im pissed and disgusted by the queerbait so
here is a masterpost on everything that doesnt make sense because byler isnt canon, plot holes that exist because byler isnt canon, all the ways mikes character was ruined by making him straight, AND how it was homophobic. i include explanations and categorize things by color coding! this includes scenes in the show, interviews, and posts from the stranger things team. (note: im not going to include things noah said-explained in tags)
warning, itās very long because im including EVERYTHING. I found and listed 108 examples here. enjoyāor donāt.
1. mike and elās fight in season 4. specifically, āit was like a fight you canāt come back from.ā and then their argument is never resolved. they have barely any scenes or chemistry in season 5, and they remain a couple. plot hole because: where is the explanation as to how they got back on good terms? keeping them together is a direct contradiction of the narrative thatās been set up.
2. mike being unable to say āi love youā to el. even when he says goodbye to el in the void before she disappears in the season 5 finale, she is the only one to say āi love you.ā mike does not say it back. ruined mikes character because: it makes him out to be an asshole. plot hole because: they never explain why he goes from being able to say āi love youā in season 3 to being unable to in season 4 and 5.
3. mike not reacting to elās kiss in season 3 at the end of the season finale. plot hole because: he was interested in el earlier this season. what changed? no explanation given. only makes sense if he is no longer romantically interested in her and/or he is gay. neither is true according to the series finale.
4. robin and willās āsignalsā scene. plot hole because: why would will ask for signals if he didnāt have anyone in mind? why would he ask clarification with āhow obvious?ā
5. mike and will flirting in the field in season 5. doesnāt make sense because: why would will flirt back with mike knowing el and mike are together? why would he do so if he āknewā mike is straight?
6. mike being in willās reel in sorcerer. doesnāt make sense because: robin said her reel only had her in it. robin said she didnāt need tammy to realize and accept herself. why would will need mike, then, if that isnāt how robin did it AND theyāre setting up will to parallel robin?
7. will saying āi know heās not like meā and āheās just my tammyā and āi HAD a crush on someoneā in his coming out scene. doesnāt make sense because: why would will flirt with mike knowing that? how is it possible for will to get over his years long crush in the span of a day? homophobic because: youāre downplaying a GAY characterās love for someone as a crush and being something that could be easily tossed aside. this is not done with any other character.
8. will being the only person in the cast without a love interest. plot hole because: if robin and will are meant to parallel each other, why doesnāt he get a love interest? we get a glimpse of him talking to someone at a barāthatās not a confirmed partner. thatās not even crumbs. narratively him getting a partner was necessary. homophobic because: you are singling out a gay character.
9. mike not being able to hug will at the airport. plot hole because: we never get an explanation for this. they werenāt in an actual argument, and they ended season 3 on good terms. if mike isnāt gay and didnāt suspect anything, this has zero purpose in the story. ruins mikes character because: he has no reason to dislike or distance himself from will because he is confirmed to not have known about the crush, and he is not gay canonically. he was just being an asshole.
10. mike not reaching out to will when he moved to lenora. plot hole because: again, if mike and willās ended on good terms and he doesnāt canonically have feelings for mike, then WHY didnāt he call? there was zero narrative or emotional payoff for this, either. it serves no point. ruins mikes character because: it goes against mikes own words. he said they would stay best friends, and then didnāt. and he admits regretting this and missing will. so again, if there was no motive or reason for this underneath that, heās an asshole.
11. paralleling stancy to mileven through the āyou canāt say you love meā plotline. plot hole because: why parallel your characters and relationships only for that parallel to not have any payoff?
12. paralleling rovickie and vickieās boyfriend to byler and mileven in season 4 through cinematography. plot hole because: again, why parallel to have no payoff? this serves no purpose now.
13. the rain fight between mike and will in season 3. ruins mikes character because: if mike wasnāt projecting, then he was just being homophobic and an asshole. plot hole because: making a callback to that fight in wills coming out scene without an apology from mike is just bringing up wills trauma needlessly and without resolution. homophobic because: that comment is so fucking homophobic i donāt even NEED to explain why. itās obvious.
