The Jack McPheeification of Mike Wheeler
Dawson’s Creek is on Netflix now, so I’d like to point out how often Mike Wheeler visually parallels Jack McPhee from Dawson’s Creek.
Dawson’s Creek is one of the Duffer Brothers’ favorite shows. They fell in love with it in middle school, as young filmmakers growing up in North Carolina where the show was filmed.
Dawson’s Creek featured a very intense love triangle between three friends who grew up together, so this very much explains their obsession with love triangles.
But back to Jack.
Jack McPhee is a gay character who joined Dawson’s Creek in Season 2. He is close with two of the lead girls, Joey and Jen, before coming out as gay and finding love with a man, Doug.
Interestingly, it’s not the canonically gay male character who Stranger Things visually parallels to Jack.
It’s not Will. It’s Mike.
Jack & Joey
Jack is introduced as a love interest for Joey in season 2 before he comes out as gay.
“I care for you so much.”
“I can’t stand the thought of losing you.”
Jack at a gay bar
They spent two months and a massive budget renovating the roller rink.
The blue and yellow lights are behind Mike, not Will.
Jack & Jennifer / Mike & Eleven
Jack meets Jennifer at a dance; they become friends and he comes out to her.
In season 4, he also makes out with her at a ski lodge.
They gained a reputation as the ”true soulmates” of the show.
In the end, they are platonic besties. Jack gets to be out and with another man, but he also stays close to Jen.
(Might make another post later about how visual parallels can tell the story - and what sold me on parallels as proof.)
