Okay, this has been a project of mine for about the past year and the release date of stranger things five it soon and I do not want my reasearch to be worth nothing, so please enjoy my fourty something page essay single spaced and font size 11. Please take all of this information with a grain of salt, nothing here has been proved and reguardless of how passionate i may be on this topic, i will not ridicule anyone for their personal opinions. This was written for my friend who told me that Byler did not make sense and that Mileven was the more sensible ship, so this was my response. With that in mind, this was directed at this person so if you are going to read it please ignore direct references to this person. Please note that zero atrificial intelegence was used during the creation of this piece. This has been written based on not only 100+ hours of byler proof videos, but also analysis on film production and ways in which television is filmed and created to elicite select feelings from the audience. At the end of this post there will be the imformation I used in the process of writing in order to have a lineout of my work, I have not fully finished this yet and if I ever come to that point i will make a second part for this. My large portion of analysis that is key in this argument such as the entierty of season four will not be invluded becaseu fo my lack of time left before season five. It is linked below to read on google docs, it will have frequent updates of my work that may not be posted here. Please comment if you want viewing access.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RrVaOs0M629dOoHfziYvSloBiOOVQfpdlDzRn5BL61E/edit?usp=drivesdk
For everyone whom it may concern,
Byler shall be canon in season 5, and I have much proof to support this statement. I am unsure of how long this will take, but I will be taking as large of measures as needed in order to give you an understanding. Please excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes, for I will not be returning to correct or proofread. In this argumentative essay I will be trying my best to write in chronological order from season one up to season four. Now, please get comfortable as I begin to state and support all of my evidence.
Please hang in, I am aware of the length of this essay, just please note that the smaller things in the first few seasons might not be enough to convince you that they will be canon in season five, but closer to the end, you will see everything tie together.
But First, I would like you to fill in from 1-10 how much you believe in byler, and after you finish reading this you will return to this section and fill in the bar again below. And please, be truthful.
UR ACTUALLY PMO SHUT UP MILEVEN IS SO FORCED NOW JUST GIVE UP ON IT BRO GET AHHHHH I SWEAR BRO I HAVE SM PROOF I WAS SO GENUINELY MAD IN CLASS I CANT EVEN EXPLAIN IT ( i wrote this small bit after we wrote the contract, please note that this is the least formal I will be for the rest of this essay) I want to explain to you how before I watched any byler proof videos, I only enjoyed the ship, but now, I have faith that it will be canon in season five, and I hope this essay will have the same affect on you.
(Please note that I will not be adding some details to this section in order to go into further explanation when I am writing about Mike’s monologue to El in season 4)
The season begins in Mike Wheeler's basement, where the four boys are playing a game of D&D. There is a point within the game in which Will is needed to roll a dice that will decide how the rest of the game plays out. As Will rolls the dice, it falls off the table, which of course leads them all to be searching for it. During the span of this scene Mike’s mother calls him upstairs to tell him that it is too late and everyone should start to head home. While Mike is with his mother, Will finds the dice, and it is not the number they needed. Dustin and Lucas had attempted to convince Will to not tell Mike, but as Will is leaving Mike's house, He admits to Mike that they rolled a seven. Which shows that Will and Mike have never been able to lie to each other no matter what.
When Mike, Lucas, and Dustin were called into the principal’s office to inform the police officers on what had happened that night, Lucas and Dustin were both fighting with each other over irrelevant information. Whereas Mike was sitting in the middle of the two, with a straight (like no reaction, not hetrosexual) annoyed face. Even though the cops had explained to the boys that they were not allowed to search for will, in order to stay safe, Mike had convinced the party that they should rebel against the orders. So, as the group was searching through the woods, in search of Will, they instead found El. And, do you Michael, know what the first thing anyone said was?
“Have you seen my friend here in the woods”
“What are you doing outside at 11 pm in the rain?”
Correct! The first thing that Mike said after finding a random person drenched from the rain, alone, in the dark was that it was “not Will”. Keep in mind that when the four of them first found El that they all thought that she was a boy. In the very start of the season, when El showed up at Benny’s Burgers after just escaping from the lab, Benny saw her in the back stealing food from him. He yelled at her referring to her as “boy” until he came up close to her and noticed she was a girl. (talking more in depth of this when I talk about the monologue Mike gave El)
The party took El to Mike’s house. They were all coming up with a plan for what they should do with her, Mike suggested that she should sneak out of his house and go to the front door. And from there his mom would be able to handle the situation. This shows that Mike had not wanted anything to do with her until she pointed out will in the photograph. It was at this point that Mike noticed El’s importance in finding where Will may be.
When Joyce is filing her first report that Will is missing, she said that her ex husband (Lonnie), “used to say he was queer, called him a (F-slur)” And Hopper asks “Is he?” and Joyce just replies with “He’s missing is what he is” Which leads us to believe that Hopper may have suspicions that there is a chance that Will was hate crimed. This information leads us to the next section, which gives us more context as to why Mike’s father may have been using homophobic undertones towards will.
Near the beginning of the season, when Will first goes missing Mike is sitting at dinner with his family he says something along the lines of, “we should be out there right now, we should be helping look for him,” and his mother replies with, “We've been over this Mike, chief said-” Mike cuts her off to say, “I don’t care what the chief says” and Mike and his mother continue to bicker for a few more lines until nancy asks to go study with Barb. When their parents say that it is not safe for either of them to be out until Will is ok Nancy says, “So we’re under house arrest just because Mike’s friend got lost on the way home?” and this causes Mike to angrily replied, “wait this is wills fault…?” The conversation continues until Nancy storms off. Ted (Mike’s dad) tells him, “see Michael, see what happens?” And Mike goes, “see what happens when what? I'm the only one acting normal here, I’m the only one who cares about Will!” Many people believe that Ted’s talk to Mike had homophobic undertones directed at Will, because of how he chose to speak. But, you are allowed to interpret this scene as you please.
Now, I will be doing a short time jump to season 1 episode 7. When the police officers were informing Mike’s parents that El was staying with them, even if they were not aware. The only line we hear from Ted the rest of that scene is “Our son with a girl?” and shows his disbelief that Mike would even be around a girl. These comments may be hinting at how Mike might not be straight (or at least Ted believes this).
Around the time that took place after finding El and Wills funeral Lucas starts to make fun of/tease Mike about El. Lucas is mocking Mike about how he acts nicer around her and Mike just acts genuinely annoyed, which would be an odd way to react if you had a crush on a girl..? Like when Lucas and Max are mimicking Dustin when he was singing with Suzie and he had a more joking and funny reaction, which strongly differs from Mike's reaction.
As we watch the season progress, you can see that the only reason that Mike feels the need to keep El was in order to find Will. Mike shows this when he believes that he saw Will’s body being pulled from the lake. He yells at El “what is wrong with you” And he repeats that comment several times before continuing with “you made me believe that he was alive,” These hurtful words had shown a strong impact towards El’s character, as she is reminded of Dr. Brenner’s Lab. After this interaction with El, Mike bikes home and hugs his mom as he cries. The song playing in the background was the song ‘Heros’, it was a cover version originally sung by David Bowie. The line as Mike was hugging his mother was, “As the guns shot above our heads, and the shame was on the other side.” Bowie had written this song inspired by a couple that was divided. I have seen many people interpret these lyrics in similar yet different ways. But, the most common one that I have seen was that Mike was “leaving the shame” because Will was “dead”.
Returning to the belief that Mike had only kept El in order to find Will, Mike lashes out at her whenever she was trying to help. For example, when El was using the walkie talkie to find Will, Mike yelled at her to turn it off. But, when the walkie talkie caught Will’s voice singing from the upside down, Mike immediately recognized his voice and ran over to El. When El looks up to meet Mike's eyes, you can tell that she knows he is only keeping her for one purpose, which is finding Will. And, do you Michael know what Mike Wheeler was looking at when he was yelling at El? Right! He was looking at a binder full of Will’s drawings! (please remember this small detail when I am writing about season 4). And, if you notice, on the walls of Mike’s basement, he has Will’s drawings everywhere.
(ep 4) From that point on, Mike was the only one who still believed that Will was still alive in the party. Even when the other said that Will was dead, because they found his body in the lake, Mike took the single sign that he was still alive somewhere and firmly believed it. From there, Mike encouraged them that they should still be out looking for Will.
As I am unsure in which episode the following events in this paragraph have occurred, but I am trying my best to stay in chronological order of each episode. After, the town held the funeral for Will Byers, both as a town and one at his school. As they had no reason to believe that he was still alive, other than Joyce telling them so. During the school memorial, Mike notices Troy and his friends laughing throughout the scene. This leads Mike to become enraged with this behavior and confronts Troy of this. This is when Troy begins saying homophobic remarks that he said about Will, though they were mainly directed at Mike. The Duffers could have easily changed this by involving Dustin and Lucas, but they had chosen to just leave them in the background. After Troy finished arguing with Mike, he turned around to leave when Mike had pushed him to the ground. This shows that Mike was very angry with what Troy had said about Will, but we do not see this same reaction when Troy is only making fun of Mike himself.
Once again, I am not completely sure in which episode this following scene was shown in, but I believe that it was around this time (if not, a bit earlier). When Mike is determined to find Will, he stays home from school because he “doesn’t feel good” and his mom gives him a talk that has many queer undertones. He tells her “I just, I don’t feel good.” (he tries to explain a bit) “It’s just, the last time I told you I was sick, you made me go to school anyways,” She replies with, “Michael, I’m not mad at you” confused, Mike says, “No?” “No, of course not. a ll of this that's been going on with Will, I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you. I just, I want you to feel like you can talk to me, I never want you to feel like you want to hide anything from me. I’m here for you. Ok?” This talk was interrupted by most people that she was referencing to El who was hiding upstairs in his room. But, as we know, Mike’s mom was unaware of El hiding, and the only thing she knew about was Will’s disappearance. Which, as I interpreted as it wasn’t a surprise that Mike would be acting differently (or not talking/sad) because of Will.
When the boys fingered out that they could use the compass to find the location of Brenner’s Lab they eventually found out that El was using her powers to lead them in the opposite direction. Mike and Lucas break into a fight and somewhere in their conversation Lucas says “You’re just happy that a girl isn’t grossed out by you, but grow up Mike, grow the hell up!” And Mike looks a bit hurt (bcs it's the first time he's pulled) (other than will) (mb i got off topic) by what Lucas had said. (damn cover blown) (can you tell im getting tired of writing)
Later on as they are heading back to Mike’s house, they are passing by the ledge of the cliff they run into Troy and his friends. They threaten to either cut out Dustin's teeth or force Mike to jump off the edge of the cliff. Keep in mind that this was the same lake that Mike believed that Will had died in. When Mike was faced with the choice to either risk his life or hurt Dustin, he chose to risk his own. This not only shows how Mike is a great friend, but also that he was willing to die just to save others. While Mike was doing this he would have had no idea that El was going to save him, and was prepared to die in the same place that Will had.
A short time skip to when everyone goes to Hawkin’s Middle, and they had came up with a plan to put El in the bathtub to try to find both Will and Barb. As they are waiting for the water to fill the tub, El is resting her head on Mike’s shoulder because she is exhausted after using her powers for a bit. And what does Mike do? He stands up and ignores her. That sounds like a great way to show a girl that you like and/or care about her, don’t you agree?
