They redid the van drawing to get it JUST RIGHT to show Byler endgame
In Stranger Things 4x9, look at the first shot of El describing her "piggyback"plan. The camera is zooming in. If the camera had kept zooming in, the two circled figures would have kept moving to the right, past Mike and Will:
But the next time we see it, the circle's directly between them, pairing Mike with Will and NOT with El. And they redid the drawing:
And judging from the style, it kind of looks like someone else drew it (not Millie), while the three of them posed in place.
The shot already strongly hinted at Byler endgame. But this shows they put extra, meticulous effort into it. They absolutely wanted to circle Mike and Will.
Just like the final shot of s4, there's NO explanation for this, but to hint at Byler endgame.
(I keep seeing fear we might be queerbaited. But this is NOT effective queerbaiting. It doesn't titillate or advertise itself to draw in LGBT+ fans; it's purely symbolic and for obsessive people like us lol. This is what preparing a plot twist looks like: the clues are SUBTLE so most people miss them, and only become clear after the big reveal.)
-teambyler
Okay so since I'm here, I thought I would add to that (I know, I'm late to the party, but I have to exorcize it out of my mind, sorry if it's been pointed out already).
I think another reason why this feels deliberate is because El's drawing process isn't natural (only my ambidextrous ass notices things like these but bear with me).
In "occidental" or "western" cultures, the traditional way of writing is from left to right. That's become some sort of instinct that affects the way we engage with pieces of art or even the way we think about time, as one big arrow that starts on the left and points towards the right.
That's especially true for right-handed people, and here, El is obviously right-handed. She starts her drawing in the middle because that's convenient and she knows what she will add to it in a second.
As a right-handed person telling a story, it would have been more logical (and natural) for her to draw the other two stick figures on the right. Instead, she has to reach over to the left side to complete her drawing. Talk about intentional.
Now you may argue the opposite, that El is actually accomodating the viewer who gets to read the illustration "the traditional way" and therefore is not confused, but I'm pretty sure the point here is actually to draw attention to the stick figures and to the characters they're meant to represent. Which is also why it had to be framed precisely (and thus redrawn).
That's only a little detail but, well, y'know, the devil's in that shit.
