It’s frustrating to see people/the writers/etc. act like the disappointment with Byler is a shipping thing. This isn’t about just wanting two boys to kiss. This is about Mike Wheeler, who has been sidelined all of season 5, lacking a real arc and meaningful personal journey. This is about his poor treatment of his friends in seasons 3 and 4 never being adequately explained or resolved. This is about his personal struggles remaining ambiguous and denying him the opportunity to process his feelings in the story in a meaningful way. This is about Will Byers, a character who never thought he would fall in love, learning that if he does, he’ll get over it. This is about a character who has spent the whole show having what he wants taken from him, willingly giving up the thing he wants most. This is about a character who was shown to fall in love slowly over the course of 4 years with his best friend, the person he is closest to and most similar to, only to decide it was just a crush.
This is not about wanting two boys to kiss. This is about writing two characters who care about each other more than anyone else, who feel most comfortable and themselves with each other, having it develop into something romantic, only for it to amount to self-acceptance on one side, and a relationship built on “love at first sight” and a lie on the other.
So stop saying it’s about shipping when it’s about the impact that this writing has on Mike’s character, Will’s character, and the story that was written. There is more to Mike and Will than Byler. But Byler heavily affects their characterization and arcs whether you like it or not.