Again, right before El goes to look for Will, Mike and Eleven are talking about how after all of thai is over she can live with him. He starts saying how Nancy will be like her sister, but they won't be like siblings. He says, “I was thinking, I don’t know, maybe we could go to the snowball together.” After he explains to El what the snowball is, he says, “I’ve never been before but i know that you aren’t supposed to go with your sister, I mean you can but it would be weird,” As Mike struggles to explain what it means to like someone, he just kisses her, which I think would be really confusing to be grown up in a lab and all of the sudden forced into a relationship..? But, I also think that Mike said that they should go to the dance together because he did not want to go to it alone. The way he had worded it helps support my statement, because he could have easily just asked her to go with him instead of saying “well it would be weird otherwise”
Another time skip to when Will was found and put into the hospital, everyone sitting and waiting for Will to wake up. The fact that Mike was the only one of his friends that was in the room waiting nervously, shows the closeness between Will and Mike’s characters. The others were exhausted and sleeping, most likely because they were unsure how long they would have to wait for Will. Right as Jonathan walks into the waiting room to tell them that Will woke up, Mike jumps up to tell the others as they all excitedly run into the hospital room to meet him. Mike runs up first to hug Will and puts his head on Will’s chest (I’ve heard a lot of people say that it was to hear his heartbeat, but I was too embarrassed to put that bcs it sounds like it’s literally from a fanfic or sum)
Well, this is the end of my season one analysis. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and prepare yourself because this may be the shortest section that I will be writing about a full season.
(my favorite season btw if u even care)
We begin the season with the party at the arcade, where we see Will having an episode for the first time. He goes outside, and all of his friends have disappeared. Mike notices that Will is gone and goes outside to take him back in. This is the first of MANY times that Mike notices when Will is either scared or in trouble. He puts his arm over Will’s shoulder to comfort him (most likely knowing that he was having an episode). (apologies if this paragraph felt a bit off, it is the first time I am returning from writing formally in a few weeks.)
When the party was going over to play a game where they held the top score, they saw that someone else had taken over their place. The next day at school, Max, a girl with the exact same name as the person who beat their high score, was new to the class/ school. (im telling u this like u havent watched the show) Anyways, while they are trying to see if it is the same max, she drops a note into the trash that says “stop spying on me creeps” At this, Mike smiles…? The others had a completely different expression (confusion or let down) . I have heard a lot of people saying that Mike might have thought that Will liked Max, and that is why he smiled and was mean to Max majority of the season, but that is only a theory.
In the next episode, Will is telling Jonathan that he feels like everyone is treating him differently after he was found, “Mom, Lucas, Dustin” (a direct quote) and notice who he DIDN’T say? Mike. Then, Jonathan and Will have the talk about how being different isn’t a bad thing, and that being different is what makes people cool. This talk is what I think heavily encouraged Will to be comfortable with coming out to Jonathan in season 4.
When the party goes trick or treating, Max tags along with them. Once Dustin, Max, and Lucas are out of earshot, Mike asks Will if he knew that Max was coming with them. Mike was telling Will how he didn't want her to come because she was “ruining the best night of the year” When she was very obviously just trying to make friends, and was barely interacting with Mike anyways. Mike gets slightly mad that Will didn’t ask him if she could come and walks ahead of him, which gives a few older kids the chance to make fun of Will.
This scene causes Will to experience another episode, but it is worse than the past ones. He screams for Mike several times to try to receive help, but it is unsuccessful. Scared, he runs away and hides behind a small wall that he finds, until he is snapped out of his episode once again by Mike. (feels a bit familiar, huh?) The rest of their friends trail behind Mike, but he won’t allow them to help Will. Mike gets angry at them all, and says that he was “bored anyways” He then says to Will, “Let's go home, okay?” And where do they go? Will’s house? Nope, they go to Mike’s house. I feel like so many people either didn’t notice this detail or don’t acknowledge it. I interpreted this as they both feel safe around each other's presence, no matter if they were at their actual homes.
This now leads to the “crazy together” scene (YIPPIE YAYYYY) The two were sitting in Mike’s basement as WIll was finished talking about his last episode, Mike says how he feels like he is going crazy. To this, Will says that he agrees. Mike looks at him in the eyes and says, “Well if we're both going crazy, then I guess we’ll both go crazy together” Will replies with, “yeah, crazy together” I would like to emphasize the amount of times that people say that “love makes you crazy” For example, when Nancy was talking to a lady about Jonathan (before they started dating) Nancy said “No, we’re not together, we’re just friends” The lady says,”Well you better tell him that, only love makes you that crazy. And that damn stupid.” Another parallel to love making people crazy was when Mike had said it himself in the store with El. He said “you know, they do say it makes you crazy” He was talking about love, but couldn’t say it which I will talk more in depth about in seasons 3 and 4. This scene is one of the occurrences where we see what many byler fans call the “Will voice” Which, in short, is where Mike does a sort of softer voice THAT HE DOESN'T EVEN DO WITH EL????
When they all return to school, Will was taken to the doctors (it might have been the lab, I don’t remember) The party watches Will leave, as Mike says, “He’s acting differently. He’s quiet today” Lucas just says, “He’s always quiet” Which was apparently not true, because the next day Will has a bad episode where the mind flayer almost took him over, but did not succeed because a certain someone snapped him out once again.
Mike comes over sometime in the near future, and asks if Will is okay, when he is told that it is a bad time he brings up the shadow monster/mind flayer. Mike is the only one in the party that has heard of it before because Mike is the only one Will trusted this information with. A direct quote, “Don’t tell the other about this…. They wouldn’t get it” Which resulted in Mike staying with the Byers for several days. When Mike sees Will they have another close talk, this one was mainly Mike reassuring Will that the mindflayer wouldn’t spy back on them if they ever tried to do so. Will said, “But what if he tries to spy back” “he won’t” Mike said comforting him by putting his hand on top of Will’s right hand (remember this small retail).
Mike stays the night with them in Will’s room to ensure that he stays safe. This scene was a parallel to season one when Jonathan and Nancy were looking for Will in the woods, and they ended up sleeping over together out of fear from what they had just witnessed. Will shot up in his sleep, and turned to Mike, who was already looking at Will to check in to see if he was okay. (this is also a parallel to the movie “stand by me” where this is a scene where the main two characters are in the same exact position and in a similar situation)
A bit later in the season, Hopper was digging through the upside down when Mike and Will were waiting to see if he was alive, Will collapses and is attacked by the mind flayer. This is what caused Will to be rushed to the hospital/lab/emergency room. Mike was following behind Will, who was in a hospital bed, being pushed down the halls. You can hear Will calling “Mike, Mike,” which also fades into him yelling for his mom. This scene leads us to believe that Mike was staying with Will majority of the season to help make sure he was okay. This includes Mike sleeping in an uncomfortable hospital chair for AT LEAST one to two nights.
As Will woke up, in the control of the mind flayer he was put to question if he was fully taken over. This involved asking if he knew who everyone in the room was. He was eventually asked if he recognised Mike, who was one of the only (if not the single person) he had remembered. To this, Mike smiled wide and looked down, this reaction to things that Will says to him recurs many times in the future seasons, so please keep it in mind.
When Will is taken back home he is still in the possession of the Mind flayer, which is the motivation behind taking Will into the shed to withdraw any information that may prove helpful to them. Mike was the only member in the party to accompany Will, along with Joyce, Jonathan, and Nancy. First, Joyce expresses how proud she was when Will made a drawing called “The Rainbow Ship” which is a VERY obvious example of queercoding. However, when it rolls around to Mike’s turn to speak to Will they share a heartfelt moment in which Mike tells the story of how they met in kindergarten. Mike said, “It was the best thing I have ever done” with tears in his eyes, he smiles and looks down after finishing. Mike looked like he wanted nothing more than to help save his best friend and would never lie to him just to give Will something he wanted to hear. (hmmm sounds so…. unfamiliar..? almost like he did the…… opposite to El in season 4…?) I want to keep in mind how Mike treats Will from the earlier season, versus the later seasons.
I would like to point out how they chose to film this. In movies or shows, there are many different ways to film a scene, you can show only the few characters who are talking, you can show everyone in the scene who is present even if not everyone is talking, and you can change the lighting to fit the mood. In terms of how the Duffers wanted to film this, they chose to only have Will and Mike in view. This way of presenting the two made it almost feel like they were the only ones in the room, like it was a close moment that only they shared. I watched a short video on different ways to shoot a scene (yes, I did watch it because of byler) They said that when you want to film an intimate scene, you cut away anyone else who you don’t want to be a part of the conversation, regardless of their true presence. Which is exactly what had happened. Another thing that they decided to do was have light shining behind or at the two of them. This usually to portray the importance of a conversation ( I think i can't find the video and i don't rlly remember what they said about the lighting mb)
After this scene finished, Will started to tap out “close gate" in morse code. No, not after his brother spoke to him, no, not after even his own mother spoke to him, but his childhood best friend. Mike is such an important person to Will that he recognised and was able to tap out an indication to help. I would like to bring light to the fact that Will was tapping in morse code with the same hand in which Mike grabbed when he was trying to comfort Will earlier in the season. I am aware that this might just be a stretch to prove that byler is real, but the Duffers could have done many things differently if there wasn’t SOMETHING between them. I will now list them:
Will could have tapped with his foot or his other hand (which was in the same amount of constraint
Will could have tapped after his mom or brother spoke
Mike didn’t HAVE to be crying and smiling after telling the story
They could have showed everyone else in the room
Just not have Mike been in the shed in general
I have many other things I could add to that list, but I will not go along wasting my time on EVERY small detail (I’ve already done that just by writing this essay)
(please excuse this time skip to the snowball dance at the end of the season.) All of the boys are standing together at the dance, waiting for someone else to ask them to dance. Eventually, Max asks Lucas to dance with her, and it brings a slightly disappointed look to Dustin’s face. This is because Dustin had also liked Max but she had not shared these feelings. The episode progresses and a girl comes up to Will to ask if he would like to dance with her. Panicked, Will stutters and looks at Mike instantly to see what he should do about this situation. Mike hits him to signal him to go dance with her, a bit confused why Will would look at him. Right as Will leaves you can see a slight pang of regret in Mike’s expression. Now, you could take this as Mike just being upset that he is one of the only ones of his friends still left, but then why would they show Dustin in the background with the exact same look? And guess who Dustin was looking at? Was it possibly the girl he liked? Yes, yes it was!
When Eleven arrives at the dance, Mike perks up at her presence. I would like to say that yes, I do like mileven under certain circumstances. Is that circumstance seasons 3 or 4? Absolutely not. I do believe that they could have been a cute couple. Apologies, I will be keeping this conversation at hold until I am talking about the later seasons, but I want you to know that I do not HATE mileven. I just think it feels forced as the series continues. (I will be returning to the topic now) Mike and Eleven proceed to join the others at the dance floor together, and share a close happy moment where they reunite after being away for so long. They could have left this a simple heart warming scene right? Which yes, they did. But, that wasn’t always the case. In the original script it says that Will was looking at Mike during the dance. “Will is dancing with the cute girl, dancing awkwardly. But his eyes aren't on the cute girl. They are on mike, who is dancing with eleven.” This not only proves that Will likes Mike, but that this trope (or love triangle) wasn’t just an extra thing to add into the show for extra depth of the characters later on, but planned in the early seasons of the show.
I would say that this would just about wrap up detailed analysis about why you should ship byler or believe that they will be canon or endgame in the final season of stranger things.
Oh god, we are getting into the depths of my byler knowledge with this season. (it’s gonna be really long) Also, this is going to be pretty Mike Wheeler centric so I just wanted to let you know early on.