14. mike apologizing to will after the rain fight, but not el after their breakup. ruins mikes character because: mike is shown to simply not care about his girlfriend. plot hole because: it is never explained to us why mike cares more about will than his own girlfriend.
15. using the painting to help fix mileven. ruins mikes character because: mike canāt say i love you unless the world is ending and needs his best friends support for it. homophobic because: using a gay characters pain to keep a straight couple canon is fucked up
16. not addressing the painting after season 4. plot hole because: mike had all the pieces to understand the painting came from will. el told him in the letter he was painting for someone he likes. mike now knows will loves him. will used similar language in both the painting and coming out scene. the lack of confrontation doesnāt work narratively and comes off as forgetfulness and an unfinished plot.
17. mike refusing to play dnd in season 3 but playing it again after will moves away. plot hole because: if mike didnāt want to play because ātheyāre growing up,ā then that doesnāt make sense. if he changed his mind, it should have been explained. but mikes back and forth feelings on dnd are never discussed. ruins mikes character because: heās a hypocrite and bullied will for no reason.
18. mike flirting with will in season 4, specifically āi didnāt say it. you didnāt have to.ā doesnāt make sense because: why play it with that tone if it meant literally nothing????
19. the writers referencing korrasami and catradora. doesnāt make sense because: itās two gay ships that get together in the end. that didnāt happen to any couple at all. and nothing ever came close to either of these ships in this show. homophobic because: youāre promoting your straight, queerbaiting show with genuine queer representation in other media.
20. jancy paralleling byler in season 2, specifically with mike and jonathan helping will and nancy get back safe on halloween. plot hole: again, why parallel if itās for nothing?
21. āthe painting will payoffā in interviews. doesnāt make sense because: that was literally a lie. homophobic because: you lied KNOWING it would give queer fans hope.
22. ābyler fans are the loudestā said by the duffers in an interview. homophobic because: why are you mocking a giant part of your fanbase?
23. āwill and mikes story isnāt over yetā said in an article in reference to the finale. homophobic because: that was a lie and it was to bait hopeful fans. doesnāt make sense because: itās factually not true. their 20 second conversation was a throwaway and did not give us any new info about their relationship.
24. mike promising will they would be a team at the end of season 4. doesnāt make sense because: they were not paired up in season 5. they were not a team. ruins mikes character because: heās an inconsistent friend.
25. creelby and byler parallels. doesnāt make sense because: they said the first shadow content would make its way into season 5 and it barely did.
26. shawn posting only the posters of will and mike on his story. homophobic because: youāre baiting people.
27. hans and leia parallels to byler/mileven. doesnāt make sense because: it was all for nothing
28. paralleling the rink o mania byler fight with high school musical (a canon romantic pairing). doesnāt make sense because: if it wasnāt romantic then literally why?
29. paralleling the byler rain fight to a canon gay couple from another show. homophobic because: itās literally baiting and uses an actual queer show to hurt queer viewers
30. any and all byler posts on stranger things accounts. homophobic because: obvious baiting and playing into hopes of queer people getting decent representation
31. paralleling ācrazy togetherā to āonly love makes you that crazyā. homophobic because: you want us to think theyāre romantic in some capacity and then you lied. itās misleading.
32. forgetting wills birthday. homophobic because: even if it WAS an accident, itās so fucked up it happened to the one character whoās been traumatized the most, doesnāt get a satisfying ending, and is gay. ruins mikes character because: not only did he forget wills birthday, he complained at him all day. thats supposed to be his best friend. plot hole because: you make your plot about wormholes, have a clock and time theme in season 4, make henryās birthday the same as wills, make will be chosen for a reason by vecna, and then you never explain any of it with this.
33. āwe asked finn and noah to carry a lot of emotional weightā homophobic because: most actors carried more emotional weight than finn did. he had ONE SCENE in the entire season where he showed emotion. meanwhile gaten, natalia, and maya had way more emotion and you CHOSE to single out finn and pair his name with noahās because you knew what bylers would think. doesnāt make sense because: not true. finn did not.
