[coreyzon]

papa me no want more movie

[taurzza]

[samanthadoodles]

Princess Mononoke / Legend of Korra AU

[animusrox]

Bee Movie (2007) dir. Simon J. Smith & Steve Hickner X-Men: First Class (2011) dir. Matthew Vaughn

[oneheadtoanother]

[snail-queen-lb]

This happened to my buddy Mike once

[thinking-about-madness]

What if "Tales from '85" is our "real" finale?

Hi guys, so I have been following #conformitygate here and mostly on subreddits and today something clicked. I saw this picture.

Do you see that extra person in the bottom left with a MOHAWK? A pinkish/orange mohawk? They also seem taller/older kid than the rest of the gang and I'm pretty sure we didn't see them in the 1st teaser. Stranger Things wiki says this character is named Nikki Baxter. Which doesn't seem like a "real" credentials to me? This character doesn't seem to have any connection to anything whatsoever.

So... That got me to the #Mohawkgate I saw few times on subreddits (theory is mostly that Mike gets his colourful mohawk when he breaks out of Vecna's curse/conformity). What if Nikki is Mike in Back to the Future style? He is there to stop/change something. Perhaps actual time travel we all expected/hoped to see? Or it's Mike traveling in Vecna's mind Max style and perhaps this strike of memories is his "escape" door.

But why 85'? Why the inbetween of s2 and s3? What changes? For the plot, for the characters, for themes... For Mike.

Will is the main focus of s2. -> Will gets reduced to side character in s3. He is constantly ignored.

s2 is full of Byler/MiWi. -> In s3 Milkvan strikes with full force of comphet. Both boys don't get much "plot" importance yet they still manage to get the most cinematic "friendship" break up scene in the entire show (well... maybe jancy beat them?).

The grim/cold/dark vibes of (s1&)s2. -> The start up of blasting us with lots of colours of mall etc. in s3.

Childhood s2. -> Puberty s3.

I mean there is probably dozens, but those are the few relevant I could think of.

What if new series tells us the story why is Mike so deep in the closet? Perhaps there was a specific traumatic event that seeded the pains of internalised homophobia.

Just a fun idea/theory or skeleton for future fanfic xD

[pancak3sandbac0n]

What if Will's the hand of Vecna and Mike's the eye?

I've seen lots of people who want Will to lose and eye and Mike to lose an arm, but I think it's actually reversed based on what we see in the the show. Yes, Will has true sight in S2 and demo-vision in S5, but I think there's evidence that he's actually the hand of Vecna and not the eye.

Will

The biggest thing for me here is that Vecna called Will his "builder," and that's a physical thing. They show a flashback to him creating the tunnels back in S2, and the first prop change in S5 happens near him. (The WSQK tower dial changed from grey to red (Vecna's color) when Will and Robin were there in S5E5.)

There's also the fact that he's an artist, and he draws/paints using his hand to create something physical.

In S5, we also see a logo on El's wet suit (which she puts on while Will's in the trance and his eyes are moving like they did while building the tunnels in S2), which is a black left hand inside a yellow circle:

The Mind Flayer has been shown as the black shadow monster, and the particles that come out of the demo and the kids' mouths are black. And of course, yellow is Will's color. This logo suggests that the Mind Flayer is working from inside Will to physically build something in the world.

There's also this scene, which is pretty self-explanatory:

I'd also like to point out that anytime Will fights back against Venca/the Mind Flayer, he does so with his right hand.

In the shed scene in S2, Mike's able to get through to him enough for him to use his right hand to tell the party to close the gate using Morse code.

And both times Will draws something related to Vecna/the Mind Flayer, he uses his right hand. He wasn't possessed yet when he drew the tunnels in S2, and he wasn't possessed when he drew the spires in S5.

Mike

The Mind Flayer definitely became aware of how important Mike and Will's connection was in S2 with Mike staying by Will's side in the hospital and being with him in the shed. Will knew Mike's name in the hospital even after he forgot everyone else's, which means that the Mind Flayer also knew who Mike was at that point. I think that might have been when he started trying to get to Mike.

While Will creates things with his hands as an artist, Mike is a storyteller. He comes up with things in his head (his mind's eye?) and speaks them.

He's also very animated in his storytelling, which lends to the visual aspect.

Importantly, while we often see Will physically creating art, we never see Mike actually writing his stories. Even when we see him using a typewriter in the epilogue, there's nothing written on the page.

We also get an interesting pattern when Mike cries during the series.