Starting off the episode we hear a song playing inside of El’s room. The lyrics follow the words, “Cause just a little more time could open closing doors, and just a little uncertainty could bring you down” These lyrics could have meaning behind them, Focusing on the first line this could be important because a major conflict between the characters this season was will and Mike’s friendship fading. Now, the second line was most likely foreshadowing all of the internal conflicts that play out through the season. Mike having the most out of everyone, such as: struggles with his relationship with Eleven and drifting away from his best friend. I have heard people saying that they believe that Mike chose, or at least knew the song/lyrics, as he was singing parts of the song off of his memory.
The camera pans to Eleven and Mike kissing, with El’s hand on Mike’s face. If you pay attention to how Mike is acting, he pushes her hand off of him. Why may you ask? Well, I don’t have an answer for you, but I just felt like this was a weird interaction between a “stable” couple. It also was not like Mike did this action because he was afraid that Hopper would see them, because I am pretty sure that it also is not that Mike just doesn’t like physical touch because he shows it many times in other seasons and episodes that he doesn’t mind or dislike it. Examples: El literally clinging onto him when Dustin was showing them his inventions, grabbing Will’s hand in season two, hugging all his friends whenever they won in D&D, etc.
This is something sort and random, but on Eleven’s wall there is a drawing of a character that looks like something Will had drawn (this drawing was pointed or angled towards Mike/in frame with Mike. Now, you could just say that it’s typical for El to have one of Will’s drawings on her walls because they are technically siblings, but this was before Hopper had “died” so that wouldn’t make sense either. This is most likely just a stretch but, as I said earlier, I will not be excluding almost anything from this essay.
As Mike is biking home from Hopper/Eleven’s cabin, they are talking together on their walkie talkies. As I was explaining how the kissing scene felt a bit off, so did this one. Mike was joking and laughing with her for a bit, but then, when El started talking about them (or their relationship in general) Mike got kind of push-offy. Eleven said, “I miss you already,” To which he replied, “yeah, I know, me too, but I’ll see you tomorrow” With a straight face and no emotions.
Next up we have the theater scene, which is rather popular within the byler community. Lucas, Max, Will, and Mike all go to the mall together to watch a movie, but the thing is, once they really entered the theater they split into two groups. Those groups being byler and lumax, and they practically sat across the theater from each other. Which I personally found a bit odd because they all came as a group but just ended up parting groups, most likely just because there were no four seats next to each other, but I’m going to say everything I know.
Later In this scene Will feels the mind flayer, and Mike instantly notices Will's distress. (it feels weird to explain this part because even though I know that it’s canon it sounds like it’s from some ao3 fanfic, but whatever) There is this short moment where Mike and Will just stare at each other and don’t say anything. That is, until Mike speaks up to ask if Will is okay, which leads to more silence and more staring. (Don’t come for me for writing this, it’s important to the lore I swear) Eventually, Will touches the back of his neck and says something like “he’s back” I don’t really remember and I’m not gonna search for it right now.
I would like to bring to light the idea of Mike and El dating just for him to appear straight. As we know, Will had been bullied in the past because of other people's perception of his sexuality. This bullying led to the point in which nearly resulted in Mike getting killed, and I’m pretty sure an experience like that could have a significant effect on a middle schooler. This is a relatively common way of removing oneself from this suspicion. And I have seen several people point out how Mike follows many of the symptoms of someone who might do this (purposely or not) Those being: Lack of communication (shown in practically all of the seasons, and yes, I am aware that he does this with will as well, but that will be discussed later), lack of emotional connection (shown a lot in season four), blaming the other person/not taking responsibility (OH MY GOD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY IS THIS A MOUTHWASHING REFERENCE) for their own faults (shown in season three and four), making unjustified excuses (shown in season three), only affectionate in public (shown through several seasons), and a few more, but I won’t be going into extensive detail.
Before I get any further into this season I would just like to mention the trope that is displayed in this season. This being: Lucas and Mike trying to fix El and Mike's relationship, Max trying to help El find herself, and Will just wanting things to go back to how they used to be when they were younger. This was also slightly implied through the colors in which the characters wear, Mike and Lucas wearing blues and reds, whereas El and Max wear reds, pinks, and a few others. These colors linking to the beliefs on what should happen in Mike and El’s relationship. Meanwhile, Will is constantly asking if the party wants to play games or DnD.
In the scene where we are shown the dynamic of the Byers’ household, Nancy and Jonathan are together. They wake up late and have to rush out of their house to make it to work on time, as Nancy leaves, she kisses Jonathan on the cheek. As Jonathan is rushing out of the house she rubs the lipstick mark off of his face. To this, Will says, “gross” Joyce replies with, “You’re not gonna think it’s gross when you fall in love,” Will responds with, “I’m not gonna fall in love…” I have heard different speculations about what Will was referring to with this statement, but I personally believe that it was because being queer in the 80’s was borderline dangerous to admit, which was shown throughout season one and the bullying.
A few minutes later into the episode, we see Dustin returning to Hawkins after staying at a summer camp. Whilst Dustian was at said camp, had started dating a girl, to this everyone was shocked and wanted to know more about her. As he is attempting to explain what she looks like, Dustin adds, “She’s hotter than Phoebe Cates,” As he says this, he is the main focus of the camera, meaning that the background is mostly blurred out. From what we can see, Mike is walking behind him and makes an odd face at this statement. This could have been either that he thinks Dustin is exaggerating or that he just finds that an odd thing to say. (I know what you are Mike Wheeler.) Now, let's go over who thinks that Phoebe Cates is pretty/attractive: Robin, Steve, Lucas, Dustin, and VIckie. But who makes an odd face at her name? Mike does. This is probably just digging too deep into all of these small things, but to me it is important to examine every piece of information possible.
Everyone in the party is excited to be able to talk to Dustin’s new girlfriend, so they all go with him to set up the cerebro (the device they put atop that big hill) As they are nearing the highest segment of the hill, Mike and El re trailing behind as they announce that they should be heading home as to not worry Hopper. Once the two of them are out of earshot, the rest of them say their opinions about how the two of them have been acting. Max: “It’s romantic” Will: “It’s gross” Dustin: “It’s bullshit”. The term bullshit, when referring to love in stranger things is not new, do you remember where it was last said to someone? And how did it end? Right! It was in the Stancy relationship from season one - season two! Which as we remember had ended with Nancy and Steve breaking up, and Nancy started dating the character that most people (not the viewers obviously) would not have expected. (is this starting to sound at all familiar?)
Everyone continues on the final stretch of the long walk, while Will watches Mike and El walking back to the cabin together. He stares almost with a sad or disappointed look, until someone calls for him to hurry up. Not many people really thought much of this scene until it was later revealed in season four that Will has romantic feelings for Mike.
Back at Hopper's cabin, following Mike and Eleven’s storyline, we see Hopper walk in to attempt the heart to heart he practiced with Joyce. The song playing in the background says the lyrics “My life has been a whirlwind ever since I saw you” This is not really adding to the byler proof technically, but I wanted to bring this up because it proves that the lyrics can have meaning to the plot, characters, or scene. This is true because Hopper is what caused the trouble between the Mileven relationship, which turned into a ripple effect in which Mike, instead of communicating with El about this problem, created a new one. This is an example of Mike pretending to be in love with El, poor communication and lying.
With Hopper’s new rules and restrictions set onto Mike, he attempts to make the smart decision to not hang out with Eleven. When El tries to contact Mike about this, he just lies and deflects from the true answer. As he coaxes a lie he says, “friend’s don’t lie” which, to me, I feel like he could have worded it differently. I am aware that “friends don’t lie” is one of the most iconic lines said throughout the show, but that is more reasons why he shouldn't have said it. My reasoning for that being that he just said it because El can’t call him out for saying that because she is one of the people who made that up. And, I do believe that El wanted to trust what he was saying to be true, because why would Mike ever lie to her? I feel like I can’t say it enough, but I truly don’t understand why Mike would feel the need to lie at a time when he already knows that their relationship is a risky position, and it honestly just doesn’t make sense to me because he has expresses several times how much he dislikes lying/liars.
Mike, Lucas, and Will all go to the mall together to find a gift that would help Mike apologize to El. At the same time, Max and El are at the mall to have fun and help El find what she enjoys. Near the end of this episode, the two groups notice each other, and El confronts Mike for lying to her. He struggles to create a valid excuse (one of the signs for faking a relationship) and eventually El dumps him. The Duffer’s chose for this scene to be kind of funny, and for the viewers to be cheering on El, which I find an odd way to depict the main couple that should be the endgame ship. As Eleven breaks up with him, he stands there with a confused look on his face, and he doesn't really look that upset, just surprised at what happened.
In the next episode we see how Mike deals/copes with his first breakup, which is complaining, laying around, and not really being productive. These seem like typical reactions for anyone going through this, except for the fact that he fails to see that he did anything wrong. He just keeps saying, “What did I do wrong? What did I do wrong??” in a loud exaggerated tone. Which (I am just noticing as I’m writing this) sounds familiar to what his dad was saying at the dinner table to Karen after everyone stormed off. This is something I wanted to point out because in both of these situations the person saying this was the one at fault.
As Lucas is trying to help Mike through this, they (I don’t remember who said it) agree that, “Girls are another species” Which later El uses against him. Somewhere in either season one or two, Lucas finds Erica playing with one of his action figures and one of her barbies, making them fall in love. When Lucas complains that she shouldn’t be playing with his stuff she says, “But they’re in love” Lucas replies with, “They can’t be in love, they aren’t even the same world or species” and takes his action figure back. This felt kind of ironic because if girls are a so called “different species” then how come they always being pressured to be in love (gay😼)
Mike is upset about the girl all day and won’t think about anything else, until suddenly Will gets upset, when this happens, Mike’s full demeanor changes. Mike has been refusing to play DnD with WIll the entire summer, but right as Will gets truly upset with Mike, and how they won’t do anything but talk about girls, Mike gives Will his full attention. Will runs off as Mike yells for him to come back, and basically pushes Lucas out of the way to chase after Will.
(fair warning, the following scene is mainly off memory, but it is accurate, at most there is probably like three or four wrong words that are not important)
Mike: “It’s a cool campaign, It’s really cool, we just aren't in the mood right now”
Will: “Yeah, Mike. That’s the problem, you guys are never in the mood anymore”
Will: “Yeah? Where’s Dustin right now? … See you don’t know, and you don’t even care, and he obviously doesn’t either, and I don’t blame him, You’re ruining the party, and for what? so you can swap spit with a stupid girl?”
Mike: “El’s not stupid! It’s not my fault you don’t like girls”
Mike: “I’m not trying to be a jerk, but really what did you think? That we were never going to get girlfriends, and we were just going to sit in my basement all day and play games?”
Will: “Yeah I guess I did, I really did”
You can tell from Will's facial expression that the line “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls” truly did affect/hurt him. His face instantly dropped, and he didn’t say much after. Mike and his other friends were always nice to him, or didn’t point out how he was different. Will was used to feeling safe, and being himself within his friend group. So, many fans were shocked when they watched this scene, because this is not the Mike we met in seasons one and two. It’s unlikely that the Duffer’s randomly decide for Mike to have a homophobic arc out of nowhere for plot, right? So why would they make him say this? Could it just possibly be the insane duo of projecting and internalised homophobia? Yes, that would be a perfectly reasonable answer for this situation! “Internalized homophobia is when someone absorbs negative beliefs about being LGBTQ+ due to societal stigma, leading to shame, denial, or self-rejection.” (source: google) “Projecting is when someone unconsciously attributes their own feelings, thoughts, or traits onto someone else.” (source: google) These would make perfect sense for Mike’s character, which also leaves room for character development. This would as well bring light to a struggle that is not very commonly displayed in characters in popular media.
