Byler Disappointment + Other Related Opinions
More bummed out than I thought I’d be about Byler not happening. Here’s some thoughts I have about how it went and how it was handled.
Mike is not Will’s Tammy. Even if your overall conclusion to this story arc is for Will to accept himself fully, there was no need to dumb down his love for Mike to just some casual crush he had. Mike is literally his childhood best friend there’s nothing casual about their relationship. If the only reason that it was established that Will was in love with Mike was to let us know that Will is gay then they could’ve picked quite literally anyone who wasn’t his childhood best friend who he’s been with for over half his life.
Mike was never explicitly told that he was the person Will was in love with. The Duffers did an interview right after Vol 2 released confirming that Mike clocked Will’s feelings but that’s some bullshit. I knew as soon as I saw they had to clarify it in an interview that it would never be brought up in the show explicitly. They had Will come to his own conclusions and decide FOR Mike how he feels without ever allowing Mike to have a genuine and real conversation about it where he tells him how he feels about it. I would have rather had Mike verbally reject Will than what we got.
“Friends? No thanks… Best friends!” Bitch are you kidding me? What a disrespectful way to close off a plot line surrounding such a delicate topic. In fact the whole conversation just sounds like something that was thrown together (which it apparently was) because if Mike did in fact know that Will was in love with him what type of response is “I should’ve been there for you.” Huhh?? That makes no sense. And then making a joke out of it with that century long pause???? Please gtfo of my face with that nonsense.
Why the hell are we giving Will signs to look out for if there were never any real signs? Honestly the whole waving Robin and Vickie’s relationship in his face while knowing where the story was going is so cruel.
The painting was never addressed! This has me the most confused…. During the press they make it known that the painting would come up again and it had been stated that Mike’s obliviousness would pay off in the end… only for it show up at the very end hanging on Mike’s dorm room wall and Mike never knowing the truth. They really allowed Mike to believe that Will’s feelings were El’s and never addressed it. The most obvious romance plot point and they just ignored it. It’s really unfair to have Will give his feelings for Mike to El and then it not amount to anything. If they knew that Byler was never going to happen then the whole Will being in love with Mike plot should’ve stayed in season 4.
Byler not being a romantic paring? Sure. Fine. It doesn’t make sense to me but as long as they’re still close friends right? WRONG. Will and Mike hardly interact with each other throughout the season. Specifically after Vol 1. They put Will in a goddamn coma for half of it and the other half he’s just interacting with Joyce. And I love their relationship but come on it’s clear to me that they were just intentionally limiting the interactions between Will and Mike. It’s even to a point where Mike doesn’t even touch him… like what happened? The shift between Vol 1 and Vol 2 is so blatantly obvious when it comes to their relationship.
What was the point in pretending that Mike, El, and Will were in some sort of love triangle if you were gonna just keep everything ambiguous until it wasn’t? The last thing that was established in season 4 was that El was not talking to Mike much. Then we get to season 5 with Mike and El’s relationship throughout the entire season up to the last minutes of the last episode NEVER giving couple. Whenever they talked about their future and it was clear as day that El was only referring to her and Mike, he would always include the entire group. Even going on to say that their story starts with finding Will?? Why? Especially knowing how El’s story ends. This should’ve been the season to get everyone who wasn’t on board with Mileven ON BOARD. He implied she was hot once but that was it. No kisses, no I love you’s, no nothing. And SPEAKING of no I love you’s wtf was the goodbye scene. Sure they kiss and you could argue that action speak louder than words but El has made it abundantly clear that she wants VERBAL AFFIRMATION. That was the whole point of their argument in season 4. The main point of his big speech of season 4??? What exactly was the point of Mike Wheeler’s character? It hasn’t developed at all. He’s just a blank slate who reacts to things around him while making sly remarks and then all of a sudden he’s so emotional at the end. Laughable.
And then there’s the dumbass epilogue. First and foremost, Robin and Vickie, the only lesbian relationship on the show, the one used to motivate Will, the relationship developed off screen in between seasons, broke up off screen…. Wtf? So no gay person gets to be happy I guess. Their reasoning for it was that a high school relationship lasting isn’t realistic and I’m just confused… a lesbian couple??? who found each other in a small conservative town???? during the 80s??? Not lasting after they’re able to leave???? Are you joking?? What a bullshit excuse. I’m sick of the realism excuse when it comes to queer relationships. If I wanted realism I would’ve watched a fucking documentary. And then Will gets a no name rando boyfriend who he meets in a gay bar. But oh wait! That’s actually just a story Mike made up for him. So throughout the entire series Will is literally the only character who doesn’t get to have love. But at least he accepts himself right.
I just feel like… Byler could’ve been an amazing story.. showing a complex queer story in a mainstream show that isn’t explicitly about being queer with millions of people tuning in. I’m super bummed because the influx of homophobia in the stranger things fandom has been rampant. And whether or not it was intentional, that homophobia was validated when the Duffer brothers refused to speak on Byler before it got to the point we’re at now. Not to mention Will’s story just seemed like it was something they had to get out of the way post Vol 1. There should’ve been more care and thought put into it. And I, like most queer people, are sick of gay characters’ stories being about self acceptance. Straight characters just get to love or get their heart broken or be anything but by the end of the show Will was quite literally devolved into your typical gay character on your diversity check list. Him being an artist just placed on the back burner I guess. Robin and Vickie already being side characters who don’t get a lot of screen time are just told to have broken up for no good reason in the epilogue… likeee we are way past the point of needing to beg for queer rep that isn’t surface level and lazily written. Idk if half of that made sense but whatever I just wanted to get my thoughts out so I can hopefully stop thinking about it.
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