At the end of S1 (before Will gets possessed in S2, and Mike gets on the Mind Flayer's radar), Mike cries from his right eye only when El seemingly sacrifices herself to save them from the demo.

But starting in S2, whenever we see Mike cry, he's crying from his left eye only.

Note that Jonathan cries from his right eye only in the S2 shed scene, and Will cries from his right eye only during the coming out scene.

What's happening at the end of S5?

There's been a lot of speculation about what exactly is happening at the end of S5, and I think it's some combination of Will physically reshaping the world and Mike being in a Vecna vision.

We get more and more people dressing in orange as the season goes on, which is a combination of yellow (Will) and red (Vecna) blended together. We get Will's hoodie, Kali's shirt, and Max's hair ties.

Meanwhile, the epilogue does have orange (graduation), but it's also full of blue (Mike) and red (Vecna), particularly when we see people Mike's not as close with. The colors stay separate. There's not a lot of purple (the combination)

I think Vecna had fully possessed/merged with Will in some way and was reshaping the world through in Ep5-8, but we somehow switched perspectives into a Mike Vecna vision at some point in Ep8. Probably around the time Steve fell.

I think Steve (and probably some others) actually died there and the team lost, but we shift into a more "pleasant" version of events through Mike's vision. Kind of like how Henry came to the children as a friend and had them stay in a nice house to keep them calm and compliant. If Mike was able to actually see with his own eyes (not Vecna's) what was really happening, he'd fight back.

[saywhat-politics]

The best shot of the year

[f1ve-more-minutes]

[fullmetalist]

Those in the notes worried about this being AI, it's not - her name is Pan Xiaoting and she's a badass billiards pro

[kidovna]

1 day to ST5! for today i have something i’ve been meaning to do for a long time:

an animation based on the theory that will byers accidentally created the hawkins version of the upside down in 1983

[kidovna]

since the show hasn’t given us verbal or visual confirmation of exactly how the upside down was created and since we got this shot of will framed as the exotic matter:

i’m just going to interpret that my theory is now canon

[darkfantasy2323]

Okay so I was listening to the ST S5 Soundtrack cause, dang, I really love the music. And some of the songs just sound like they are itching to be reversed so I went for it. Maybe some else has done this already and I just have not seen it, but I found something curious

Below is "The Order of the Black Hand" Reversed

Now go and Listen to "Real Life Honest to God Sorcerer"

They are the same song. Huh that's interesting.

I also reversed "Hide in the Light" and that one sounded almost the same as "Sisters" (I'd post it but tumblr says only one video)

[lilialunaa]

[upsidedownlurker]

[CONFORMITYGATE] My Comprehensive Timeline of the Hawkins Takeover

This is my own personal theory for how Vecna and the Mindflayer took over Hawkins. It started at the end of Season 4, and by the Epilogue of Season 5, all the characters were affected.

I'll do a basic rundown, and then get into my explanation below. For brevity, I refer to "Vecna and the Mindflayer" as "V + M".

Here's the basic rundown:

When Vecna opened the huge X-shaped gate (S4 Ep9), he caused everyone to breathe in the Upside Down spores – these spores made it easier for the Mindflayer to take over their minds later.

V + M aimed to take over the minds of everyone in Hawkins, but they started with the kids first. After that, they "cursed" our main characters to be next.

When Will saved Mike in Sorcerer (S5 Ep4) by remembering their childhood memories, he accidentally caused Mike to become V + M's prime target.

Everything that takes place in Hawkins is real, up until Shock Jock (S5 Ep5). Around the time Will is put into a trance by Vecna, reality starts "glitching".

Parts of S5 Vol 2 are real, and parts are not.

The Upside Down may not actually be a wormhole (there's a "hole" in the theory).

By the 6th of November (S5 Ep8), everyone is under Vecna's curse – however, the vision we are shown in the Epilogue is heavily centred around Mike, the heart of the Party. He is no longer the Dungeon Master; he is just a storyteller who isn't in control.

-----

THE UPSIDE DOWN SPORES

Whether it was real or not, that final battle was a total red herring; they may have defeated that giant roaring flesh monster, but it was NOT the Mindflayer.

Just take a look at the Abyss. It’s yellow, dry and hot. But the Mindflayer “likes it cold”, so why the hell would it ever stay there, when there's an option much more tailored to its preferences?

The Upside Down is always cold, it’s always dark, and its air is filled with mysterious, currently-unexplained spores. 