After this interaction, Mike looks hurt and sad, which is an odd comparison to his breakup with Eleven. This scene was portrayed as a breaking point in their friendship, and was meant to bring powerful emotions to the viewer, which I think they succeeded in. (why did they lowk have the saddest break up in the show when they weren't even together, please don’t take most things in the parenthesis seriously i just get bored of writing seriously for too long) Another thing that differs from the two interactions was how Mike reacted. In one, Mike made no attempt to actually go after the person he just fought with, and in the other he biked across the entire town in pouring rain to go after the person he just fought with. But before we get ahead of ourselves, I will be doing a short analysis on how Will reacted after the fact.
Will bikes to a special place from his childhood, and uses a bat to destroy it. This was a place that he would feel safe in, he built it after his dad left, and was staying there for some time when he was lost in the upside down. He is sobbing as he does so, yelling, “Stupid! Stupid… so.. Stupid!” This is a parallel to when Nancy was told “Only love makes you that crazy, and that damn stupid” I could go on to say, once again, that this is a stretch, but I don’t really think it applies this time. He was basically just told by his childhood best friend (and crush) that he will never have reciprocated feelings, and probably feels like he just lost the special closeness to him. He was most likely (in my opinion) yelling stupid to himself for either falling in love with Mike, or giving himself hope (idrk) Sometime while Will is breaking down castle byers, he yells the f-word, this being one of the two times in THE ENTIRE SHOW in which he cusses, showing how much getting into a fight with Mike affected him. (pretty sure it was their first real fight)
A quick little thing, but I’m pretty sure this was supposed to be a parallel to Mike destroying El’s fort after she left or something.
Mike bikes across all of Hawkins to Will’s house, they have said through the show that Mike and Will live relatively far from each other, AND IN THE RAIN, dragging Lucas with him. Once they arrived, Mike was yelling at his doorstep that he was sorry and was asking if they could make up. And to make it even better, when Will isn’t home they ride through the literal woods to beg for forgiveness. Even if you don’t ship byler, you can tell how much Mike really does care for Will, and that they have a really good friendship even when they don’t always show it.
I don’t completely remember when in the show that Max said this, but I’ll say it now that we have all of the proof and information that can backup this statement. She was having a sleepover with El, when she was telling her, “He’ll come crawling back in no time” I’m gonna hold your hand when I say this, but he didn’t come crawling back to his girlfriend, he went crawling back to Will. (when I first realized this, I was almost mad because Max is one of my favorite characters and I didn’t want her to be wrong) I also find it kind of funny how he immediately went after Will to check if he was okay/apologize, but did nothing of that sort for his literal girlfriend. And yes, I understand that she got onto a bus right after breaking up with him, but it’s not like he doesn't know where she lives and owns a bike….?
This one might also be a stretch, because Mike has known Will since he was in kindergarten, so of course he knows him well, but I just found this interesting: Mike only knows how to apologize to Will. This was not only shown when he messed up with El, but Lucas as well, in season one. Not only saying sorry, but also taking responsibility for his actions. (MOUTHWASHING AGAIN????) For the two of them, it is not until he is pushed by others, or it is a last resort option.
One of the larger time skips of this season’s analysis, to when everyone is in Hopper’s cabin to defeat the mind flayer. When Mike is fighting with Max (I think..?) He says, “I love her and I can’t lose her again!” This is a quote I have seen SO MANY byler shippers ignore when they are showing byler proof, but it is important, so of course I must include it. This is one of the only times that Mike EVER vocalizes that he loves El. I’m not saying that he doesn't love her, but the timing that he says it felt… off.. I guess..? He acted surprised after he said it, and it was at a time he was yelling, which felt like a weird time for the Duffer’s to choose for him to declare his love to his girlfriend, to me at least. This is the literal perfect example of what someone would call a stretch, but: it is very super possible to love someone platonically, so yeah, I just wanted to put that out there. As Eleven walks back into the room, everyone goes silent, and when she asks what they were all talking about, both Jonathan and Nancy glance over at Will. This small clip is just a small indication that Will likes Mike, as he glances back over at Jonathan.
Another short, not really important fact: Mike said the words “I love you” to El, but (I watched a video of someone doing the math) cannot say it to her for another 264 DAYS?? And, once again it was in time when he had no other choice but to tell her what she wanted to hear. (apologies)
When Mike is finally giving in, to apologize he tells her, “You are the most,” short pause, “important thing that has ever happened to me” But what was Will? Will was the “Best thing that has ever happened to me” This pause felt slightly intentionally placed into this scene, almost like Mike was thinking that he couldn’t say that she was the “best thing” if he believed that Will really was the best thing that happened to him. (This feels like a weirdly lengthened paragraph so you do not have to read the rest of these parentheses because I just want to fill up some space so the paragraph looks like a decent length)
The majority of the characters are now working together in the last episode to defeat the mind flayer as a group. Jonathan, Nancy, Max, Lucas, Eleven, Mike, and Will are all in a convenient store for several different reasons: healing El’s injury from the Mind Flayer and finding weapons to defeat it. As El is locating Billy, everyone is sitting in groups of two with El in the center/front of them all. Nancy and Jonathan are standing off to the side, Max and Lucas are standing across from that couple, and Mike and Will are sitting on the rail of the fruit fridge/aisle (I do not know what to call it) and I would like to point out that the two of them are sitting closer than the actual couples are. Not only that, but this was also a parallel to the ending of season four, but I will go into more detail as I reach the next season.
My condolences for another time skip, but nothing was important from most of the last episode, so now we are at the point of everyone helping the byers’ family pack up the rest of their house before moving to California. (these next few paragraphs are SO important and I have been waiting for a very long period of time to finally be allowed to write in depth about this ending specifically)
Mike is standing in front of a donation box as he notices Will placing his DnD books into the said box. Mike is instantly taken aback by this action as he stops Will from walking away to intrigue him about it. “Hey, Will, that’s the donation box..” “Yeah I know, I just guessed I could borrow yours when I come back… If we still want to play of course…” “Yeah… But what if you want to join a new party when you leave?” “Not possible” When Will responds with that, Mike gives him the biggest smile,and looks down, almost embarrassed. Will smiles back, lingering a bit, before walking away. This is when many fans, including me, believe that Mike realised that he might like Will. This is pretty much the only reasonable explanation as to why Mike would have acted so different in the season to follow, AND EVEN THE SCENE TO FOLLOW… But, I genuinely cannot stress enough that this is when he realised, so get it though your brain.
Not too important plot-wise, but this was a parallel to another movie, “Stand By Me” when the main two characters were saying goodbye to each other. I would definitely recommend this movie (you probably won’t watch it, but it’s good) and you could have a better understanding of what I mean. (and I don’t really wanna explain it, so if you actually care you can like search it up on youtube or something i don’t know)
Mike and Eleven’s goodbye was so…. Off. When Mike walks in, he helps El get Will’s teddy bear off of a high shelf inside a closet, and hands it to her. She brings up the moment when Mike admitted that he loved her at Hopper’s cabin, to which he sort of denies, and brushes it off. Eventually, when he won’t just say it, she just replies with, “Mike, I love you too” And kisses him. This feels odd to say, but if there was such a thing as a one sided kiss, THIS WAS DEFINITELY IT… his eyes were wide open, he was standing there awkwardly, and not kissing back AT ALL. There is literally only a single time I have seen someone not kiss their partner back so obviously was in this show where the guy was only with this girl because he was a sociopath and wanted to kill her… (that was besides the point but) That is definitely not how you should be kissing your girlfriend for the last time before she leaves to move across the country, not knowing when the next time you will be able to see/visit her, but whatever floats your boat i guess.. When Eleven walks out of the room she has a small smile plastered on her face, but what reaction does Mike have? He stares at the ground in front of him, with his eyebrows wrinkled, almost looking confused..?? Now, why would you look like that after kissing your girlfriend other than realising that you might not like her back🤯🤯
I split this into two sections because there is a LOT to unpack about their goodbye. This paragraph is more about things that might not have been as obvious, and the last one was just literally plainly there. A very large thing that people miss is that the same song that plays when El tells Mike she loves him, plays when Steve tells Robin that he likes/loves her and she tells him she likes girls. There is actually no way that is “just a coincidence”. In Robin and Steve’s situation, Steve says he likes her, and she tells him she likes him, just not in THAT way, hmm strange, almost like, there's a chance that it’s the same thing happening in the Mileven relationship.. Another shorter thing that I have seen several people miss is that Mike is standing right in front of an open closet throughout this talk and when she kisses him. Something I also picked up on is that Will’s stuffed bear is in between the two of them for the entire scene. (I smell foreshadowing)
Can I take a small moment to just say how different Mike’s reaction to El saying that she loves him and his best friend saying that he won’t ever be replaced are. To his girlfriend, he stares blankly, doesn’t show much emotion (other than confusion and slight disgust), and denies what she is saying. Versus, to his best friend, he smiles, is left feeling happy, good resolved goodbye/ending, both sides are being truthful, and holding eye contact.
(there are genuine tears in my eyes I’m so close but so far from finishing I have been writing sense 11;25 pm and it is currently 3 in the fucking morning im so tired i havent taken a single break and written 4000 words in this time i need to sleep so please actually read this, you dont know how much it will like no joke break and disappoint me if you dont and like laugh it off and say no, because I have put my fucking heart and soul into this shit and im not giving uo now, so i beg of you fucking please read this, your aura will decrease so much if you dont, like actually i dont think i would ever think of you the same, after going through all of this pain, i have a headache, and my tummy hurts. So if you're reading this late, and you didn't take time to read this when i give it to you i hope you live guilty and feel bad that you didn't. Genuinely. If you see this late, you better feel bad. It's been at least like 10-15 hours so far, from the prep, to the rewriting it in a notebook so I can process it better, to actually adding in all of the details, to checking my spelling and grammar, and changing words to make it sound more professional. So thank you, if you read this when I gave it to you, because I can't even say it enough, this took so much time and planning. And no, this will not be added to the word count.) (sorry if the writing and grammar is slowly getting worse I was kinda not trying as hard as the night went on)
In one of the final clips of this season, everyone is hugging and saying their last goodbyes. The song lyrics “The truth is, for so long I forgot what those even were” play as Will and Mike hug goodbye for the last time, this was also a reference to Hopper talking about his feelings with Mike and Eleven.
After the Byers leave we hear Hopper’s voiceover of the note/speech/heart-to-heart was read aloud. “But lately I guess I’ve been feeling” The camera zooms in on Mike as he watches their car drive away, “distant from you, like you’re pulling away from me or something” In season four, Will tells Mike that he has been pulling away because he was scared of losing Mike, these feeling were reciprocated by Mike. The camera angle could have been on Mike to show that he was thinking about Eleven, but the two of them were not really pulling away from each other. Or, at least not as much as Mike and Will had been throughout the summer. That was Mike and Will’s dynamic in this season, growing up and growing apart. This could have also been season four foreshadowing for either ships, for Mileven it could have been how Mike and El were growing apart after seeing each other in person again. But for Byler it would have been because when they were away from each other, they grew apart, but when they reunited they grew very close again.
