@sadlostboypuppydogthing - Tumblr Blog

...El and Kali are dead, btw.

But seriously, out of all the characters, Will was arguably given the best treatment in season 5. He certainly was given the most focus, especially since they had him outshine El by giving him Vecna's powers. He got to be close to and get advice from Robin. He came out and received nothing but love and support.

Most importantly, he got to live. He got to grow up, be with his friends, and live his life happily. He got the chance to meet someone and be with them.

Will was not abused by the narrative. Maybe a little neglected in seasons 3 and 4 (I would argue not really in season 4 since him and Mike talked and his feelings got a lot of focus), but he was given constant support from Joyce, Hopper, and Sam in season 2.

Saying that his childhood was ripped from him also feels like a stretch. The worst of the PTSD was in season 2, which again he was getting constant help for. Will said himself that he was more annoyed with people treating him differently. We also see him hanging out with his friends regularly in season 3, Mike and Lucas just didn't want to play DnD at the moment.

Nothing from seasons 3-4 suggests that anything is stopping Will from having fun and being a kid. Did he have a hard year after he was abducted? Of course. But not only was his mental health being taken seriously by the adults in his life, his friends were also regularly hanging out with him. Mike was just spending a lot of time with El, who quite literally couldn't do the things that Will got to do.

You know whose childhoods were stolen? You know who didn't get to live their lives?

El, Kali, and yes even Henry are the ones who had their lives taken from them. They're the ones who were abused and used by both the lab and the narrative. They're the ones who never got to see a brighter future. Best case scenario for El is that she's alive but forever separated from the people she loves. Will gets to both have his friends and have new people in his life.

I know it feels like I'm comparing trauma, I swear I'm not trying to. But saying Will got his childhood stolen feels disrespectful to the kids who never even got a chance

gothmikewheeler

i will admit when i dynamic is enticing to me

darklinaforever

You can't claim to think that Leigh Janiak is truly the mastermind behind the best of Stranger Things and then think that Byler and Elmax wouldn't have been endgame. Those were literally the romantic arcs she built and intended to conclude!!!

Uh... no? First of all, Elmax never had any romantic undertones, on either side. That ship is the ultimate fanon ship. As for Byler, what Leigh Janiak built with that relationship was still a one-sided love arc. She certainly would have developed, handled, and concluded it better than the Duffer brothers does in season 5, but no, Byler would never have been endgame. Before season 5, there are the other four seasons, remember. Four seasons without anything indicating reciprocation from Mike. Stop dreaming. And yes, I think Leigh Janiak, as well as other Stranger Things writers who left the show for season 5, were the real masterminds behind it. But no, that doesn't mean Byler would have been endgame. The only real queer romantic arc she added to conclude it with an endgame was Rovickie, which the Duffer brothers also ruined. Stop with your nonsense.

#if she were writing it she'd have wrapped that bylr shit up by ep 1

I genuinely think Mike was the intended target for S5 when writing S4, not Holly. The clues are all there in S4, and it's basic storytelling to go for the heart. No writer writes that and does nothing with it. I think they changed their minds.

#my conspiracy 🙏#mike wheeler #stranger things

mikesseleven

Just thinking about how it should’ve been Mike that was taken by Vecna instead of Holly. It would’ve have made such an improvement in the story of Season 5 and upped the tension, angst and stakes.

* Mike being at the Wheeler house when the Demogorgon comes through the portal. Karen and Holly are terrified, and Mike leads them through the house to get them to safety. Standoff still happens in the Wheeler kitchen, but the Demogorgon takes Mike.

* El and Nancy arrive and walk into the scene in the kitchen where Karen and Holly are freaking out. El immediately starts panicking and is beside herself when they all realize Mike is gone.

* Opening episode credits reveal the episode title, The Vanishing of… Mike Wheeler.

* Instead of trying to keep Mike happy in his mind prison, like Holly and the other kids, Henry/Vecna torments Mike with visions of his loved ones saying awful things to him (El saying she doesn’t love him, The Party saying they never needed him, Karen saying he’s a disappointment) to feed into his insecurities and break him emotionally.

* Mike finds Max in Henry’s mind prison and they work together to go through Mike’s memories to escape (with Max being a bystander watching the first “Goodbye, Mike” scene from Season 1)

* Nancy and El team up and lead the rescue mission.

* During the obligatory Running Up that Hill scene, it’s El giving the motivational speech (paralleling Mike’s I love you speech from Season 4, where she says he knows the real her and he’s always understood her and he’s her hero) is the push Mike needs to run towards the gate/portal

* Very emotional and angsty El/Mike reunion and they survive destroying the Upside Down. El had previously told Hopper about the pregnant women and blackmails Dr. Kay to scare her into leaving El alone forever.

* Mike and El are living peacefully in the epilogue and go to prom together.

There was so much potential for the final season that was just… wasted.