byler doubt who? (wordvomit lol)
As a byler, I really don't have any byler doubt. I've always thought Mike and El's relationship seems a bit off, even in Season 1. While I did find their dynamic cute, I always felt like Mileven's writing was rushed and had become too intimate too soon. Now seeing the recent trailer and the poster that was released yesterday, I feel like it's basically confirmed that byler is happening.
Noah Schnapp, the actor for Will, was once asked at an event what his favorite moment with Finn was on set. He then went on to state that most of his time on set was with Finn, and that he can't talk about his favorite moment since it was in Season 5. We barely got any shots of Mike and Will together, besides that one shot of them biking down a road with Holly. On the other hand, we got a moment between Mike and El. I feel like people need to remember that if there was nothing to hide about Mike and Will's relationship, they would have shown more of their scenes together in the trailer.
Let's talk about the shot of Mileven in the trailer.
Here we can see El has her hand on Mike's cheek while he looks at her. These are expressions that Mike hasn't ever really shown in the show before. Mike is probably distraught about something (as he should be I mean the world is literally ending). If Holly does go missing, he's most likely worried about that.
Here is a faraway shot of the interaction. Mike and El are holding hands while El has her other hand on his shoulder. El is also wearing a swimsuit, which we see her also wearing when she's in a bathtub. She's probably using the same sensory deprivation method to find someone, like Holly. Personally, I see this interaction as El trying to tell Mike she will find Holly.
Many Milevens read this scene as romantic, but I think this scene is meant to be read as platonic. Will's coming out scene with Johnathan, and Max and El's reunion scene are both shot just like how the Mileven scene is shot. The person who is comforting the other has their hand on their shoulder, telling them it'll be okay. These are really platonic actions, and I can't read them as romantic.
I also want to remind everyone that Mike and El's relationship is often paralleled to unhappy/failed relationships. Both Mike and Ted Wheeler do the same thing when their partners are upset; they ignore them. And both of these instances happened because of things Mike or Ted said and did. Ted and Karen's relationship is loveless, as referenced by Nancy later in season 1. I mean, Karen almost cheated on Ted. It isn't a healthy relationship, so paralleling them to Mileven doesn't make sense unless we're meant to read Mileven as toxic and loveless.
There's also this parallel. Both Nancy and Mike struggle with saying I love you. Nancy wasn't in love with Steve anymore, so she couldn't tell him; so what about Mike. What's Mike's excuse? I've seen a lot of people justify it by saying that Mike comes from a conservative family where his own parents don't love each other. But, if El, who has lived in a lab for her whole life without support or love, can tell Mike that she loves him, then Mike shouldn't have a problem with saying it back. IN CONCLUSION, BYLERS DO NOT FEAR! The Duffer Brothers are really smart and good writers. They wrote Lumax and Jopper to be amazing and healthy ships, and they would've written Mileven to be a good ship as well. But they didn't, for a purpose! I personally am really excited to see Mike and El's PLATONIC relationship blossom. Both Mike and El are really dynamic and interesting characters, and seeing them be actual friends would be nice! BYLER IS WINNING GUYS!