The reason I genuinely don’t believe we were being delusional was because of how the conflict between Mike and Will was written.
If they wanted to convey that Will’s crush on Mike and his own inner hatred towards his sexuality was the issue and Mike just thought of Will as a friend, then most of the conflict should not have erupted because of Mike being a jerk.
Will should have been the one that was acting weird about things. He should have been the one that was putting a strain on his friendship with Mike. The one to actually cause the conflict. Because then not only would Mike’s character not have been shot out back, but they could have presented exactly why Will needed to move on from Mike romantically.
But they didn’t do that. You know what they did do? Make Mike be the one causing weird tension throughout their friendship and lashing out for no fucking reason. If Mike was supposed to be straight, then why was he acting different when it came with his friendship to Will? He should have been acting regularly the same that he had been until Will starts putting a wedge on their friendship. Yes, friendships can change, but Mike should have been able to treat Will the same as he always had.
The only other explanation for Mike acting out and being weird while still making him straight would have been showing us that he was dealing with his own toxic masculinity.
But you see, that would actually be exploring the setting of the show and getting into societal issues that the 80s had in a way that actually affects our characters. Rather than schoolyard taunts, they would actually have to show how bigoted and oppressive the overall culture and system that 80s society was. Can’t critique the era that was known for being hyper consumerist and superficial because then you can’t make a bunch of merch and brand deals.
Hope I got that across idk