34. āitās a shitty knockoffā in reference to mikes california outfit, obviously talking about how heās not being himself. plot hole: you set us up for that, and then never show us what heās hiding and/or what makes him not himself.
35. āmike is the heart this seasonā. homophobic because: you purposefully used language that refers to the painting scene, which is about wills love for mike. doesnāt make sense because: itās factually not true. lucas did more for the party than mike did.
36. paralleling wills self acceptance arc to robinās. plot hole because: if youāre going to make wills entire coming out scene, entire self acceptance arc with the film reel, etc using the tammy storyline and robinās adviceāand go step by step in the same order of events that robin went throughāthen narratively you have to conclude that parallel. robin gets the girl. will does not get the boy. homophobic because: instead of giving will an original storyline, youāre just recycling another queer characterās experience
37. will repeating some of robins exact dialogue such as āit was always about me,ā ātammy,ā etc. homophobic because: again, recycling another queer character because youāre too lazy to be original. not all gay people are the same for fucks sake
38. āwill learning that sometimes your crush doesnāt like you back was the important message we needed to tellā said by the duffers in an interview. homophobic because: first of all, why are straight people telling queer people what we need? you donāt know us. secondly, this is not an original concept. stories have been using this trope and narrative for ages. thirdly, telling other characters they need love to get past their struggles only for that pattern to not follow the gay kid is crazy work.
39. showing a clip of mike looking at will while heās possessed in the trailer of season 5 as a parallel to season 2. doesnāt make sense because: this clip literally has nothing more to it in the show. it has zero purpose.
40. saying in one interview that the intent was for people to see mike understood will was talking about him in the coming out scene, only to then backtrack in a video interview, AND THEN throw that away with a vague conversation with mike and will in the finale. homophobic because: you were lying to keep queer people hopeful after the backlash so you wouldnāt lose finale viewers.
41. saying you were originally going to write wills coming out scene to be during the painting reveal/in the van. doesnāt make sense because: why did you change your mind? it would have worked better than the shit show we got. plot hole: so mike is oblivious to what the painting means. was he meant to not be oblivious then? that wouldāve changed the course of byler.
42. the finale scene where will asks for them to stay friends and then mike says āno. best friendsā. homophobic because: i shouldnāt even have to explain that. are you fucking serious? bait bait bait bro. fakeout scene. ruins mikes character because: itās shitty to give will hope for no fucking reason
43. mike apologizing to will for not realizing will was struggling with being gay. doesnāt make sense because: literally if mike is not gay, what would him realizing this have changed? what would he be able to do? after āitās not my fault you donāt like girlsā itās clear mike wouldāve been useless. plot hole because: he couldāve apologized for literally anything else. laundry list of apologies he needs to make for will. choosing this instead was weird.
44. keeping mileven ambiguous until literally the last 45 minutes of the series finale. homophobic because: you knew what you were doing giving people hope and trying to keep views up. plot hole: it made mileven so weak. they had no chemistry. mike and els goodbye scene fell so flat because of that.
45. āsee what happens, michael?ā comment ted makes at mike for wills disappearance (implying itās because heās gay) in season 1. plot hole: why imply mike is gay if heās not gay??
46. āyou can tell me thingsā karen says to mike about wills disappearanceāwhich is exactly what she says to nancy about steve (canon couple at the time). bonus points because el was in a literal closet during that scene. plot hole: why imply their friendship is different if it never was meant to be?
47. ted wheeler breaking mikes closet during the demo fight. doesnāt make sense: why that symbolism if for nothing?
48. mike having a one way sign into his closet. doesnāt make sense: again, why if not gay?
49. costume designer making robins season 4 outfit have triangle imagery to showcase her queerness and giving mikes custom shirt a triangle, too. doesnāt make sense: why is he gay IF HES NOT GAY?