Throughout the series, characters ask countless times whether the spores are toxic. “Is this shit safe to breathe?” Nobody has a clear answer. Isn’t it such a coincidence that ever since the gates opened up, our characters have been acting “reckless”, and “not [themselves]”? We are told this multiple times, but we don’t have a definitive answer for why. I believe these two unanswered questions are connected. 

When the Upside Down’s atmosphere leaked into Hawkins, and everyone breathed it in, it made it significantly easier for Vecna and the Mindflayer to slowly infiltrate their minds. Remember how Will first got possessed? HE BREATHED THE MINDFLAYER IN. 

That’s why spores appeared in Billy’s mind when he was flayed. That’s why Vecna and the Mindflayer opened the massive X-shaped gate in Hawkins. Everyone breathed in those “springtime snowflakes” in Season 4. Now, everyone is ultra-susceptible to the hivemind. Perhaps that’s why the military has quarantined everyone and forced them into mandatory medical checkups.

Now… let’s go back to the Mindflayer for a moment. If it doesn’t live in the Abyss, but in the Upside Down, then what's the significance of the Abyss? It's significant, because the Upside Down is technically NOT a wormhole at all…

THE HOLES IN THE WORMHOLE THEORY

Remember what Erica said? “Wormholes are neat because they allow matter to travel between dimensions WITHOUT touching the space between.” The Upside Down is the space between. How is it possible that everyone can not only touch it, but travel freely within it? 

As Dustin and Mr Clarke point out, wormholes are supposed to be extremely volatile, and collapse immediately after being created. Why is this wormhole so different? Dustin questions this himself. Sure, the “exotic matter” is keeping it stable, but what is the exotic matter, how did it get there, and what is keeping the exotic matter stable? Furthermore, why is Will framed in the middle of the wormhole at least three times throughout the show, suggesting he is somehow responsible for the so-called “exotic matter”? Additionally, why are the diagrams in Dr. Brenner’s journal so detailed when he’s “not much of an artist”? Finally, Dustin never fully decoded the journal, which means that canonically there is still information the characters do not know. 

This wormhole theory is full of holes. It’s clear that what we learned in the show is NOT the full story.

I believe that Vecna planted a fake journal as evidence for an incorrect theory that he knew would throw everyone off from his real plan. At most, the Upside Down is simply a dimension sandwiched between two other dimensions; our world and the Abyss. It is shaped like a wormhole, but it isn’t truly a wormhole. Will has something to do with the “exotic matter” holding it together; he’s framed in it for a reason. 

The Abyss may be real, but that final battle wasn’t. Where were the Demogorgons? They were shown roaming the terrain in Season 4. 

NOVEMBER 6TH

By November 6th, everybody was put under Vecna's curse. The title card we saw was all wrong; it didn't say the time, and it didn't say the location. This is a strange departure from the show's previous style.

This would be the PERFECT moment for a parallel! We all know how much the Duffer brothers LOVE their parallels. It would add to the intensity of the moment... so why no parallel?

It's almost as though they're not in Hawkins, and their sense of time has been disrupted. Where do we know that is "stuck in time" (possibly even completely timeless)?

The Upside Down.

As for the claim that Vecna wasn’t expecting an attack? MY ASS. He manipulated them into doing exactly what he wanted. By letting him follow through with his plan on November 6th, they fell right into his illusion. Vecna told us himself. He told us exactly what would happen.

“I have travelled far and long beyond our dimension. In my travels I discovered another world. A world far from earth. This world is much like ours, only good, free of monsters and darkness. It is the light.”

That's why there were no Demogorgons in the Abyss. That's why nobody got injured like they did just days ago. They had ridiculous plot armour because there was no darkness allowed.

“As the light reaches the darkness, the light will expel the darkness."

In the Epilogue, Jonathan says, “It’s too much light, it needs diffusion,” then puts the curtain back up. When light is diffused, it appears softer, it spreads more, and it REDUCES HARSH SHADOWS. No darkness allowed.

"...Your loved ones will be saved, and you… you will be heroes.”

Holly's loved ones (Mike, Nancy etc.) were "saved" when the worlds merged, along with everyone else in Hawkins.

What song plays during the credits? Heroes.

“Tomorrow… tomorrow it begins.”

And it did.

WHO FIRST?

Since the spores infected everyone in Hawkins, Vecna and the Mindflayer have had easier access to their minds than ever before. They were going to take over everyone’s minds, so it was never a matter of “who”, but “who first”?

