idk i would’ve loved to have had a softer scene where mike is trying really hard to write the ending to a really important campaign he’s writing but he just can’t seem to figure it out. and he keeps calling max, lucas and dustin but they refuse to help him going dude it’s so obvious what should happen there is no way we’re giving you the answer to this you gotta figure it out yourself. and he’s complaining about them to jane and calling himself stupid because he used to be really good at this, so why can’t he think of anything? and poor jane is comforting him but doesn’t know the first thing about dnd, so can do nothing to help.
until one day he’s hanging out with will, who knows this problem is really eating at him but instead of giving him the answer, he just talks to him like old times. and suddenly they laughing reminiscing about their childhoods and early campaigns, and figuring out the ending isn’t the thing mike’s thinking about for the first time in weeks. but as he’s rambling about their first campaign as the paladin and the cleric, something in mike’s brain clicks and just he has a “ohmygodthatsit” moment.
idk it would’ve been so lovely to see the “i was looking for the answers in somebody else but, i had all the answers; i just had to stop being so goddamn scared.” play out as mike realises there was no use looking for the answer in jane or begging his friends for help, because he had to figure it out on his own. and he could only do that once he had the guts to let his guard down and be himself again.
but the duffers were more interested in green screens and cgi monsters than wholesome storytelling, so i guess we’ll never know.