Mike Wheeler isnāt oblivious, clueless or dumb. His character has not been lobotomized.
Heās traumatized. Deeply and irreversibly traumatized.
He is a living breathing case study in āforced conformity is what is killing the kidsā.
Both by the repeated traumatic events we are witness to through the series, but also the very real pressure of forced heteronormativity and toxic masculinity.
You cannot analyze his actions through 2026ās lens (where I argue these oppressive social structures are still omnipresent).
There is a real and ever present danger for LGBTQIA folx, especially in the context of Indiana in the 80ās (I will not entertain any arguments that Mike Wheeler is not at minimum questioning his sexuality. Queer media literacy 101 establishes that).
Additionally, the changes in his behaviour, including demonstrating affection to Will, can be ascribed to the overwhelming pressure to adhere to gender roles and stereotypes. The social construct he lives within tells him that the interactions that were natural and joyful are abnormal and wrong.
Finn Wolfhard is an incredible actor. You can see the internal anguish in the āquiet Mikeā moments in Season 5.
Mike Wheeler is in agony. But he feels like he doesnāt have any other choice.
Iāve been terrified to speak this into existence, but my initial thought with the shit finale was that they had to drastically change course after another show used the twist ending they had planned:
My very first theory was either Will (through Vecna) or Mike (through grief) were world builders, but unaware (like Billy creating the Road).
The original plan was too similar, so they had to make a hurried pivot/ retelling.
okay iām sorry idc how the show ended or what the writers said, there is literally no heterosexual explanation as to why mike and willās outfits only swapped their designated colors when they were beefing šā
so another thing ive noticed about the epilogue - the third door choice disappeared once again
During their graduation in 5x8, Dustin was saying there are two types of chaos classes of characters (in dnd), the good and the bad,.
where's the neutral?
we know it exist - it's in the literal credits of the show!
so why wouldn't Dustin mention it? Was the neutral (the center) erased? Was that the point ( as in, Vecna's plan)?
what are these alignments?
The original version of D&D (1974) allowed players to choose among three alignments when creating a character: lawful, implying honor and respect for society's rules; chaotic, implying rebelliousness and individualism; and neutral, seeking a balance between the extremes
(...) introduced a second axis of good, implying altruism and respect for life, versus evil, implying selfishness and no respect for life (...) As with the law-versus-chaos axis, a neutral position exists between the extremes.
Characters and creatures could be lawful and evil at the same time (such as a tyrant), or chaotic but good (such as Robin Hood).
so the neutral between these two extremes have been introduced in the dnd from the beginning. although the good and evil axis hasn't been in every version since, the neutral part still remained, or in later editions has been adapted as 'unaligned' and in 5th edition back to this structure.
law vs chaos
Originally the law/chaos axis was defined as the distinction between "the belief that everything should follow an order, and that obeying rules is the natural way of life", as opposed to "the belief that life is random, and that chance and luck rule the world"
good vs evil
According to Greg Littmann, the predetermined assignment of an alignment to monsters means that they are good or evil by nature. Nevertheless, the rules do allow for individual variances, permitting "a red dragon looking to defect to the side of good"āeven though Littmann acknowledges the rarity of such situations.
(red dragon you say?)
and this is why i think it's interesting that in the 5x8 credits we see the alightnment only for Vecna - lawful evil
and also for Will - neutral good!
It really puts these two against each other, even more so with the connection and importance of how Henry and Will are depicted similar (and same birthday!), yet very different, opposing each other even.
We haven't seen any of the other's alignment classes, but i want to guess Mike would have been lawful good, while El would have been chaotic good. Which is two other mirrors/ reflections against Vecna's lawful evil:
Especially with Mike it's so subtle, yet as I've started putting this together, its louder and louder how they're a little similar, yet very different on the other axis of good and bad. They kind of follow the same code of honor and rules, while still acting against the forces that's been restricting them.
Joyce and Will's talking about Vecna in 5x7: Vecna doesn't lie.
While Mike's motto has been the same since s1: Friends don't lie.
(and something about paladins having a spell called 'protection from evil and good' where the target on a successful roll cannot be charmed, frightened or possessed...)
Mike as the leader, following his code of honesty:
Law implies honor, trustworthiness, obedience to authority, and reliability. On the downside, lawfulness can include closed-mindedness, reactionary adherence to tradition, judgmentalness, and a lack of adaptability. Those who consciously promote lawfulness say that only lawful behavior creates a society in which people can depend on each other and make the right decisions in full confidence that others will act as they should.
A lawful good character typically acts with compassion and always with honor and a sense of duty. However, lawful good characters will often regret taking any action they fear would violate their code, even if they recognize such action as being good.
El as the chaos, the reckless type that still needs to figure out herself
Chaos implies freedom, adaptability, and flexibility. On the downside, chaos can include recklessness, resentment toward legitimate authority, arbitrary actions, and irresponsibility. Those who promote chaotic behavior say that only unfettered personal freedom allows people to express themselves fully and lets society benefit from the potential that its individuals have within them.
A chaotic good character does whatever is necessary to bring about change for the better, disdains bureaucratic organizations that get in the way of social improvement, and places a high value on personal freedom, not only for oneself but for others as well. Chaotic good characters usually intend to do the right thing, but their methods are generally disorganized and often out of sync with the rest of society.
and Will, as neutral, something in between.. the one who keeps it all in fragile balance
Someone who is neutral with respect to law and chaos has a normal respect for authority and feels neither a compulsion to follow rules nor a compulsion to rebel. They are honest but can be tempted into lying or deceiving others if it suits them.
A neutral good character typically acts altruistically, without regard for or against lawful precepts such as rules or tradition. A neutral good character has no problems with cooperating with lawful officials, but does not feel beholden to them. In the event that doing the right thing requires the bending or breaking of rules, they do not suffer the same inner conflict that a lawful good character would.
(all small text from wikipedia about Alignments)
So what happens when the Neutral path disappears?
You're left with three two choices
"The way I see it, you got two roads ahead of you."
because there's nothing else between it, right? not anymore, not if Vecna won.
---
If the Will -> exotic matter connection is gone, the thing that was keeping UD stabilized is gone, then only chaos or law remains. Something that Henry/Vecna kept telling us about in s4 mostly, how restricted he felt by the order of the world, the hours, days, repetition, all for nothing.
Would this mean the world was in chaos now, and only the good or the bad side of it existed? Or is that a new lawful world Vecna created in the way he always planned? Making them the lesser versions of themselves, taking away the other choice to choose the third option, to find that door to escape?
Bad chaos brings anarchy.. (saying Dustin in orange robe on a graduation day that doesn't seem real)
If they wrote Will (neutral good) out of the narrative and/or forgotten, and El (chaotic good) sacrificing herself, it means only the chaotic evil stays - no change, but stagnancy. Conformity.
