BYLER PREDICTION VOL3. PART 2.
read: part 1 (Vecna’s impact), part 3 (Loose ends)
II.“Press-conference” coming out, crush and Tammy are important!
1️⃣ Why the big coming out and the structure of season 5 suddenly (incl volume 2!) make sense
It’s been a big revelation for me when I got that S5 is technically structured for byler. Walk with me!
❓Why the S5 structure we got is important.
I’ve said it a couple of times already, but let me do that for those who hasn’t seen: do not perceive seasons and volumes from the show-building perspective. Instead, try seeing them as timelines and chapters (as it’s been suggested by the show itself).
When we do it the first way, we get irritated by the feeling that we’ve seen the whole(!) volume with no byler in it, when, in fact, we’ve seen just 3 chapters! Just 1,5 days! The “volume” sounds like it’s been a long journey, especially given that Stranger things mostly have long episodes, plenty of characters and plotlines. It just feels like it’s been long. And in fact our expectations haven’t been met for the only 1 ep. (And that ep turns out to be actually important for byler, and we’ll get there too, stay with me).
So we have 3 volumes, let’s see how it works.
Here we had two big events for byler:
1) Will’s witnessing Robin and Vickie’s kiss
2) Will’s self-acceptance + his love saves Mike
After volume 1 we claimed that lesbians paved the way. They showed Will that it’s okay to be gay. So, he’s embraced it, embraced himself fully and his love saved the day — and Mike.
So yeah. What about Mike?
Here’s where volume 2 takes the place! That is why this volume is so important!
So you know that mostly Stranger things structure is based on Will’s POV. Season 5 still sticks to that, but vol2 helps to get Mike back in the picture (still being written as Will’s POV).
Volume 1 helped Will to see the way.
Volume 2 helped Mike! ❗️❗️❗️
That’s what I meant about paying attention to the timeline: Just yesterday Will didn’t know that it was okay to love a guy. He found out. And the next day he’s coming out and Mike, witnessing all their party, the whole Hawkins (lmao) accepting Will, finds out that too!
⚠️ We couldn’t move from volume one to volume two revealing everything at once as we had just 3! episodes there, 3 chapters, 1,5 days. During which Will 1) passed out, 2) came back, 3) came out.
⚠️ That’s why this big coming out was crucial: so Mike wouldn’t be afraid of it anymore. He, for sure, has his own family to worry about (maybe, his father), but the show’s just crashed Mike’s biggest anxiety by showing him Will’s coming out and how much love he’s got thanks to that.
Will paved the way for Mike! That was a byler goal for volume 2!
So that we could finally move forward to —
Volume 3. Volume, barely shorter than the second one (3 hours vs 2 hours is not that big difference) to help byler now to meet each other in the middle of this way!
❓Why the whole show structure is important for byler (including the reason why it’s a good thing too to make them canon this late)
I know many of us are deeply sad that we’re not gonna see byler as a couple long enough as the show will be over, and all we can get here is just one episode of them being endgame. I am sad about that too. But let me help you see that a bit differently.
I already had a post covering this perception of season 4 (you can also check my hashtag “season 4 structure” for some other notes). If we consider the timeline and episodes as I described above, we’ll basically witness that just after two days since they’d met in California byler became half canon due to Will’s confession, which is season’s climax (almost at the end) + Mike doesn’t speak to El anymore in 4x09.
Then between s4 and s5, we have mwtfdyd 18 months gap that gave Will hope that Mike probably would want to date him (which would never happen if milkvan still were together.)
And now s5, divided into three parts with the three volume structure broken down above.
Let’s sum up: Two seasons. A couple of days here and there and mwtfdyd in between:
1) Will’s way to word his feelings by the end of s4; 2) some gay shit Mike for sure did during 18 months; 3) Will’s hope, Will’s acceptance, Will’s coming out creating safe space for Mike’s love being revealed.