When Mike arrived back at his house, he went up to his mom, with that same blank- almost confused- look on his face. He gave her the same hug that he had when he witnessed Will’s body being pulled dead from the lake. He didn’t have the same look of loss, kind of like the one he was experiencing because they left, but almost like he realized something. Huh..? What could that something ever be?
Oh my god am I exhausted, this is probably the longest I have ever just sat and wrote in a single session, that being three and a half hours… This season's analysis is genuinely longer than the other two combined, and I just know that season four is going to be even longer, and more painful, But thank you.
I don’t know why I do things like this to myself sometimes, okay so this is going to take so long and I am rewatching the entire season four to write down every single byler moment throughout, and for each of these moments just assume a paragraph will be for explanation.
Red -- mike caring about will
Only kept el in order to find Will
Homophobic remarks directed at mike
Mike’s dad saying homophobic powered insults about will
Jumped off the cliff because that is where will died
When they saw eleven in the woods the first thing mike said ws “thats not wil”
Mike’s mom giving him a queercoded talk
Before he kisses el he just says “yeah well it's weird to go with your sister” (snowball)
Queercoded song playing as Mike hugs his mom after he saw wills body
Stands up for will after Troy calls Will gay
Thought that el was a boy at first
Many people saying that she looked like a boy
One of the only people who thought will was still alive/ still determined
Recognised wills voice immediately over the walkie talkie
Wasn't fighting when the cops were talking to the party bcs he was upset
“Whats wrong with you, what is wrong with you”
Getting mad at el when she was trying to help find will (walkie talkie)
When el was leaning on mikes shoulder, he stood up and ignored her
Has wills drawings taped up in his room
Looking at a binder full of wills drawings after mike thought he was dead
Was the only one sitting awake when they were at the hospital waiting for will
Mike ran in and but his head on wills chest hear a heartbeat when they hugged
Instead of lucas just says that mike ikes el he said “you just like that a girl isnt grossed out by you
Yellow -- heart to hearts
Pink -- mike caring for will
Teal -- mike being jealous
Green-teal -- being protective
Says that everyone is babying him “mom, dustin, lucas” and didn't say mike
“Until then, princess daphne is still mines” and Mike rolls his eyes
When they are all at the arcade Mike is the one to notice when will leaves and brings him back inside
Mike thought that will liked max
Mike smiled when max dropped the note in the trash “stop spying on me creeps”
Gets mad when max joined them for halloween
When will was having an episode, he called for mike
Mike was the first to notice / get to will when he got lost during the episode
Wouldn't let anyone else help will when he was scared
Told will that they were “going home” and went to mike’s house
When Mike said that he felt like he was going crazy, he agreed “crazy together?”
Many references to love making someone crazy
“you better tell him that, only love makes you that crazy, and that damn stupid”
Mike notices whenever will is acting different when the rest of the party doesn’t
When mike was telling will that they could spy on the mind flayer mike grabbed his hand
“What is he spies back” “he won’t” (hand grab)
When will was taken into the hospital mike stayed with him the whole time
Slept next to him in the uncomfortable hospital chair
In the hospital mike was the only person that will recognised
When they took will into the shed to talk to him mike was the only one of his friends there
It was the same hand that mike grabbed that tapped the morse code
When mike was telling will about how they met to try to get will back mike was crying
The monologue felt very genuine
Will only started tapping the morse code as Mike talked to him
Joyce was telling Will when he was young he made a drawing called the rainbow ship
When will was taken into the hospital he was calling out for mike
When will was asked out by the girl to dance with her, mike pushed will to go with her
Mike instantly regretted it, and was staring at him sadly
Dustin was doing the same as mike was, looking at Lucas and max bcs he liked her
In the original script said that instead of looking at the girl, he was looking at mike
Blue -- looking at will vs. looking at el
Telling will that it wasn't his fault that will doesnt like girls
Pushing els hands off of him when they were kissing
When el broke up with mike, he looked disgusted and confused
When will stormed off after the fight in the rain mike looked regretful, hurt
“He’ll come crawling back to you in no time”
Goes to Will’s house to say sorry
When he doesn't see will, he bikes into the forest to find castle byers
During the movie both will and mike were blushing and looking at each others lips
Looking at wills lips and gets (?) distracted and doesn't yell at max loud enough to move
Will constantly asking to play D&D because he misses how they used to be
When will put his D&D books into the donation box and mike was confused / surprised
“Hey wait that's the donation box” “yeah I know, I’ll just yours when I come back, you know if we still wanna play” “yeah but what if you wanna join a new party” “not possible”
And Mike gives him the biggest smile
This is when many fans believe that Mike realised he had feelings for Will
Then, when El kissed him, and said she loved him, he had his eyes wide open
She smiled after and he just looked confused
The camera zoomed in on mike when Hopper was doing a voice over of his note when he said that he felt like he was losing her
This could be to el or to mike but at the end of the season they had shown el and mike making up, so that wouldn't have made sense
When Mike got home he gave his mom the same hug that he gave her after will was “dead”
When Mike sadi “I love her and I can’t lose her again” Will, Jonathan, and Nancy all looked at him
The original book said that Mike wouldn't leave his room after Will and El moved away
When dustin tries to explain his gf to mike he says “she's hotter than phoebe cates,” mike makes a grossed out face
Many differences to all of the other guys (+robin) saying that phoebe cates is pretty
Mike thinks its childish to like Will
Red -- lip glances, flirting, touchy
Pink -- unreliable narrator
Pink -- interrupted trope
Tried to call will (couldn't have been el bcs the cops have bugged their phone)
Very awkward hug after not seeing each other for almost a year
Asked about wills painting before even asking who argyle was
Had no problem hugging dustin the day before
Only thing that had changed between mike and will is that mike thought will liked a girl and was acting different / odd
Finn said that mike was just trying to fit in for the season (even though he had just told lucas that “may we don’t want to be popular”
Triangle on mikes shirt (usually pointing at will)
Costume designers said they custom print robins shirt to have triangles (representation)
Said they custom made that outfit for mike
Can't tell el that he loves her (cant even write it)
Will is in every scene that eleven and mike are in together
Except for the fight where mike couldn’t say i love you
This is a parallel to Nancy and steve when nancy wouldn't say I love you
Mike and will literally flirting during the scene when mike was apologizing (never did w el)
“I didn't say it” “you didn't have to” vs. “you never say it” “I say it” parallel
Script only shows wills POV on purpose (unreliable narrator)
Script says that will looks away and gets flustered after the “you didn't have to”
After will looks away mike exhales sharply and looks down
“I think it would be better if we were a team, friends, best friends”
Both of them had tears in their eyes during that scene
when will was showing mike the painting wills arm brushed his hand he looked at it
One way sign in mike's room pointing to his closet
Whenever they have a heart to heart they are interrupted
During the “friends, best friends” the van came and they both act like they got caught doing something they shouldn't
When Mike got his last note he would ever get from el, he threw it away
But only after will said “staring at that won't make it change”
Then they have the “friends, best friends talk”
In the van when will is showing mike the painting he uses el’s name to cover his own feelings
Then, Will told mike that el had commissioned the art and Mike looked confused because she told him in the letter that she did not know what will was making
Mike stops smiling when will said that El commissioned it
Finn said that Mike was oblivious to everything that will was saying confession wise
But Jonathan knew what was happening, and later told will that he supported him
At the place where they buried the man who was killed in the gun fight, will and mike have a talk and will talks about how he is scared to open up because “what if people don't like the truth, and mike nods
A lot of people think that will might have came out if it weren't for argyle asking them for a working pen (interruption trope)
The triple take while they are burying the man (mike looks at will but will is alr looking at him)
“Were friends, were friends”
“I thought I lost you” byler lumax parallel
The only cute mileven moment was the pizza scene (no one would think about it like a cute couple moment if it was literally dustin and Lucas
Mikes literally whole story in s4 being growing apart from El and closer to Will
Mike standing next to will and not El after she hit angela
When they returned to Hoppers cabin Mike told Will that El hasn't talked to him
Mike's shirt being the gay flag..?
On the s4 poster will and mike are staring at each other
At rink o mania we see mileven happy from wills pov but from anyone elses they are unhappy /neutral
ships jopper and jancy standing at the hill w byler, el in front
on the pizza van L draws herself (?) and two people next to her an herawing is place where el is a single person and mike and will are the two people and are staring at each other in this scene
camera zooms in on will and mike to have then placed perfectly
Mike going out of his way to find a valentines card that says I like you
Said that will was ruining the day, just like he said max was ruining halloween when neither of them were doing anything wrong
There is never a time when only friends actually means that they are only friends (usually some says that because they are under speculation that they might not be friends) and NO ONE was implying otherwise michael wheeler
If mike didn't like will, then why was he so awkward after they grew up
They didn't need to make mileven weird / how it was because the show isn't lacking in conflict
What does Mike even have to hide from el??? (dead guy scene/whole sesaon)
Mike says that he loves els powers which are the very thing that saved will
Said I love you NINE times (overcompensating)
Could only say I love you after Will had pushed him “Mike, don’t stop ok? You're the heart, ok remember that. You're the heart”
The song in the background was called your the heart
The vines around els neck continued to get tighter even after mike said i love you
Didn't cry during saying it but did during wills
The whole cast had disgusted looks reacting to the monologue
"El... I don’t know if you can hear this. But if you can, I want you to know I’m here. I’m right here. And I love you. El, do you hear me? I love you. I’m sorry I don’t say it more. It’s not because I’m scared of you. I’m not. I’ve never felt that way. Never. But I am scared that one day you’ll realise that one day you don't need me anymore. And, I thought that if I said how I felt it would only make that day hurt more. But the truth is, El, I don’t know how to live without you. I feel like my life started that day. We found you in the woods, you were wearing that yellow Benny’s Burger T-shirt, and it was so big it almost swallowed you whole. And I knew right then, and there, in that moment that I loved you. And I've loved you everyday sense. (El stops smiling) I love you on your good days, I love you on your bad days, I love you with your powers, I love you without your powers. I love you for exactly who you are. You’re my superhero. And… I can’t lose you. Ok? Do you hear me? I can’t lose you. You can do anything, you can fly, you can move mountains, I believe that, I really do. But right now, you just have to fight, ok? El, do you hear me? You need to fight. You have to fight. Fight! Fight! That’s it El. Fight! Fight!”
Orange -- do a segment on this
Yellow -- important things (shorter)
Mike looked very obviously scared after eleven hit angela in the head with a roller skate
What day? All she ever wanted was for him to say I love you they werent going to lose each other, the only reason that they would is if Mike stopped putting in the all ready small amount of effort into their relationship
He did NOT love her every day sense and has made that very obvious MANY times
Remembering this for when I want to tell someone that i love that instead I say that they are my superhero
Will: “Were gonna make it Mike, she's gonna be ok”
Mike: “Yeah, I know. I… I know she is. But… but what if after all of this is over, she… sh… she doesn;t need me anymore?”
Will: “Of course she’ll still need you. She’ll always need you, Mike.”
Mike: “I keep telling myself that, but I.. I don't believe that. I mean, she’s special. She was born special, maybe I was one of the first people to realize that. But the truth is, when I stumbled on her in the woods, she just needed someone. It wasn’t fate, it wasn’t destiny. It’s just simple dumb luck. And one day she’s gonna realize I’m just some random nerd that got lucky that superman landed on his doorstep. I mean, at least Lois Lane is an ace reporter for the daily planet, right? But… (scoffs) sorry”
Mike: “No, i… it’s so stupid, given everything that’s going on. It’s just, I… I don’t know, I just…”
Will: “You’re scared of losing her.”
