Analyzing the Coming-Out Scene and What It Sets Up for the Finale
What I understand from this scene is that different characters react differently to Will’s speech depending on how they personally relate to what he’s saying. I don’t think this scene is that bad, assuming, of course, that the Duffers actually put intentional thought into it.
Let's look at all the reactions.
Mike, Lucas and Dustin
"I don't like girls"
"I mean I do but just not like you guys do"
So ofc we know this, the focus is on Mike first then Lucas, Dustin and even somewhat on Robin when he says he doesn't like girls like they do, Mike is burred out completely in the second one and is thinking something.
Seems super intentional, hopefully it has a payback.
2. Robin
Camera on Robin, this moment is clearly healing for her. Watching Will say something she once struggled to say herself shows that her mentoring him has come full circle. This is growth, for both of them.
3. El
Hmm now the camera pans to El who has also been shown a future by Kali. She's also in the background in this scene.
Maybe this parallel between Kali and Vecna means something, maybe Vecna has already gotten to Kali with the idea that there's no place for people like them in the real world.
4. Joyce
This once's obvious too, Joyce literally looks worried as he speaks.
5. Mike
Not to be hopeful, but Mike's expressions here are interesting. He also relates to what Will said, especially the drifting apart bit. Now Mike is the heart of the party, the one who holds everyone together, so he can't let this happen.
But why would he be relating to pushing people away till he's alone? He has also been shown to do this only to Will. Interesting.
6. Dustin
The camera pans to Dustin because Dustin has also been pushing Steve away because he's grieving.
7. Max
Max knows what it's like to feel Vecna in her mind.
First of all, this is not just a coming-out scene.
Will wants to be truthful to everyone one last time before he sacrifices himself. In Robin’s words, he’s going to out-sorcerer the sorcerer by getting into Vecna’s head again. It looks like there will be a physical fight in the Abyss, with El, Kali, and some of the others involved, and a mind-fight between Vecna and Will.
Now here’s where Mike comes in. He’s most likely going to stay back with Will, because Will will probably be unconscious during the mind fight and will need to be protected while the others execute their own parts of the plan. This is important. I don’t think Mike and Will get together before the epilogue. The Duffers always give their characters more time than necessary to come to terms with big confessions (like Mike processing Will’s coming out).
We saw this with El and Mike after Mike’s “confession.” She didn’t want to talk to him. That could have been because of Max, but she didn’t even want to be comforted by her boyfriend who had just confessed that he loves her. After the time skip, everything’s fine. They clearly just wanted to give her time to process.
We’ve also seen this with Will. You don’t complete your entire self-acceptance arc in three days. That’s why Will doesn’t fully believe in himself, constantly downplays his powers, and tries to convince everyone that he’s just like them in the coming-out scene. He still needs time.
That’s why the time skip will be crucial for both Mike and Will.
Big emotional changes aren’t linear. Now let’s look at what this means for Mike.
Mike has a huge outburst of emotion when Will gets his powers. He hugs Will impulsively, then very publicly obsesses over his powers and calls him a sorcerer. Then he seems to realize he’s been too obvious. After that, he barely interacts with Will when others are around, avoids touching Will’s hand, and holds back from going near him when Joyce is around.
If you look closely, it genuinely looks like he goes up to them and then stops himself.
So, to summarize, Mike has just realized that Will is gay, that maybe he’s the Tammy, and that Will thinks he isn’t like him. He also knows now that it’s okay, and that Will is still very loved by everyone. That’s a lot of emotions for Mike to deal with. Some of them, I’m sure, he’s just shut down, because that’s how he is. Again, I’m assuming the Duffers have actually put thought into writing his character.
So with this sudden surge of confidence, we’re probably getting one big monologue directed at Will — but it won’t be Mike’s coming out.
What I think is coming is this:
Mike apologizing to Will for being a bad friend, for directing his anger at himself onto Will, and paralleling his “fake confession” to El — but this time with a real confession to Will. I don’t think we’ll see a kiss, though, so the Duffers can let the audience have their own interpretations of Mike / Will / El. He then gives Will that final burst of power to defeat Vecna. I really want Will to land the final blow, because it started with him. I don’t even know if the Duffers care at this point, but it would be really cool to see.
Mike will also try his best to convince El not to sacrifice herself. El will still make her own choice, though — one that’s a compromise (wink wink), neither Mike’s plan nor Kali’s.
The epilogue is the most interesting part. That’s when the actual endgames will be revealed, and when any real confirmation about the whole situation will finally happen.
