okay, Stranger Things is over, and I need, as a fan, to talk about Byler, and not because it's not canon or anything like that, but because the ship could have given us Mike's arc. SPOILER FROM THE FINAL
I mean, in the first two seasons, Mike was shown as the leader, his determination to search for and find Will regardless of the obstacles or prohibitions placed in his way. Along the way, he met Eleven, taking her in and making her part of the group without abandoning his initial mission: finding Will.
And this only shows us how loyal Mike was to his friends and the people he loved, like when he sacrificed himself for Dustin or defended Lucas from El, despite arguing with him (although he didn't do it in the best way).
And that's where one of my points lies, but I won't address that yet.
While at the end of the first season we can see how much Mike is hurt by El's disappearance, he accepts it even though he wishes things would change, which is why he waits for her every day. Unlike Will, whom he didn't hesitate to search for and denied Will's supposed death.
During the second season, I don't know if I would define Mike as a leader, although perhaps a bit as a guide and support, since he was able to notice Will's changes and knew him so well that he could realize what he was going through, and he could notice that he was a spy, accompanying him at every moment.
This season also shows us the Mike that Eleven adores.
Then comes the third and fourth season, and this is where a different Mike appears than what we have been presented with.
We are shown a group of boys who are growing up, no longer wanting to follow a "routine" of children, which is completely normal and understandable, but even so, that differs from the fourth season where they join a D&D group.
In the third season, when El and Mike "break up," we see how Mike, typical of his age, tends to blame Max for what happened instead of accepting that his actions also affected El's perspective. And instead of trying to fix things with her, he goes to his basement and complains about what happened.
Later, when Will wants to play, Lucas and Mike tease him and talk sarcastically (in my opinion) about the campaigns they'll run. When Will gets fed up and upset, Mike tries to apologize, but it starts a fight where Mike utters the famous line, "It's not my fault you don't like girls." Even so, he regrets it, and a little while after Will leaves, he goes to find him to apologize.
Later in the season, we see that Mike still adores and loves Eleven, but he doesn't tell her in her face, and that's also a hindrance. Why? Because we aren't shown the reason why he can't, and that's where Byler and his arc come in.
I read in some places that, as Nancy recounted in the first season, the Wheelers didn't marry for love but for convenience, which meant that none of their children experienced love. This, in this case, prevented Mike and Nancy from showing love to Eleven, and previously to Steve.
So, what if Mike was acting the same way as Nancy for the same reason? Perhaps Mike's personality and his reactions to his relationship with Will and El weren't just due to his growing up (which is possible), but perhaps it was his denial or lack of understanding of what he might be feeling for Will.
Because throughout the first and second seasons, we saw Mike's great attention and concern for Will, noticing details that went unnoticed by others. For example, when Mike mentioned that Will was quieter during the day, and Lucas said that he's always like that, Mike noticed something different. Besides, Mike is always the first to reach Will when something happens to him. He was the first to hug him when Will returned, then he noticed him at the arcade, found him on Halloween, then found him when he was possessed by the Mind Flayer, then in the ditches, and even after they had argued, he went looking for him in the rain. Then, during the day at Rink-O-Mania, Mike never once noticed his girlfriend's worry, her discomfort, or her lies, but he did notice Will's attitude, confronting him about it and even (though I don't remember it well) blaming Will for not telling him about Eleven when it wasn't his responsibility to do so.
And here we see the Mike from the third season again, who found it easier to blame someone else for what happened with his girlfriend than to accept that he too had made a mistake. The next day, when she wanted to talk to him and asked him if he still loved her, he didn't give a concrete answer, but instead gave a response similar to when Steve asked him if she loved him: neither of them answered. We know that Nancy didn't feel love for Steve because she was in love with Jonathan, but at no point are we given a real answer as to who Mike is and what he feels.
That, in my opinion, is what made the Byler somewhat "possible" because Mike didn't need Will to act/say what was happening to him, Mike simply knew it, but with him it wasn't the same.
As a Byler shipper, I think this ship made sense; it would have given us a good arc for Mike, explaining what was happening to him and why he acted that way. But that simply vanished in this last season. They didn't give us a reason, they didn't give us any development for Mike, even though he was one of the best characters in the first two seasons.
I also love Mileven and I think that if they hadn't reduced Mike to acting that way, distant and sometimes not very understanding, the ship would have been amazing too.
I think the end of this season was a good ending for Mileven, it could have been better, but it wasn't a good ending for Mike, I think he could have had much more too.
This was my opinion; I'm devastated by the ending but not disappointed.
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