#mike wheeler queer coding

[samcats]

The more bitchy Mike is in each season the more queer coding he has

[michaelinprogress]

hey guys im back to talk about mike wheeler again

I feel like people talk about will and his loss of childhood a lot, which is so devastating ofc, and it's definitely a huge theme in the show (god praise the duffers), but when are we going to talk about Mike and his loss of a childhood?

Will is the more obvious one for this trope, as we still see him wanting to play D&D in season three, but what about Mike?

Mike, who argues with his mom about starting to get rid of his toys and action figures

Mike, who still has all of Will's drawings from when they were kids hung up on his walls

Mike, who still spends most of his time in the basement instead of his bedroom because his happiest childhood memories are there

Mike, who stayed in the same style of clothing he wore when he was younger and didn't begin to develop his own sense of style until Eddie made fun of him, saying his mother dresses him

I feel like a big part of why Mike got so angry at Will for being "childish" is because his family and the world around him makes him feel more ashamed for still feeling young and not wanting to move on yet. He associates his inner child with Will, and he can't love Will like he does, so he forces himself to "grow up," mainly in the way of dating El. Will's refusal to leave his childhood is more understandable, and I know Joyce is a gentle and good mother and would never make him feel ashamed for feeling how he does.

But when Mike makes him feel ashamed? He leaves it all behind, he makes himself abandon his childhood, accepting that he needs to grow up and destroying castle byers. When he's faced with his childhood ending, he takes it and destroys it himself, in a way. But Mike? Mike can only suppress as far inwards as he can, still behind Will in leaving childhood, even though he can't admit it.

They both lost things, and they both have very different trauma, and I think it's time we start exploring Mike's a little more!!!!!!!

[runninguplenorahills]

A couple of things I’ve only just noticed….

During the championship game after Jason misses the basket Lucas takes the ball and wins the game for the team. But just before Lucas throws the ball we get a close up of the digital clock saying 001 and afterwards we get a close up of Lucas lifting off of the ground!!

Either this was simply foreshadowing for Chrissy dying shortly after the game and every other death that followed, or my boy Lucas is in danger in s5……

—

During the basketball/hellfire sequence we get a lot of close up character shots and amongst those close ups we also get Steve and the girl he took to the game who is actually wearing triangle earrings and we know that triangles were used this season to symbolize queerness. Another girl that is standing behind them is also wearing a rainbow heart necklace:

Now, his could of course simply apply to the girl but I think it’s rather interesting that the next character we get a close up of is actually Mike:

There is a dice roll in between those shots though which features cans of Mountain Dew which is a brand by Pepsi and there’s also generally a lot of rainbow lighting stuff going on in the hellfire room:

—

In the airport scene when they’re walking out of the airport and El talks about her plans for the day, there‘s actually a guy wearing a shirt with rainbows on it in the background:

I‘m pretty sure I‘ve found the shirt on the internet though even though it might not be an exact match it is still very obvious that the shirt in the show does feature rainbows.

The guy also stands by the telephones which is…. interesting (phonegate).

—

These scenes are parallels:

It’s their first and their last heart-to-heart of the season.

the scenes have the same color scheme and every color appears almost in the exact same spot [the green dresser and the green curtains on the left, the green chair and the green trees peaking through the hole on the right. The yellow light and the yellow bits of the tapestry in the middle, Will with his yellow shirt on the right. The blue picture on top of the dresser and the blue kit/tank whatever that is on the left, Mike with his blue shirt on the left as well].

In their first heart-to-heart they’re divided by the vertical line on the tapestry and in their last heart-to-heart there’s a big stream of light between them.

In both scenes Mike’s arrow pocket points at Will.

In the bedroom we have the upside down tapestry and in the cabin we have the upside down sofa.

Will is talking about second chances: Mike getting a second chance to tell El what he didn’t tell her and El getting a second chance to win against Vecna [funny enough Mike’s reaction to the former is a fake smile, reluctantly accepting the advice he doesn’t wanna take, and his reaction to the latter is: “let’s hope not”….. interesting].

They’re talking about how it’s up to them to defeat Vecna in both scenes.

In the bedroom scene they’re talking about Owens and in the cabin scene they’re talking about Brenner.

[reo-bylerwagon]

mike announced he loved el to a whole room of people and yet couldn’t say it to the one person that needed to hear it when she asked.

when he and will are arguing at a roller rink swarming with people who could easily overhear, and will asks mike about what happened to their friendship, “and us?” mike overreacts and shouts at him— “we’re friends! we’re.friends.”

the reason why we call mike’s monologue “mike’s monologue” is because that’s how the duffer brothers labeled it for us, if you guys remember. that or “mike’s speech”. it is performed spoken with the name Montague framed by mike…

sensing a little pattern here

[reo-bylerwagon]

not to be that person but to be that person: isn’t it SO SILLY show the only time we see mike and el kiss this season is when el is wearing will’s shirt?

and YES it’s will’s shirt

[reo-bylerwagon]

it shouldn’t be difficult for mike to hug will and show him the same affection he does with lucas and dustin…but for ***some reason*** it’s out of the question for him.

there is literally NO other explanation other than mike having not-so-platonic feelings for will that are plaguing and confusing him immensely. he doesn’t directly touch will at all, all throughout season 3 and season 4 until the shoulder grab at the very end of the season (where mike reaches into the light to do so).

so where are we headed from here? they’re gonna smooch. it’s a mystery

[reo-bylerwagon]

thinking about that will analysis about him hiding his feelings with his clothing- blending in with the background. (by @howtobecomeadragon) because that’s what mike’s doing in the beginning of s5:

his jacket- an extra layer- is hiding him and blending him into the background during a scene with el on the rooftop. he is hiding an extra layer of himself from her.

then my first thought when i noticed mike holding the shovel-

was him burying what he seems to be hiding. burying his shame, feelings, guilt, however you wanna put it.

just a thought

[reo-bylerwagon]

if the girl will danced with at the snowball having a rainbow hair clip and his rainbow ship symbolizes/foreshadowed will being gay why can’t el’s letter to mike being decorated with rainbows, el drawing mike’s name with a rainbow (more than once), mikes one way sign to his closet, mike and will blocking in front of the rainbow macintosh apple, transparent phone booth symbolism, and so on not be a symbol of mike being queer?