Web/Gridgate Imagery in Mike’s Rubik’s Cube + Willel & Byler color theory -> Mike’s Final Strategy
In s1, after Mike knows Will is alive thanks to El, we see a solved Rubik’s cube on Mike’s nightstand. And the colors we see directly are orange, blue, and yellow (wish I could use yellow to highlight).
The orange might seem red at first, but this is definitely orange. I got a closer shot (pardon the low quality) that confirms these front-facing colors.
We see yellow on top with orange and blue below. Part of my brain associates the yellow with my constantly shared belief that Will is going to be the ultimate hero/victor against Henry (the yellow side of the cube is also directly under the light, as if to show this importance on the color). But of course, Mike is just as important. Will and Mike are, I also strongly believe, the two keys (“two men, two keys”) needed to defeat Henry.
(Credit to @stranger-chichka for these pictures. This image also correlates with my 7+7gate theory, along with stranger-chichka’s excellent additional insight, emphasizing the significance of “It was a seven” and stressing Will and Mike as the keys to Stranger Thing’s completion/fulfillment.)
Obviously, El is an important factor in all this too. But instead of one of the colors we can link to her specifically, we get orange here. I got a great tip from my mutual, @lilitblaukatz, who told me orange could reference a combination of the yellow and red we typically associate with Will and El. If that’s the case, it’s going to take our two keys—Will and Mike—and a combination of Will and El to solve the puzzle, so to speak. And since this Rubik’s cube is Mike’s and we can assume he’s the one who solved it, this may suggest it’ll be Mike who creates the strategy that ultimately solves everything. Mike is smart, we know this, and he has a tendency to connect dots others don’t. When he does, it’s a huge help that puts a dent in Henry’s plans. Mike’s bond with Will especially dents those plans; it’s one of the biggest reasons he’s able to connect dots others don’t, such as his “super spy” scene with Will leading him to realize Will was overtaken by the Mindflayer and would have to be put to sleep.
What does any of this have to do with webgate/gridgate (any other name it goes by)? I’ve seen many posts discussing it, revealing the pattern of this web/grid imagery highlighting some kind of entrapment. Physical, mental, and/or supernatural entrapment in a variety of ways. Danger as well.
Think of situation + grid imagery, as well as location and characters involved. There’s other posts that go into heavier detail with these images, plus many other examples, and I wish I could find them easily again and link them here. But, overall, it’s clear there is a pattern that highlights danger and entrapment/ being caught or feeling stuck going on (or even foreshadowed) in each of these examples.
A few of Mike’s examples from s1 and s2 include Mike’s pillowcase and bedsheets (pictured above), Mike’s basement fort—
—and Mike’s Rubik’s cube. Truly, think about it; especially with this color theory in mind! The pillowcase and sheets on Mike’s bed and the sheets over his fort have a grid-like fashion, just as the Rubik’s cube does. The pillowcase and sheets also have the same mix of colors/combined colors within the front-facing, solved Rubik’s cube: Yellow, Blue, Y + B = Green, Red, and R + Y = Orange.
The grid on Mike’s bed have red, yellow, blue, and green coloring the lines, indicating all three characters plus “the keys” Will&Mike are the answer to breaking Henry’s “web.” And perhaps with Mike’s bedsheets and pillowcase showing the lines of the grid as his, Will’s, El’s, and a combination of his and Will’s colors… It may mean these three themselves are/will be part of the “web.” In being part of it, or integrated into it (could be void-related), they might have the advantage to destroy Henry’s entrapment more than anyone else.
On Mike’s fort, only a few of the blank squares of the grid are filled in and colored in pairs: Yellow&Orange, Blue&Green, and Blue&Yellow. All of these squares are near Mike’s head when he’s in the fort—near his brain, the tool needed for a potential s5 strategy. We see him positioned with these same squares in the ST comics too:
The squares also seem to appear in ‘steps,’ like ideas processing step by step in Mike’s head: Y&O the third closest, B&G the second, and B&Y the first—three important steps, perhaps in order from furthest to closest, for Mike’s strategy to work. As if to say Mike will know Will needs to pair up with El specifically for part of it, will know he needs to pair up with Will specifically next, and then finally B&Y—himself and Will—are the final keys to solving all this and freeing themselves and everyone else from behind/within their entrapments.
If any of this is analyzed correctly, the first hint of it all can be found in s1 when Mike, though he didn’t know it then, was already strategizing in opposition to Henry. He’s solved many problems one by one over the seasons, and in s5 he’ll solve the last one.
Full circle.
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Additional, unrelated note of intrigue concerning the lights over and inside Mike’s fort: a yellow light shining down on the fort and creating a greenish hue with something blue bouncing off of it + a yellow/orangish light within the fort.