And… again, Vecna told us already. He went for the kids first, taking advantage of their “weak” minds to use them as “vessels to reshape the world”. They’re not just vessels, though. Children have their own power; their imagination and optimism. He connected them to the hivemind and immediately took control, using their combined power to construct an elaborate false reality, free of monsters, and full of comfort and happiness. 

(No wonder Will was the first pick; a sensitive, imaginative artist who turned his drawing of Castle Byers into reality.)

After that, it was ridiculously easy to take over more and more people’s minds without them even knowing they’d been taken over. Our main characters were next, since they were the most likely to stop Vecna. Mike was especially important, given his connection to El, and especially Will, Mr. Honest-To-God Real-Life Sorcerer.

Please rewatch Shock Jock (S5 Ep5), and fast-forward to the moment that Will is thrust out of Vecna's mind. Everyone runs towards him.

When Mike goes to reach out to Will, he suddenly pulls his arm away, and his sleeve GLITCHES FURTHER UP HIS WRIST. Vecna already has some form of control over the characters minds by this point, because they've been acting "not [themselves]". Now it's like Vecna is editing Mike in real-time, preventing him from getting too close to Will and breaking the vision.

Remember: even if you don't see him, Mr. Whatzit could still be there.

During Volume 2, reality began to glitch more and more. Objects changed colours, characters stole each other's lines, and it's really difficult to tell what's real and what's fake.

After that, it was easy for our characters to relax into their comfortable happy illusions; they defeated the big, bad monster without even a scratch on them, they drove back into Hawkins as heroes, somehow bypassed the military, moved on from El's explosive death, graduated with confetti and a speech, and they all lived happily ever after.

I reckon this quote from Mindy Flair on WSQK’s final day sums everything up nicely...

“Spreading, connecting, becoming something larger… we really took over this town, didn’t we?”

Everyone's trapped by Vecna's curse now. But who will get them out? Well, the person who is the key to keeping them all trapped...

MIKE: THE HEART, THE BRAVE, OR THE STORYTELLER?

“Getting to Mike, now that was the key.”

When Will saved Mike, he did so by remembering their childhood memories together. However, by doing this, he accidentally cursed Mike to become Vecna’s prime target.

Vecna knows all of Will’s thoughts, his memories, his secrets. Vecna knows that to Will, Mike is “the heart of the Party,” and “without heart, [they’d] all fall apart.”

Did you notice how Mike was totally absent from Will’s second memory flashback when he woke up from his trance?

When Vecna tormented Will with his vision of a future where everyone drifts away from each other, he was able to bypass the strength that Will found in his happy memories with Mike. Now, Vecna has found ANOTHER way past: Will is living a future that is absurdly comfortable and happy; he's already happy right now, he doesn't think he needs to be saved, so he doesn’t need to remember his happy memories.

Meanwhile, Vecna uses him as a vessel – a builder. (Will is an illusionist, with the innate power to construct subtle false realities.)

Will is the builder of Vecna’s illusion, sure, but Mike is the storyteller. He may not be consciously controlling the narrative, but by keeping Mike trapped in his vision, Vecna is able to keep everyone trapped; therefore, Vecna must tailor the vision to suit Mike in particular, more than anyone else. This is why the Epilogue centres on Mike.

Mike is the guy who always notices when things are off. He comes up with plans, gives advice, and even though he can lash out sometimes, he still fiercely protects the people around him. He is deeply connected to both Will and Eleven, the two people who are most capable of defeating Vecna.

If you can get to Mike, you can get to everyone.

This is where Mike directly parallels his sister Holly. Remember, Max tells her, “You’re not like your brother – you ARE your brother.”

Henry tells Holly she’s clever, and that he’s glad he saved her first. Because if you save the clever one first, then the others will follow their lead; if the clever one thinks it’s okay, then everyone else trusts them. The same applies to Mike.

This is why Mike is the MOST IMPORTANT character when it comes to everyone escaping the vision. Mike is allowing the narrative to stay out of his control. He knows something is wrong, but he chooses to believe things are fine. That's why Mike's new label of "master storyteller" is incredibly fitting.

As long as Mike keeps telling the story that everything is fine, everyone will believe him.

"I believe," "I believe," "I believe."

Mike chooses to believe a lie, therefore he cannot discover the truth about his false reality. As long as everyone believes him, they can never escape.