50. finn saying āmike is just trying to stay on a normal pathā in reference to season 4 mike. doesnāt make sense: mike literally says in season 4 that he doesnāt want to be popular. he says heās been bullied his whole life. this is just not true.
51. the partyās bullies throwing homophobic insults about will at mike SPECIFICALLY. doesnāt make sense: why at mike and no one else? it only makes sense if itās because those gay comments are also about him
52. mike is bullied by being called frog face, while everyone else is bullied for being a minority. doesnāt make sense: why is mike the only one without such an insult?
53. the cali plotline as a whole, which only existed to establish and build upon mike and wills relationship. plot hole: if mike and el were built up for a breakup, and an entire season was spent discussing how in love will is with mike, then why did it lead to nothing? the narrative flow abruptly ended.
54. āa brush of the knee, a bump of the elbow, a shared lookā all being signs someone likes you, and season 5 gives us all of that with mike and will. homophobic because: BAIT. plot hole: why build this narrative only to abruptly end it?
55. āin the closetā playing when mike starts to regret fighting with will at rink o mania. doesnāt make sense because: it couldāve started playing when we saw el but they chose to make it on mike.
56. āweāre friends. WEāRE FRIENDSā plot hole because: no one implied you werenāt. that was all you making it have romantic connotations, mike. confirmed by the fact that mike was oblivious to wills feelings here. ruins mikes character because: he has learned nothing from āitās not my fault you donāt like girls.ā same shit different font.
57. āthe first i love youā playing only during breakup scenes. but it plays with milevenā¦only for no breakup to happen. doesnāt make sense because: you canāt keep making parallels and patterns and breaking them.
58. mikes reaction to will gaining powers in sorcerer. doesnāt make sense: it was shot romantically and choosing to focus on mikes reaction more than wills mother wasā¦a choice.
59. mike constantly correcting everyone on will being a sorcerer. plot hole: why is mike the only one being so pushy and adamant? how is this supposed to be read if itās not romantic? the other characters reacting weirdly to his insistence speaks volumes.
60. small town boy being on mikes official playlist. homophobic because: bait.
61. mike liking butthole surfers and robin disliking it. homophobic because: bait.
62. will asking robin if she got with vickie after coming out. plot hole: sets us up narratively for will to end up with someone. doesnāt happen.
63. ājonathan helps will get something he wantsā said in an interview. doesnāt make sense: didnāt happen. was a lie.
64. the blue and yellow lighting. plot hole: building a pattern and storytelling with cinematography for nothing.
65. the lighting choices in the field scene: soft romantic and hopeful. doesnāt make sense because: all this for what? im tired.
66. the van scene taking 12 hours and specific comments being made on how they tried to get the lighting just right. doesnāt make sense: why then? just why.
67. mike having imagery with women and frowning, and then having imagery of men and smiling. homophobic because: obvious queer coding for nothing.
68. mike being paralleled to brenner in season 4 with āwhat did you do?ā. plot hole: why make him look so bad and incompatible with el only for them to never resolve the arguments and be a couple in the next season? ruins mikes character: bad bf for not comforting el after she was bullied at rink o mania.
69. mike doing a triple take in season 4. homophobic: gay for nothing bro. playing into romantic tropes to have no payoff.
70. will talking about being scared because āwhat if they donāt like the truthā only for mike to nod and agree in season 4āin reference to will being gay. plot hole: mike is scared to open up. and then he never opens up. to anyone. for season 4 AND 5.
71. mike not reacting to will being in danger. or his parents being in danger. or holly being in danger. or nancy. for all of season 5. ruins mikes character: if itās not because he was bottling up his emotions and hiding somethingāwhich we now know wasnāt the case and he was just genuinely acting this wayāthen heās an asshole. we know he can react and emote, heās done it in seasons prior.
72. having will be in love with mike for 3 entire seasons at minimum. plot hole: narrative build up tells us it was a slow burn. but then the candle went out and nothing happened. it doesnāt follow narrative storytelling. homophobic: giving will the character and us the viewers hope for YEARS and knowing it wasnāt going to happen is cruel
73. having will be in love with mike. homophobic: for will to have an acceptance arc and a gay arc, he didnāt need a crush. he didnāt need a love interest. making it canon and then treating it this way is queerbait plain and simple.