[tender, emotional music playing]
Will: “Can I show you something?”
(hands the painting to Mike)
Mike: (chuckles) This is amazing. Did you paint this?
Will: Yeah. Yeah. I mean… I mean El asked me to. She commissioned it, basically. (Mike stops smiling) I mean, she told me what to draw. Anyway, my point is, see how you’re leading us here? You’re guiding the whole party, inspiring us. That's… That’s what you do. And see your coat of arms here? It’s a heart. And I know it’s sort of on the nose, but that’s what holds this party together, heart. Because without heart, we’d all fall apart. Even El. Especially El. These past few months, she’s been so lost without you. It’s just she’s so different from other people, and… when you’re… when you’re different, sometimes… you feel like a mistake. But, you make her feel like she’s not a mistake at all. Like she’s better for being different.., And that gives her the courage to fight on. If she was mean to you, or she seemed like she was pushing you away, it’s probably just because she’s afraid to lose you, like you’re scared of losing her. And if she was going to lose you, I.. I think she’d rather just get it over with quick. Like ripping off a bandaid. So, Yeah, El needs you Mike. And she always will.”
(Will turns away from Mike, looks out the window and begins to cry)
IT ALWAYS IS ISN'T IT (HAPPENS FIRST)
Will:”If you keep staring at that, it’s not going to change. You know?”
Mike: “Yeha. Yeah, you’re right.”
Mike throws the letter in the trash, Will sits down at him, and Mike starts fidgeting
Mike: Before the cops came, me and El, we had a bad fight. We never fight. I mean, we fought before, But just like, silly fights, stupid fights. But, I don't know, this one just felt more adult. Like, it just felt more real. Like, it was a fight you can’t come back from. Maybe I should have said something, and if I said that thing, then maybe she’d want me there with her, wherever she is.”
Will: “No. Look, Mike, you’re gonna see her again, and whatever you didn;t say, you can say it to her then.”
Will: “she’s gonna be okay. She’s not in Hawkins. That’s what we should be worrying about.”
Mike: “You don’t trust Owens?”
Will: “No. I don’t know. I mean, he’s been good to us, and good to El, but he wasn't able to protect me. That was you guys who saved me. That was you guys.”
Mike: [sighs] “Looks like it’s going to be up to us again.”
Will: “It always is, isn’t it”
[they look at each other and laugh]
Jonathan: “Which is why we can’t stay here.”
(Interruption trope AGAIN)
I THINK IT WOULD BE BETTER IF WE WERE A TEAM (HAPPENS SECOND)
Mike: “Yeah, I mean, I never really unpacked… Thanks by the way…”
Mike: “For knocking some sense into me, I mean, I was being a total self-pitying idiot.”
Mike: “You didn’t have to” [chuckles]
[emotional, tender music playing]
Mike: “Hey also, about the last few days--”
WIll: “You don't have to say anything. I was being a total jerk to El. I deserved it.”
Mike: “No. No, no, no. You didn’t deserve anything.”
[Will turns back around to look at Mike]
Mike: Listen, the truth is, the last year has been weird. You know? I mean, Max, Lucas, and Dustin, they’re… they’re great. It’s just… It’s Hawkins. It’s not the same without you. And I feel like maybe I was worrying too much about El, and I don’t know, maybe I feel like I lost you or something. Does that make sense? I have no idea what’s gonna happen next. But, whatever it is, I… I think we should work together. I think it’ll be easier if we’re… we’re a team. Friends. Best friends.”
(a vehicle approaches, and when they hear this, they both look away from each other and act like they were just caught doing something they weren’t supposed to)
Yellow -- do a segment on this
THINGS THAT MILEVEN FANS SAY
“Byler can’t happen in one season it would feel too rushed”
Mileven, lumax, and jancy all happened in one season
“But mike and el are dating”
Many queer people date someone of the opposite gender as a beard
“He said I love you to her”
(season 3) Overcompensation (season 4) overcompensation
“mike only yelled at eleven in season one becuase he was mad that his best friend dying not at eleven he was just taking his anger out on her”
hmm tell me how many times mauke has angrily yelled at will when he was mad? and then after that SINGLE time it happened did he apologize? and how many tomes had he angrily yelled at eleven and then tell me how many times he truly appologized to her. yeah not very many (if any at all)
If will was a girl more would ship byler
El is most likely being used as Mikes “beard”
A beard is when a queer person dates someone of the other gender to seem straight
Bday gate could be used against the wither of them is they were attacked by vecna
Suzie said the exact day and time of dustin's bday as to say “we know the days”
In season one, Dustin had told mike that he was always so oblivious to everything that was happening, and it continues to show when will basically confesses
S1 ep1, s2 ep2, s3 ep3, s4 ep4, s5 ep5????
S1 ep1: Will goes missing
If byler wasn't going to happen then they would have cut off the possibility of it early on, like they did with steve and robin
Again, if it won't happen then why is mike so mean if not projecting (i'm a mike apologist)
In an interview with the cast after season 2-3 (idk) Millie says “were basically gonna get married tomorrow, that’s basically how they act” (talking about Mileven) and Finn rolls his eyes and mouths “you wish”
“Will’s kind of love towards Mike and I think it’s really a beautiful thing” Interviewer “Any clue as to how Mike will handle that?” Finn (smiling) “I don’t think he knows that, I mean, yeah… I think he's pretty clueless. There’s probably a mutual understanding and an acceptance, I think” (actor of Jonathan says “I remember watching you filming it and I was like… aww…” (finn and charlie smile at each other, as sinn says “i’m so glad”)
(someone asks Finn if he ships byler) “um.. Yeah… I don’t know, I guess we’ll see what the duffer’s write, Um.. but I think that people should ship whoever they want to ship.”
(someone asks the same to Noah) “oh, um I do! There's definitely some of that in the next season, so..”
(someone asks Noah if from season one if Will likes Mike) “But I mean, I think, cause you definitely see it already from the start in season 1, with like the names they're calling. Will and stuff so I don’t think it just came to be, it was definitely like they have.. They're very smart, the duffers. So, they definitely know where they want to go. It’s always been pretty planned out.”
“What's your favorite ship from stranger things?’ Noah: “obviously byler, it’s just at its peak right now”
Noah’s tweet: “S4 has me shipping byler over anything”
david barbour: “if you have been watching the show, you should know that will is not interested in El. He’s interested in someone else in the group” (Finn stats laughing) Finn: “Yeah, yeah, you’ll see soon who he's interested in” David: “very interested”
Noah: “And I could sort of tell that from the very beginning of the show that Will and Mike had a very strong connection, and I could never tell if it was platonic or romantic, and as it goes on you kind of realize that Will does have” (stops talking) “wait am I allowed to be saying this?”
The cover of stranger things changes sometimes, and it has been byler a few times
There was a photoshoot of jopper, jancy (?), sum else, and byler (y if not canon???)
Noah and Finn dating allegations😭????
Stranger things official twitter: “know who pauses stranger things at __ minutes, __ seconds? People who live for a “will they” or “won’t they” couple” which was 53 mins 5 secs (said in the ep where robin and steve are in the car talking about vickie) When you go through the seasons and pause it at that time, it is a frame of will and Mike standing next to each other, then look at each other. It was posted to 11:05 am: 1+1+5 which equals 7. Which is the number that will rolled on the dice and told mike (bcs they cant lie to each other) and it was posted on november 5th, and when you add 1+1+5 it again equals 7. 7+7: 14, which earlier in the episode will rolls the dice (or maybe at the end I don't remember) and it is 14. If you go to the same time stamp in season 4, Mike says “We will, we will.” in the season two frame of will and mike next to each other it is season 2 episode 5 (equals 7 again) there is another time in season 4 that shows lucas and max, but then why all of the numbers
El and mike CONSTANTLY lying to each other (mainly in seasons 3 and 4)
Stranger thing writers: alright, have any questions? I have INCORRECT answers only. Go.
Random person: do you believe in love at first sight?
Stranger things writers: absolutely
the writers could try to deny this, but I doubt it because Mike was probably just saying everything that he thinks El might want to hear just to save her
Noah had to take chemistry / compatibility test with joyce, jonathan, and mike, the only one in the party
Over time Mike changes some of the posters in his basement according to his maturity and showing how he gets older through the seasons, but the only thing that stays all through the seasons are Wills drawings on the walls, and there is nothing El related all through the season. (decoration wise, so no els fort does not count)
We are not shown Mikes room through seasons 2 and three, but we do see els and her walls are covered in things about mike
In the makeout mileven scene we can see a drawing with Mies name in elevens room that has a rainbow and hearts around
No this is not going to be like “ph this is queer coding because its implying that mike is gay, no because where el is from rainbows werent for gay people they were just colors that she was used to
Crayons are what she used to draw this with, which is a common art utensil for children
This is not queercoding but rather a way to show that mileven was a childlike relationship that isn't meant to last forever, it is short and childlike. A short first love that wont last it is just for the experience
This does not apply for wills feeling for Mike though because it wasnt just a “oh i dont know what it is like to love someone but now that we are together i could learn to love you” like how Lucas said that he was just happy that a girl was willing to talk to him so he took it as “I should date her because that is what close male and female friends do with each other, it is what is right and what I have been taught.”
But, Will knows he likes Mike, he knows how he feels. If both feelings are strongly mutual they would both put effort into a relationship right? So if Mike truly does love el then why doesnt he put as much effort into their relationship as she does?
Connected to the 70-30 flower moment is season four
There is also a dnd drawing of wills character will the wize in els room
ELs whole room is covered in things about or for Mike, which is strange because then why would she have one of Will's drawings of himself there?
Many people agree that Mike gave it to El telling her that it was his own character so he could be reminded of Will while he was with her
I've also seen people say that it was so that Mike could think of will while he kissed eleven, but that feels a little far stretched considering he most likely had not come to terms with his feeling internally by this time, and probably blocked out any thoughts about such things
Though Will can be shown through el in other ways, such as how she dresses which is influenced by Will, like the flannels she wears in season four
Because of where El has come from she is trying to live her childhood and her teenage years all at once to make up for all the time she lost at the lab, her interactions with Mike in season three are more childish than mikes, furthermore showing her childlike side. But the things that stays with Mike and is growing with and maturing with him his whole life is Will
When Mike and EL are kissing and EL outs her hands on him and pushes them down, I don't really think this is like “oh Mike doesn't love her and doesn't want her to touch him” Where saying that COULD apply, I think it is more of showing how El is more childlike than Mike because of her past and children don't usually understand the concept of personal space and boundaries
When Mike is singing after kissing el in the first scene again, this is a parallel to other failing relationships that will not work, for example, robin and steve, it will not work because one of them is gay. And the same for steve and nancy, it will not work because one of them is not in love with the other
Four seasons of buildup (though the buildup is stronger for byler)
Mike and El define traditional gender roles
Realistic experience fro Will to like his best friend
Normalise just having close friends
Red -- start of season (eps 1-2)
Neon -- between (not sure)
Orange -- getting further (eps 3-4)
Neon -- between (not sure)
Yellow -- mid season (eps 5-6)
Neon -- between (not sure)
Green -- ¾ through (eps 7-8)
Neon -- between (not sure)
Blue -- end of season (eps 9)
Says that everyone is babying him “mom, dustin, lucas” and didn't say mike
“Until then, princess daphne is still mines” and Mike rolls his eyes (??)