Throughout the show, lying/hiding vs. telling the truth are HUGE themes. "Friends don't lie" has been repeated since Season 1. Moreover, bravery and truth are associated with each other; Henry himself tells the kids, "You are brave enough to know the truth." Well...

Mike "the Brave" has NOT been telling the truth.

I'm just gonna say it. Just like Holly felt her Holly the Heroic persona was a lie, Mike believes he is too scared, and can never be Mike the Brave. He is queer and in love with Will Byers, and he is too scared to admit it.

“Just as you lie to Jane, you also lie to yourself.” This line was spoken directly to Hopper, yet it also applies to Mike, who was deliberately included in the scene.

That’s why it was so important that Vecna separated Jane (possibly keeping her stuck in her own personal vision), and kept her away from Mike before the Epilogue portion of the vision began.

Just like the director of the Truman show manufactured Truman's trauma to keep him trapped in his show, Vecna manufactured trauma for Mike, leaving him wracked with guilt about Eleven’s death, keeping him helplessly stuck believing in a false story; meanwhile, everything else is so perfect that he doesn’t want to move on, either. Just like Will, his false reality is full of "comfort and happiness"; he doesn't want to remember his trauma, or his happy memories – and with Eleven no longer directly in his life, he won't confront the lies he had been telling her, either. That's in the past now. He can tell himself she’s living happily far away, move on like everyone else, and keep himself in limbo, never confronting the truth.

But he needs to.

It is only after confronting the truth that Truman is able to confront his false reality. The same is true of Mike.

He needs to face the false reality of "comfort and happiness" that he is trapped in. He needs to confront the trauma and lies he's kept suppressed for years, admit his queer love for Will, and get himself and everyone else out of this "Never-Ending Story".

It's all on Mike.

THANKS + BONUS PREDICTIONS

Thanks for reading my theory! You must be just as insane as me if you were willing to survive that avalanche of text. Now, I don't believe any future episodes are necessary for all of this to make sense. However, if there are any more episodes announced on Jan 7th/12th (which I sure fucking hope for!!!)...

...Here are some bonus predictions!

Mike is the KEY to escaping the vision. Vecna keeps you trapped with your trauma, secrets and lies; Mike is a "storyteller" (AKA a liar). He needs to stop living in fantasy, accept his reality, and admit the truth about his trauma, his queerness and his love to truly become Mike the Brave.

Eleven is still alive, but she has been separated from the others. Vecna can't let her enter anyone's mind, or she'll break their illusions.

Will is broken out of the curse with music from a tape labelled "For Will" (this merch hasn't appeared in the show... yet). Mike probably made this tape with Jonathan's help.

Mike and Will play "central roles" in the finale, as Shawn Levy mentioned in an interview. Byler is not just canon, but crucial to saving everyone from the curse.

Bonus notes:

I've been cooking up elements of this theory since Season 5 Vol 1, and it was only after the finale dropped that it all came together – in part thanks to the conformitygate tag, which helped to revitalise my excitement for the show and provided me with some evidence that I hadn't noticed before!

So thanks Jess, and everyone else who has participated in the conformitygate tag. I wouldn't feel so excited, and my theory wouldn't be this comprehensive without you all!

.-. . .- .-.. .. - -.-- / .. … / .- -. / .. .-.. .-.. ..- … .. --- -.

Sweet dreams!

[thinking-about-madness]

ss taken from reddit. whiteboard plan doesn't line up with finale!

[thinking-about-madness]

other side of the whiteboard kinda lines up with finale. what is going on?

[inkievoid]

[kidovna]

did somebody say graduation?

[bebx]

crack crossover fic where it’s just hwang in-ho and mike wheeler talking about their terrible life choices

[prismhearts-electric]

Everyone's been focused on The Truman Show, but I think we should look at Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind just as much (which the Duffers recommended we watch).

Screw the secret real finale episode that didn't happen on the 7th, fuckery is going on in season 5 and that's worth looking at regardless of predicted dates.

People have pointed out that Mike disappears in one shot on the tower, and that Will's face is uncanny in one or two shots, like his features disappear. This sort of thing happens in Eternal Sunshine as memories are erased; people glitch and look uncanny, facial features disappear, people pop out of existence.

If we take the title of the movie, we can theoretically apply it to our characters if they lost to Vecna/the Mindflayer and are now trapped in an illusion of Hawkins: their minds are spotless, wiped clean, and they can live under the old saying 'ignorance is bliss'. It gives them comfort and happiness. But it's not authentic.