74. mike telling el āi feel like my life started that day i found you in the woodsā. homophobic because: will byers has to listen to his best friend say his life started the day he went missing. like what the fuck? ruins mikes character because: it contradicts what he said in season 2āhe said the best thing he ever did was ask will to be friends. it also just makes him an asshole because he knows how will has been traumatized since that day.
homophobic because: self explanatory. bait.
homophobic because: someone in production literally told them to hold hands. the bathroom is named dick. come on. queerbait.
77. ALL of the dick jokes. robin saying āi like dickā then panning over to mike and will looking at each other. the bathroom being named dick. homophobic because: come ON. QUEERBAIT.
78. will being in almost every shot of mileven in season 4. doesnāt make sense: genuinely if not for the love triangle imagery, why was will haunting mileven constantly?
79. mike and el reuniting in season 4 after they find project nina. mike looking at el and then will smiling. and then the smile drops when he looks back at el. doesnāt make sense: if not romantic confusion, what purpose does this serve?
80. mike and el reuniting at project nina EXACTLY like will and el do with a hug and pressing foreheads. doesnāt make sense: why compare SIBLINGS to a ROMANTIC PAIRING?? weird weird weird if not meant to be read as platonic mileven.
81. robin looking at mike and will in the field being framed exactly like how steve looks at vickie and robin in season 4. doesnāt make sense: for the billionth time i am asking WHY the parallel if it was for nothing?
82. āi donāt believe in coincidencesā -lucas in season 5. plot hole: you say that but then the whole season is FULL of coincidencesāeither plot holes, or mistakes, or things that straight up donāt work. homophobic: arguably bait.
83. mike being oblivious to the painting, will flirting in the field, and literally the past 5 seasons, but understanding that will was talking about him in the coming out scene. plot hole: you canāt paint mike as oblivious and then make him not understand concepts that are handed to him on a silver platter, but then write him to understand will is talking about him when ZERO indication is given in the dialogue. ruins mike character because: you pick and choose when heās emotionally intelligent and when heās not. youāre calling him dumb when he is NOT DUMB. homophobic because: willful ignorance of canon and purposeful twisting of mikes character to avoid addressing the romantic subtext.
84. āi miss clouds. i miss youā doesnāt make sense: this is not giving the āheās just a crushā energy you claim.
85. mike finding a new party after will saying heās loyal to their group. ruins mikes character: he had no reason to hate on will. heās a hypocrite.
UPDATE/EDIT: i remembered more. heās a screenshot of my reblog.
EDIT NUMBER 3: thereās more!
and guess what? even more
101. having mike linger on willās dnd book and crying. doesnāt make sense: why is he crying over will????
102. wsqk hinting at byler via songs and talking segments. homophobic: queerbait
103. having the show pop up when byler was written in the netflix search bar, but not doing the same with mileven. homophobic: queerbait
104. mike telling hopper he was going to run away with el in the epilogue. plot hole: he said he wanted to leave with the whole party initially. also el didnāt gaf about his dnd storytimes. ruins mikes character because: itās uncharacteristic of him to want to abandon everyone.
105. mike having the painting in his future room. plot hole: does he even know it was from will? no, he does not. he still thinks itās from el and his final perspective of her is based on a lie
106. the end of season 4 pairings in the field, putting byler with canon couples and having el stand on her own. doesnāt make sense: why do this if jancy is bones and mileven is still together?
107. 70/30 split of yellow and purple flowers from mike to el in the airport scene. āthere was too much yellowā which is willās color. doesnāt make sense: if it doesnāt have any greater meaning, why spend so much time explaining?
108. those flowers dying in the field at the end of season 4 and in the hospital during the season 5 rovickie scene. doesnāt make sense: why use the exact same flowers if there is no symbolism?
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