Mike thought that will liked max
Mike smiled when max dropped the note in the trash “stop spying on me creeps”
Gets mad when max joined them for halloween
When will was having an episode, he called for mike
Mike was the first to notice / get to will when he got lost during the episode
Wouldn't let anyone else help will when he was scared
Told will that they were “going home” and went to mike’s house
When Mike said that he felt like he was going crazy, he agreed “crazy together?”
Many references to love making someone crazy
“you better tell him that, only love makes you that crazy, and that damn stupid”
Mike notices whenever will is acting different when the rest of the party doesn’t
When mike was telling will that they could spy on the mind flayer mike grabbed his hand
“What is he spies back” “he won’t” (hand grab)
When will was taken into the hospital mike stayed with him the whole time
Slept next to him in the uncomfortable hospital chair
In the hospital mike was the only person that will recognised
When they took will into the shed to talk to him mike was the only one of his friends there
It was the same hand that mike grabbed that tapped the morse code
When mike was telling will about how they met to try to get will back mike was crying
The monologue felt very genuine
Will only started tapping the morse code as Mike talked to him
Joyce was telling Will when he was young he made a drawing called the rainbow ship
When will was taken into the hospital he was calling out for mike
When will was asked out by the girl to dance with her, mike pushed will to go with her
Mike instantly regretted it, and was staring at him sadly
Dustin was doing the same as mike was, looking at Lucas and max bcs he liked her
In the original script said that instead of looking at the girl, he was looking at mike
Mike was the only person that WIll told about the mind flayer, and that is why Mike went over in the first place to ask if he was okay (ended up staying with him for days)
Parallel to jancy when Mike was sleeping on the floor and Will was in the bed because they didn’t want to be alone (the look)
Mike stops calling el when he is helping will
Red -- start of season (eps 1-2)
Neon -- not sure, between
Orange -- getting further (ep 3)
Neon -- not sure, between
Yellow -- mid season (eps 4-5)
Blue -- end of season (eps 7-8)
Telling will that it wasn't his fault that will doesnt like girls
Pushing els hands off of him when they were kissing
When el broke up with mike, he looked disgusted and confused
When will stormed off after the fight in the rain mike looked regretful, hurt
“He’ll come crawling back to you in no time”
Goes to Will’s house to say sorry
When he doesn't see will, he bikes into the forest to find castle byers
During the movie both will and mike were blushing and looking at each other
Looking at wills lips and gets (?) distracted and doesn't yell at max loud enough to move
Will constantly asking to play D&D because he misses how they used to be
When will put his D&D books into the donation box and mike was confused / surprised
“Hey wait that's the donation box” “yeah I know, I’ll just yours when I come back, you know if we still wanna play” “yeah but what if you wanna join a new party” “not possible”
And Mike gives him the biggest smile
This is when many fans believe that Mike realised he had feelings for Will
Then, when El kissed him, and said she loved him, he had his eyes wide open
She smiled after and he just looked confused
The camera zoomed in on mike when Hopper was doing a voice over of his note when he said that he felt like he was losing her
This could be to el or to mike but at the end of the season they had shown el and mike making up, so that wouldn't have made sense
When Mike got home he gave his mom the same hug that he gave her after will was “dead”
This scene is a parallel to stand by me
When Mike sadi “I love her and I can’t lose her again” Will, Jonathan, and Nancy all looked at will
The original book said that Mike wouldn't leave his room after Will and El moved away
When dustin tries to explain his gf to mike he says “she's hotter than phoebe cates,” mike makes a grossed out face
Many differences to all of the other guys (+robin) saying that phoebe cates is pretty
You're the most important thing that’s ever happened to me
Mike: “It’s a cool campaign, It’s really cool, we just aren't in the mood right now”
Will: “Yeah, Mike. That’s the problem, you guys are never in the mood anymore”
Will: “Yeah? Where’s Dustin right now? … See you don’t know and you don’t even care and he obviously doesn’t either and I don’t blame him, You’re ruining the party and for what? so you can swap spit with a stupid girl?”
Mike: “El’s not stupid! It’s not my fault you don’t like girls”
Mike: “I’m not trying to be a jerk, but really what did you think? That we were never going to get girlfriends, and we were just going to sit in my basement all day and play games?”
Will: “Yeah I guess I did, I really did”
Red -- start of season (eps 1-2)
Orange -- getting further (eps 3-4)
Yellow -- mid season (eps 5-6)
Green -- getting further (eps 7)
Blue -- end of season (eps 8-9) + volume 2
Tried to call will (couldn't have been el bcs the cops have bugged their phone)
Very awkward hug after not seeing each other for almost a year
Asked about wills painting before even asking who argyle was
Had no problem hugging dustin the day before
Only thing that had changed between mike and will is that mike thought will liked a girl and was acting different / odd
Finn said that Mike was just trying to fit in for the season (even though he had just told Lucas that “has it ever occurred to you that we don't want to be popular?”
Triangle on mikes shirt (usually pointing at will)
Costume designers said they custom print robins shirt to have triangles (representation)
Said they custom made that outfit for mike
Can't tell el that he loves her (cant even write it)
Will is in every scene that eleven and mike are in together
Except for the fight where mike couldn’t say i love you
This is a parallel to Nancy and steve when nancy wouldn't say I love you
Mike and will literally flirting during the scene when mike was apologizing (never did really apologised to her tho)
“I didn't say it” “you didn't have to” vs. “you never say it” “I say it” parallel
Script only shows wills POV on purpose (unreliable narrator)
Script says that will looks away and gets flustered after the “you didn't have to”
After will looks away mike exhales sharply and looks down
“I think it would be better if we were a team, friends, best friends”
Both of them had tears in their eyes during that scene
when will was showing mike the painting wills arm brushed his hand he looked at it
One way sign in mike's room pointing to his closet
Whenever they have a heart to heart they are interrupted
During the “friends, best friends” the van came and they both act like they got caught doing something they shouldn't
When Mike got his last note he would ever get from el, he threw it away
But only after will said “staring at that won't make it change”
Then they have the “friends, best friends talk”
In the van when will is showing mike the painting he uses el’s name to cover his own feelings
Then, Will told mike that el had commissioned the art and Mike looked confused because she told him in the letter that she did not know what will was making
Mike stops smiling when will said that El commissioned it
Finn said that Mike was oblivious to everything that will was saying confession wise
But Jonathan knew what was happening, and later told will that he supported him
At the place where they buried the man who was killed in the gun fight, will and mike have a talk and will talks about how he is scared to open up because “what if people don't like the truth, and mike nods
A lot of people think that will might have came out if it weren't for argyle asking them for a working pen (interruption trope)
The triple take while they are burying the man (mike looks at will but will is alr looking at him)
“Were friends, were friends”
“I thought I lost you” byler lumax parallel
The only cute mileven moment was the pizza scene (no one would think about it like a cute couple moment if it was literally dustin and Lucas
Mikes literally whole story in s4 being growing apart from El and closer to Will
Mike standing next to will and not El after she hit angela
When they returned to Hoppers cabin Mike told Will that El hasn't talked to him
Mike's shirt being the gay flag..?
On the s4 poster will and mike are staring at each other
At rink o mania we see mileven happy from wills pov but from anyone else’s they are unhappy /neutral
ships jopper and jancy standing at the hill w byler, el in front
on the pizza van L draws herself (?) and two people next to her an herawing is place where el is a single person and mike and will are the two people and are staring at each other in this scene
camera zooms in on will and mike to have then placed perfectly
Mike going out of his way to find a valentines card that says I like you
Said that will was ruining the day, just like he said max was ruining halloween when neither of them were doing anything wrong
There is never a time when only friends actually means that they are only friends (usually some says that because they are under speculation that they might not be friends) and NO ONE was implying otherwise michael wheeler
If mike didn't like will, then why was he so awkward after they grew up
They didn't need to make mileven weird / how it was because the show isn't lacking in conflict/plot
What does Mike even have to hide from el??? (dead guy scene/whole season)
Mike says that he loves els powers which are the very thing that saved will
During the “I think it would be better if we worked as a team scene, the closet is between Will and Mike, and after Mike says “I feel like I lost you or something” will shift and the camera is now angled so that he is between Mike and the closet
Extremely obvious parallel from rockie to byler in the same episode
Another rockie byler parallel (sandwiches, van scene)
Directly after mike says that he loves her for he first time to her face, el has a flashback montage of her and max together and the thing she thought of max saying was “There's more to life than stupid boys”
In El’s room as she reads his letter, there is a box of Mike’s stuff w/ pictures and he is not smiling in any of them
The only picture we have ever seen of mike smiling in a picture are the ones with will (ex: halloween, science fair)
El cherished everything she has of Mike and he just crumbles up or throws away all of her letters
Joyces new job makes it difficult for Mike to call WIll
“Will is painting a lot, but he won't show me what he is working on. I think it is for a girl, I think there is someone he likes. Because he has been acting… weird.”
Will’s science project is on Alan Turng, who is a computer scientist and mathematician, who was sentenced to death because he was gay
“You were right, it just takes time, I think I finally adapted” which could be a reference to how a lot of people think that Mike thought that being away from will would make him not like him anymore (she was also lying in most of the letters
“Everyone is nice here, I have made lots of friends” this shows she was lying to appear happy
Will pulling his leg away when I girl is trying to flirt with him
Has it ever occurred to you that we don’t want to be popular? (though in an interview with Mike in season four he says that Mike just wants to fit in right now, but he has never wanted that, and I personally think this means to cover up how he feels about WIll which is not “normal”)
Had no problem with putting his arm around someone from hellfire, but any sort of physical contact with WIll he moves away/gets awkward
Wil excitedly smiling when he waits for mike in the airport
When mileven meets for the first time there are people who cross in front of the screen as if it was almost less important
30% 70% split thing (could mean how much each of them are putting into the relationship)
Really awkward hug BUT it is the focal point of the scene and we are supposed to focus on how they interact with each other
Mentions the painting that will made, maybe thinking that it was for the girl, which could have been the reason for the awkward hug
Asks about he painting before he asks whoa argyl is
Mike is dressing abnormally and mike says he just wants to try to fit in, (when you can see he doesnt feel like he belongs in california or with el)
As el is talking to mike about her plan for a “perfect date” he seems uninterested, for him a good day would jusst be in his basement playing games with his friends
Mike is hardly paying attention and looks back at will and right when they make eye contact they both look down and stop talking
Will knows who he wants/ mike doesnt
Makes for them cus steve and robin cant like ach other
Jon tells will to have fun while he is at the roller rink with mike and el because jonathan knows it will be hard to just be the third wheel to your own crushes date
Will’s perspective is what is being shown to us throughout this episode, and he is an unreliable narrator, bcause from his perspective mileven looks like a happy couple while he is behind them watching
Mike says how bad he is doing at skating and needs help, and he doesn't slow down for him
Will doesn't talk for most of this episode until the end
El lies to mike about several things, like saying she has friends, like angela while she is obviously being bullied by her and mike fails to notice
Will confronts el and tells her that he doesnt think that he will like that she is lying to him
She still lies even to will, who knows the truth because he lives with her
“I dont think mike will like that ur lying to him”
Mike is upste when will doest laugh at his joke about the socks that the roller rink gave him
Mileven doesnt look happy from angelas pov, while in will’s they look like they are having a good time again with the unreliable narrator
Song playing is obvi queer, it is about a guy from a small town who feels lik he cannot be himself (queer) becasue of the poeple there, and he wantss to leave to the city where he can express how he really feels
Mike looking at dude with glasses
Mike doesnt even notice el is bullied
Mike only sees when will points it out cus his main point of focus has been on will
Mike doesnt believe she lying, because their thing is that friends dont ie even though that is what mike himself is doing
Blue and yellow lights as they walk right beofre the fight
SO MUCH CODING in this whole scene
Mike wearing yellow (wills color)
Will wearing blue (mikes color)
It is wills birthday as shown in the camera when el is being filmed, and this may be why jonathan told will to have fun
Maybe un important but they might bring it up in s5
Might do extra part about birthday gate bu idk
Mike looks for el with will
Mike gets mad at will for el lying which was obviously not wills fault
Savatauge the whole day (this is what he also said to Max when she joined them on halloween even thoug she didnt do anything to him but he doesnt understand just having a female friend just as a friend)
Mike: no. you should have told me she was having trouble
Will: well i didnt know they were ging to be here
M: yeah but you knew she was having trouble for like a year and you didnt tell me
W: i didnt know she was lying to you
M: which is why youve decided to be a total douche to her all day
M: you were! You were! You were rolli g your eyes, you were moping, you were barely talking, you basically sabotaged the whole day
W: well she was lying to you mike, straight to oyour face ever sience you got here,,, an-and ive been a total third wheel all day, its been miserable. So… sorry if i want… smiling…
W: what are you mad that I ddint talk to you, seems like youvr made it pretty clear youre not interested in anything I have to say
W: you called maybe a couple times… its been a year mike. While el has a book of letters from you
M: thats because shes my girlfriend, will
M: were friends. Were friends.