I think the illusion started in volume 2, reality started to warp here. This theory was popping off before the finale, as people theorised that Will was under Henry's manipulation, and people noticed the dials changing colour. This theory shouldn't die just because people predicted a secret episode for the 7th, it started days before the finale even released!

Now, the main reason I decided to rewatch Eternal Sunshine, is because Mike and Will are dressed like Joel and Clementine. This is either conformitygate or queerbait, no in between. Joel wears a dark green beanie, same as Mike; Clementine wears an orange hoodie, same as Will. In this movie that the Duffers told us to watch. So the question is, why? Why are they dressed the same? We'll never know, I fear, but I might as well compare them and try to paint a picture of what might be happening for Byler in volumes 2 and 3.

I find it interesting that Clementine erases her memories of Joel because their relationship was painful and she wanted 'to move on'. Will, in his coming out scene that is full of suspicious lines, says he realised Mike is 'just his Tammy'. I've even seen non-bylers, who never thought Byler would happen, say that diminishing Will's love to a crush like this feels wrong. So, maybe it is wrong? His feelings have been, essentially, erased. The importance of Mike has been erased.

There's a scene where Joel goes to see Clementine, but she doesn't recognise him. It's a heartbreaking scene for Joel who doesn't yet understand what Clementine has done. Reminds me of Mike's face during Will's coming out, which apparently some non-bylers interpreted as Mike having feelings for Will? The ambiguity of Mike Wheeler's face will haunt us forever. Maybe in this scene, Mike - wearing Joel's beanie, as Will wears Clementine's hoodie - has memories of his feelings for Will; but it is erased next, just as Joel's memories of Clementine start to be erased.

To forget Clementine, Joel needs to take everything he has that reminds him of her - including childhood photos?? And drawings. It reminds me of the film reel, that's all I can say. Maybe that film reel did have importance.

Another thing that reminds me of the film reel is how Joel protects his memory of Clementine by pulling her into his own childhood memories, a time when Clementine wasn't there. Remember when we thought childhood memories would be a huge, important plot point after volume 1? Joel tells Clementine, 'I wish I knew you when I was a kid.'

And because we're all obsessing over that damn 'for Will' tape: yeah, cassettes are important here. They contain the memory, the story. Every client who undergoes the procedure has a tape in their file, their reason for having it done. It allows people to learn the truth and reclaim their pasts.

Looking at the coming out scene, the milkshakes at Melvald's and getting lost in the woods, it seems like Will is forgetting. He has an inaccurate memory of their childhood. False memories are invading which could mean that true memories are being erased.

I also want to add that, in their DnD campaign, Mike sends Will to Villaki, which is a town under enforced happiness. No one is truly happy, only playing along. Isn't it strange that Mike is essentially forcing Will to be happy without him? Even though Will cannot truly be happy?

We do get a montage of memories for Mlvn in the finale, and Mike will never forget her. That may be relevant, yes. But why are Mike and Will dressed like Joel and Clementine? It just feels like queerbaiting. It feels like something I can see with my eyes, I can see the direct comparison, but I'm just gaslit out of it, made to question my understanding. And at the end of the day, that's queerbaiting.

This little rundown of the movie feels completely useless, because what can we do with the knowledge that they're dressed like the romantic couple of this movie? That the Duffers recommended this movie back in October? That it fits the conformitygate theory pretty well? It feels useless because unless we get a resolution, this similarity is left as a question for all of us, with no explanation. That's why I'm writing this post. Conformitygate should have a purpose, the theory began after volume 2, and it just developed into conformitygate after the epilogue. And the theory cannot be separated from Byler. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is now somewhat tainted with my memory of Byler bait. But hey... even the painful memories are worth keeping because the whole is beautiful. And Byler is a beautiful story whether we get it properly or not. I know what I saw: a beautiful queer story in the making, and no one can erase that and take away its significance.

[thinking-about-madness]

I agree, they did NOTHING with this referance. We have:

Clothes mirroring main characters.

Will's "erased" face at around 23:00mins into ep. 8.

Implication of narrative/memories fading away from Byler but they still have very emotional charged "shared" looks (aka memories fade, but feelings don't).

Byler haunting M*leven void scene montage kinda makes me feel like El was forced in there instead of Will. Unfitting, fake. Like... The lines she is saying don't belong to her.

Kinda like this guy, no? Patrick. He tried to steal Joel's "spot" by using his lines to Clementine.

Honestly not sure if it means anything at this point lmao.