Now you’ll probably ask me what about s1-s3 + I’ve also promised to explain why it is not particularly a bad thing to make byler canon just at the very end.
As for first seasons byler, there are two points:
1) Stranger things initially was planned as a one season project. They did include Will’s queerness into their characters description, and maybe they had this idea of two friends falling in love — but only if show would survive and be prolonged.
2) When the show’s become successful, we got the 2nd season’s “crazy together” and the 3rd season’s “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls”.
Which might imply that Duffers had started working on this future couple step by step leading us into the significant 4th season, climaxing at Will’s confession almost in the very end (4x08) and at byler standing together at the field in the season finale foreshadowing them becoming canon in s5.
As for the final episode byler,
It’s not that bad, if you consider it being Will’s story since day 1, developed through all seasons.
Season 1. Loneliness. (Will’s missing, queerness accusations)
Season 2. Closeness. (Being back + closeness with Mike)
Season 3. Rejection. (Will’s attachment to Mike/falling for him + rejection)
Season 4. Confession. (Half-canon byler)
Season 5. Revelation. (Fully canon byler. Endgame.)
So why do I think it’s okay to have byler this late?
The whole storyline since 1x01 includes Will’s queerness and leads us up till the resolution of this exact plotline. Not even byler is central here, but Will himself. Will, getting love of his life, defeating the purest evil in the very end of the show is the narrative (which is also obviously a metaphor for external and internal homophobia embodied as Vecna from this point of view). This is Will’s story. This is why the winner takes it all when the story ends. It’s just logical, structural, Will focused. That’s why.
2️⃣ Crush and Tammy Thompson
So, these two “zingers” belong to Will now, to his speech at the end of the episode, and both of them technically serve for the future emphasis of how much of bullshit that was and pointing that it’s never been true. That Mike’s not his Tammy. He’s not temporary but permanent, the core.
Will’s got mistaken for a moment after many years of yearning, suffering and disbelief in his possible happiness. He decided to accept his “fate”, still not knowing that he didn’t need to that!
⚠️ One of the reasons for doing this might’ve been Vecna’s bs that we haven’t seen yet, that’s how Will could’ve switched from 5x05 hope about Mike to 5x07 acceptance that Mike’s not his destiny; or maybe Will’s just come to this wrong conclusion just by himself. But anyways! 👇
For this emphasis to happen, the show needs to oppose Will’s love to the false statements: that Mike is “Tammy” and just a crush.
Volume 3 will reveal this lie.
I bet, there will be a moment where Mike will try to accept Will’s acceptance (lmao) and for the sake of their friendship will feel/say sorry for disturbing Will’s made up peace in which Will still believes.
And apologising for it, accepting it, Mike will show himself as brave and vulnerable, but most importantly loving, loving Will.
⚠️ We need Tammy and the “crush” word, so we could witness how Mike says something like:
“Will, I know that you’ve overcome that crush, and I’m not asking for anything. I’m deeply sorry for not noticing earlier and for speaking about this now. You’re my best friend, I will never speak of my feelings with you again, I know that now I need to let them go.”
and so we could witness Will respond with:
“Mike, wait. Mike… For a moment after so many years of being convicted that this would never work out, it was easier to believe that my feelings for you are not that serious. To believe that you’re my Tammy. But, Mike, the truth is, you’ve never been just a crush. I’ve been loving you since I was just a boy. And sometimes I think I’ve been in love with you since forever.”
⚠️ Another important reason for using the word crush during the coming out is love confession!
We didn’t need to have a love confession included there. It would be too much and not enough space to digest. Like, Mike would need a real private moment with Will to hear these words. Or to say them by himself. The coming out scene is enough for the sake of him knowing that Will (has) had feelings for him. And now we just need to move forward to the next volume, where he finds out how strong they are and recognise the strength of his own love to Will.
So basically we needed to “diminish” Will’s love for a moment just to separate love confession from his coming out + to help realisation of the truth hit stronger.
or check my hashtag: night nut why byler is endgame vol3
