I feel like Mileven would have been so much more complex if it had been wlw. Little Michelle Wheeler finding El out in the woods and something stirring in her heart. She brings her home, shares her clothes and they become quick friends. Michelle, who doesn't know why she's always felt a little out of place finding solace in El who is so different from anyone else she's met before and instantly getting very attached.
When El leaves at the end of S1, Michelle is distraught. She closes herself off from everyone. She can play it off as that she lost her best friend, but she still calls El every night. It isn't until they get reunited in S2 where she starts to realize what her feelings actually mean.
They go to the Snowball together as 'friends,' and have a wonderful night where Michelle feels butterflies for the first time. Then they spend the entire summer together, hanging out as best friends. Michelle is excited to see El grow more into herself, but also feels insecure like El will eventually grow tired of her or won't need her any longer, and there isn't anything she can cling to because she's not 'supposed' to be feeling what she's feeling.
But then El kisses her. El has never learned that girls aren't 'supposed' to do that, she just does what she wants. And Michelle is down bad, but El is moving away to California soon and Michelle is freaking out.
In this insecurity, Michelle starts pulling away from El and being more distant. El, hurt, doesn't understand why Michelle is suddenly acting so strange. They had worked so hard to be able to be together again. They had just had a wonderful summer. Now that El is in California, she needs Michelle more than ever. But she's pulling away because the insecurity and social pressures are starting to weigh on her. Karen keeps teasing her about finding a boyfriend, it's the 80s and they're a well known family in town - so she has pressure on her shoulders. But she still goes to California for March break.
Scared of potentially losing El forever, Michelle moves heaven and earth to find El again, and when she's fighting Vecna, Michelle takes her hand and tells her the truth - that she loves her, that she's always loved her. That when she kissed her for the first time, it was like a piece of her that was missing was finally found. When El comes back to her, they kiss and tell each other that they've loved each other this whole time - fuck conformity, fuck society, El has never given a shit about social constructs anyway. El frees Michelle from those preconceived shackles and going in to season 5, they are a united front, stronger than ever.
