https://www.tumblr.com/voidcrumbs/803149736532213760/noah-on-andy-cohen-tn-asked-about-byler-straight?source=share
It turns out we were worried about the wrong interview
"I mean, look, it's kind of a real, authentic representation of, like, a queer kid in the eighties. I've dealt with that myself, like, being in love with my best friend and maybe they don't love you back or maybe, you know, they feel differently, and I'm not gonna kinda spoil anything, but I think the Duffers close it really well, and, um--"
hmmmmmmm
okay. let's consider how much of Will's story surrounding Mike so far has been him questioning if Mike truly likes him back. for most of the show, Mike's feelings have always been a maybe to him
To me this isn't Noah confirming or denying much of anything, really. He's repeating what any byler fan already knows to be true: stranger things includes a genuine story about a queer kid growing up and dealing with the struggles of being queer and uncertain about if their crush likes them back.
He's speaking from personal experience and applying it to byler, so it seems. when listening to it, it almost sounds like what he's trying to say is "I've dealt with that myself, like, being in love with my best friend and not knowing if they love you back or not knowing if they feel differently"
I feel like what he says is a nothingburger at it's core, but it's phrased in a way that's sort of meant to arouse confusion and debate. which we kNOW would happen -- this is essentially the largest franchise in the world, and they're not going to pass up any opportunity to get people talking about it, especially now that so many fans have woken up a bit more to byler. they WANT it to be a plot twist. they WANT it to be controversial
but at the end of the day, the press interviews are NOT the actual show. the duffers aren't planning this story around interviews or Noah or Finn's personal anecdotes -- this is why I'm saying we do not need to trust Finn (or apparently Noah). the duffers and the other writers ARE telling the story
THIS is the story:
THIS is what they have WRITTEN OUT for us to see:
THE STORY ITSELF does not suggest Mike "not loving will back" or "feeling something else." noah doesn't even say that -- he's only suggesting that the duffers have created that question in Will's mind, and that the question is generally relatable to queer people
all the byler evidence and proofs that we've sniffed out do not mean nothing because noah schnapp can't physically talk about Byler without making things unbearably awkward