W: well we used to be best friends
(song called in the clost starts playing)
When epeople say that they aer just “friends” it is usually if not always because they are uner the suspicion of a romantic relationship between the two, but that is not what Will was saying, he just wanted his best friend back
(sadder music starts playing) CALLED IN THE CLOsET
They can't make eye contact
El could've heard everything from the employees room
Looks scared doesnt ask her anything doesnt tl to ehr
Reminds her of the lab and how they treat her
Mike stans with will and not el trying to tell her this is how she was rased
In the back of the van no one is taking
El thinks abut how mike is scared f her now
Both will and mike wearing both blue and yellow
Mike wants to talk with el about what is happening in their relationship
Wants 2 know why she didnt tell him about bullying
She tells him he wouldn't get it
She says she really is a freak so he couldn't get it
“The way you looked at me, you were scared of me”
HE tries to say he isn't, when it was clear he was
Care, but you don't love me anymore
You never say it, i say it
He can't even write it in any of the letters
Most incredible person ever, but will was his most important
“Youre my super hero” but all she wanted was for him to see her for her not her powers
Mike tries to tell her that everything will be okay
Mike watches the car leave when she is taken by the cops
Mike reads els last letter to home when she was taken by owens
HE thinks about how one of the last things he said to her was used against him
“Dear mike, I have gone to become a superhero again”
She said this because he called her a superhero when all she wanted to be seen for was herself
Mike stares at the letter from el as will talks
WIll notices mike is worried about el and tries to talk to him
Mike crumbles up his possibly last time contacting el and trows the letter away
Where as he kept every single piece of art that will ever gave to mike that he kept in a binder, he didn't think he would ever see will again and that is what he also thought would happen to el at the time
Mike starts getting\ nervous once will sits down next to him
Mike tells will that him and el got ina fight
“Felt more adult or real”
Maybe if i said something she, and if i would've said that thing she would want me there with her rn
He couldn't even say that he loved el to will, because the only thing stopping him from saying it to el was will himself
That was u guys who saved me that was you guys
Says that when they are talking about who el is with now
It looks like it's gonna be up to us again, it always is isn't it?
Mike smiles and looks away
Mike Wheeler: Thanks, by the way.
Mike Wheeler: For knocking some sense into me. I mean, I was being a total self-pitying idiot.
Will Byers: I didn't say it.
Mike Wheeler: You didn't have to.
Mike Wheeler: Hey, also about the last few days...
Will Byers: You don't have to say anything. I... I was being a total jerk to El. I deserved it.
Mike Wheeler: No. No, no, no. You didn't deserve anything. Listen, the truth is the last year has been weird, you know? And I mean, you know, Max and Lucas and Dustin, they're... they're great. They're great. It's just... It's Hawkins. It's not the same without you. And I feel like maybe I was worrying too much about El, and I don't know, maybe I feel like I lost you or something. Does that make sense?
Mike Wheeler: I have no idea what's gonna happen next. But, whatever it is, I... I think we should work together. I think it'll be easier if we're... we're a team. Friends. Best friends.
Will Byers: [touched; close to tears] Cool.
Mike Wheeler: [smiles] Cool.
Interrupted as usual by pizza
Comparison between the “you never say it” “i say it” and “I didnt say it” “you didnt have to”
This shows the difference between how Mike feels the need to protect both of their emotions, and this was prominent throughout the entire series, he has always been protecting wills view of him whenever they get into a fight (like in the fight is season three and he did not go to apologize to WIll immediately after the light in rink o mania was because he was trying to get over how he felt about Will, but as we know Mike cannot lie to Will, unlike a certain someone) Where as when he fights with eleven he puts it off to hope the conflict will die down over time.
The triple take when they are burying dead guy
They talked on top of the car
“I should've explained myself. Maybe Eleven would've taken me with her and things would be different, but…”
“- I didn't… I didn't know what to say.”
“Sometimes I think it's just scary to open up like that. To say how you really feel. Especially to people you care about the most. Because, what if… What if they don't like the truth?”
“I should've explained myself” I don’t really understand this line because if ur girlfriend is asking you to tell her that you love her and you just wont say it what would be your explanation behind it
“I didnt, I didnt know what to say” she was telling Mike exactly what to say over and over again and instead of saying it to her, he just denied that he hadn't said it to her. Also What was it that he didn't know how to say, because if he truly loved her in the way that she loves him he should be comfortable to tell her without her needing to beg him to say it because she doesn't believe he does.
“Sometimes it’s scary to open up to people like that.” Will is talking about how he is scared to tell Mike that he is gay and or likes him
“To say how you really feel” But is love to El what Mike really feels, yes it would be hard to tell someone that you love them but when you love someone and they love you back they shouldn't have to force the words out of your mouth
Especially to people you care about the most” This isn't always in a romantic way, you can care about someone a lot but also not be in love with them, which is how I view Mike and Eleven’s relationship. Some people also view byler this way which I can understand to an extent
Because what if… What if they don't like the truth?” and Mike nods at this, which is odd because if the truth was that he loved el, how would she not like that? Would it be because he doesn't feel worthy enough for her and doesn't want her to be attached to someone like that? Or is it that Mike loves her in a different way than she does and doesn't know how to say it. But from a mileven perspective of this scene he could have nodded because he understands and sympathizes with WIll, though that doesn't make too much sense in context of this scene because they were talking about Mike and Eleven's relationship when Will explained how people may not like the truth.
They are interrupted by Argyle
When argyle and suzies sister meet for the first time where it is supposed to portray love at first sight mike looks disgusted
Will: “Were gonna make it Mike, she's gonna be ok”
Mike: “Yeah, I know. I… I know she is. But… but what if after all of this is over, she… sh… she doesn;t need me anymore?”
Will: “Of course she’ll still need you. She’ll always need you, Mike.”
Mike: “I keep telling myself that, but I.. I don't believe that. I mean, she’s special. She was born special, maybe I was one of the first people to realize that. But the truth is, when I stumbled on her in the woods, she just needed someone. It wasn’t fate, it wasn’t destiny. It’s just simple dumb luck. And one day she’s gonna realize I’m just some random nerd that got lucky that superman landed on his doorstep. I mean, at least Lois Lane is an ace reporter for the daily planet, right? But… (scoffs) sorry”
Mike: “No, i… it’s so stupid, given everything that’s going on. It’s just, I… I don’t know, I just…”
Will: “You’re scared of losing her.”
[tender, emotional music playing]
Will: “Can I show you something?”
(hands the painting to Mike)
Mike: (chuckles) This is amazing. Did you paint this?
Will: Yeah. Yeah. I mean… I mean El asked me to. She commissioned it, basically. (Mike stops smiling) I mean, she told me what to draw. Anyway, my point is, see how you’re leading us here? You’re guiding the whole party, inspiring us. That's… That’s what you do. And see your coat of arms here? It’s a heart. And I know it’s sort of on the nose, but that’s what holds this party together, heart. Because without heart, we’d all fall apart. Even El. Especially El. These past few months, she’s been so lost without you. It’s just she’s so different from other people, and… when you’re… when you’re different, sometimes… you feel like a mistake. But, you make her feel like she’s not a mistake at all. Like she’s better for being different.., And that gives her the courage to fight on. If she was mean to you, or she seemed like she was pushing you away, it’s probably just because she’s afraid to lose you, like you’re scared of losing her. And if she was going to lose you, I.. I think she’d rather just get it over with quick. Like ripping off a bandaid. So, Yeah, El needs you Mike. And she always will.”
(Will turns away from Mike, looks out the window and begins to cry)
El draws on van, girl in middle with two people in the thought bubble and will and mike looking at esch other
Said I love you NINE times (overcompensating)
Could only say I love you after Will had pushed him “Mike, don’t stop ok? You're the heart, ok remember that. You're the heart”
The song in the background was called your the heart
The vines around els neck continued to get tighter even after mike said i love you
Didn't cry during saying it but did during wills
The whole cast had disgusted looks reacting to the monologue
"El... I don’t know if you can hear this. But if you can, I want you to know I’m here. I’m right here. And I love you. El, do you hear me? I love you. I’m sorry I don’t say it more. It’s not because I’m scared of you. I’m not. I’ve never felt that way. Never. But I am scared that one day you’ll realise that one day you don't need me anymore. And, I thought that if I said how I felt it would only make that day hurt more. But the truth is, El, I don’t know how to live without you. I feel like my life started that day. We found you in the woods, you were wearing that yellow Benny’s Burger T-shirt, and it was so big it almost swallowed you whole. And I knew right then, and there, in that moment that I loved you. And I've loved you everyday sense. (El stops smiling) I love you on your good days, I love you on your bad days, I love you with your powers, I love you without your powers. I love you for exactly who you are. You’re my superhero. And… I can’t lose you. Ok? Do you hear me? I can’t lose you. You can do anything, you can fly, you can move mountains, I believe that, I really do. But right now, you just have to fight, ok? El, do you hear me? You need to fight. You have to fight. Fight! Fight! That’s it El. Fight! Fight!”
Slams door after looking at will and mike
“Does she talk to you at all?’ “not muuh”
When they sit on couch will is in the light and mike is in the shadows
Compared to the first interaction between them this season, one was forced one was voluntary
Jopper jqancy and byler are all paire together and el is on the side of the dead flowers alone
What will you do if byler is not canon in season five? My take
Probably cry and disappear for a while online and mentally and in person
I will not Take back anything I said about byler
It was the better story, and shows character development, introduces new ideas to people like internalized homophobia which is so hardly ever seen in media, and many people are unaware it even exists
Mike's characters would be stripped from any depth
Most elaborate queerbating in media, considering 6.5/10 of the stranger things fandom ships byler over mileven if not more
To have what many queer people feels in real life be proven wrong “I wont fall in love” because he thinks mike will never love him leads him to a happy ending after everything he's been through
Uplifting the outcasts is the main point of the show and for the main character to die without a happy ending and feeling like he would be alone forever is destroying the original theme
I will still be right even if byler does not happen because I have been saying how It would be a missed mark on the duffer brothers side to not add this relationship
