending I yearned for as a teenager. Instead, I got to relive one of my worst experiences as a young queer person.
I can’t say I’m totally surprised. A bunch of straight men would write a shallow, impersonal coming out scene driven by fear under the guise of “self acceptance.” True self acceptance is calling things what they are instead of tiptoeing around them. Using the words “gay” and “love” would have been a great start for a supposed self acceptance arc about a character who is canonically gay and in love. But sure, let’s pretend it’s a silly little crush and never address it again, probably.
It is baffling and deeply upsetting that the Duffers and whoever else sat on this scene for years and still decided to go through with it.
oh god i hate the coming out scene more with every second. i hate that he came out to his mom at the same time as his science teacher i hate that joyce didnt show any surprise or emotion during her son's full on fucking panic attack i hate that murray was there i hate that none of his friends reacted i hate hes my tammy three episodes after it was established hes been in love with mike since kindergarten i hate that that line outs robin to a bunch of adults she doesnt know right after she said she wanted to come out on her own terms i hate that nobody comments on it or has anything to say i hate that theyre all accepting and theres no complex emotions at all despite it being the 80s i hate the fuckass me toos and that mike is like fifth to go i hate how nothing of substance gets said by anyone other than the kid pouring his heart out to like twenty people i hate that everyone claps at the end and they all move on i hate mike wheeler's complete blank slate of an expression and el's complete lack of emotion for her BROTHER that she remembers sticking by her side in cali when everyone thought SHE was the weird freak i hate 'everyone should know this too' i hate that it was done out of fear and to get it out of the way instead of as any actual emotional resolution to the character arcs theyve been building up for years i hate that everyone sat there in silence and watched this kid almost throw up with tears as he talked i hate that he says 'i dont like girls' instead of 'i like boys' and how it focuses on the negative and something he lacks instead of a source of joy in his life i hate that that line calls back to his and mike's argument in season 3 but in a way that makes it seem like mike was in the right i hate that nobody had anything to say i hate that hopper was there as though he wasnt asking joyce whether her son was a fag in season one i hate the utter lack of complexity or emotions or character i hate it being framed as a confession of secrets that he was going to have to get out the way sooner or later i hate the message it sends to younger viewers about bending over backwards to get accepted for your queerness. about getting over decade old 'crushes' because you dont want to make it weird and telling every single person in your life at once because you 'owe it to them' even though you have no reason to trust half the people in the room with your bleeding heart and about making a point beforehand to remind them that youre exactly the same as they are so youre not a freak and they should really just forget about it as soon as possible because itll be easier to accept if youre just like them even though youre not, youre not the same, it's not just i like girls vs boys, it's the way your entire childhood has been shaped by fear and bullying and being ostracized for things you couldnt control and the constant terror of growing apart from your only friends who you feel safe around and watching everyone around you get girlfriends while you sit at home waiting for them to call but dont worry about that im just like you im not a freak im not a faggot im just like you. will byers take my hand ill lead you out of this stupid fucking show
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