#mike theory

[flyingsnake0]

What if bro has no physical body

[mothmangang]

Tenna: "Man I sure do hope my evil shadow self isn't real" The humble Mike:

uhhhh something something Mike is evil Tenna and also his father and also Gaster and also evil Spamton

[miketheoriesdaily]

Mike Theory #2

MIKE IS DEAD?!?

(I don't have an image to put here)

A few people lately (around 2 or 3) have been telling me that mike is dead, he's been murdered, stuff like that. I didn't believe them and I still really don't want to, but it's worth exploring I think.

Tenna hasn't called for Mike since we got to Castle Town, which could possibly imply that they've stopped communicating once we left the TV dark world.

At first I thought that since we weren't running any shows, he didn't NEED Mike, But he ALWAYS needs Mike! We had to tuck him in at night and help him find his tie in the morning!!! So if he's not talking to Mike, it's probably involuntary.

He could be calling for Mike, and we just can't hear him since I lost my headset after the fountain closed, but wouldn't he at least say something to the lightners? Or at least they'd notice!?! The lightners KNOW who Tenna's "Mikes" were.

Maybe Tenna has been more irritable lately without a Mike to talk to, and people are too scared to go talk to him.

Also, there been someone sending me asks lately as you all know. Now I'm still a bit suspicious, but I've also had someone say they were a witness to that anon killing Mike.

After attempts of asking for proof from the anon that claimed to had killed Mike, they have been putting it off. They always said it was inconvenient because of "time" or some other reason.

When they brought supposed Mike's body home, they said it turned into a microphone, and they couldn't take a photo because it would make a loud hum whenever they tried.

I feel like this is a bit suspicious, because claiming to have KILLED MIKE is a HUGE statement. I'm still waiting to see if they send any proof though.

I'll update this theory when more information is provided, but check out the tag #MurderMikeAnon for the story so far.

[brikkets]

i just made this awful gif. Enjoy

[schneckmag]

Every single deranged fan theory is being pelted with tomatoes. Couldn't be happier

[systarkitty]

Been thinking about these Mike guys a lot, they're so silly silly silly

[chloesimaginationthings]

I love the FNAF theory angsty teen voice is just Michael

[eeriesilkworm]

Season 2 Mike definitely saw Max as a love rival for Will

Another Byler from Mike Wheeler's POV analysis—(Unrequited love trope edition).

Walk with me.

Sometimes I think about how when the party went trick-or-treating Mike specifically told Will that he, "should have checked with him" first before letting Max join them.

It's just a very peculiar moment. Why Will?

Even Will was confused by this, lol.

We know that Mike doesn't like Max in season 2 (for reasons we'll look into more), but why did he make this Will's problem/ responsibility? Especially after only knowing of her existence for 2 days at this point.

He wasn't angry at Lucas or Dustin—or at least, he didn't expect them to come to him for permission—otherwise he would have said something to them, too.

It was Will who he felt betrayed by and upset with.

Heck, go ahead and take a second look at the first screenshot provided above.

Does Mike look angry to you?

No—he looks forlorn.

Let me break it down for you:

I'll start by saying when the party learned of MADMAX the screename, they were all equally interested in knowing who it was.

But when Max is introduced to us as a character (and revealed to be a girl), we get markedly different reactions between the boys.

In the first frame, they have no idea who she is or what her name is. All they see is a new girl. (Played by Sadie Sink mind you, who is very pretty).

Look at Mike's face: he already looks sulky.

The second frame is after they learn her name is Max. Once again, all four boys show some level of interest, but Mike remains sulky.

Then we have the recess scene in which the boys are watching Max, which is very interesting.

Consider the blocking and body language in this frame:

Look at Will here: he's just as interested in Max as Lucas and Dustin are (even if his interest is not based on attraction). In fact, he's the main focus of this frame for some reason.

Mike is the only one who hangs back, and his body language is completely different from the other three (hands in pockets, meaning he is distanced). He has no interest whatsoever and his facial expression appears agitated.

Mike feels like the odd one out here.

Will fits in.

When they "lose the target" Will is the one who spots her and reinitiates the "watching." Once again, Will is the main focus of this shot and even seems to be showing the most interest; his expression is bright and engaged.

He runs with Lucas and Dustin to the wastebin while Mike trails behind begrudgingly, not wanting to be left behind.

It begs the question: why is Will the focal point among the four boys in a scene about looking at a girl, if he was never intended to be a love interest?

I argue it's because we're seeing this interaction from a very specific perspective—the perspective of Mike Wheeler, who is standing back and observing.

It's also worth noting that Will's change in demeanor and energy here is extremely apparent.

He is noticeably withdrawn and low in spirits this season due to his PTSD (both literal and metaphorical if you count the MF as a metaphor for trauma).

And Mike notices. He’s the one who points out that Will had been "quiet today"—a detail the others miss because they don’t watch Will the way he does.

Notice that Will is disengaged during the science lesson (before Max arrives), while the other three are nerding out. Will previously participated in the science fair—it typically interests him—but his mood is very low.

Then compare that with his immediate engagement when Max walks into the classroom, and the level of interest he showed during recess. Mike would certainly observe this shift, paying as much attention to Will as he does.

In fact, once the distraction of Max has passed and the principal comes to collect him, Will's body language retreats again; shoulders hunched, eyes downcast.

What conclusion do you think Mike would come to based off these few short interactions?

(And these are the only interactions Mike sees between Will and Max before trick-or-treating together the next day. Mike hasn't even spoken to her yet).

From Will's perspective, this girl is just a novelty: a light-hearted distraction from everything else going on, offering a spot of normalcy.

But from Mike's perspective, this is a pretty new girl showing up out of nowhere and immediately raising Will's spirits: something he felt like he failed to do.

And so it brings us to the trick-or-treating scene, in which Will (apparently) joins Dustin and Lucas in their enthusiasm for Max joining the party, while Mike hangs back and then begrudgingly follows, not wanting to be left behind.

Are we noticing the pattern?

Then we have Mike's confrontation with Will (this happens after Will is seen filming Max, btw). He tells Will he should have checked with him about Max joining them and that Max is, "ruining the best night of the year."

Uh... what? What did she do?

He then storms off: inentionally leaving Will behind this time.

(He wants him to know how that feels).

Following this interaction, Will has a big scare with the MF—and of course, it’s Mike who finds him first. Despite his mood, Mike is still attentive and protective.

Mike behaves possessively when he finds Will, not wanting the others to get involved. He takes Will “home” (his home) so they can be alone.

What follows is a scene that, put simply, is about reciprocation.

Interestingly, Mike’s attitude toward Max shifts after this scene with Will—he doesn’t have anything to say about Max joining the party in the AV room to look at Dustin’s pollywog.

This is the girl who apparently ruined Halloween.

You’d think he’d still be unhappy to see her.

But after that conversation with Will in his basement, Mike feels more secure and reassured about the state of their relationship.

He's no longer jealous.

So now, it's apparently fine for Max to be in the party.

Well, that changes again.

The next notable interaction is after Mike realises the pollywog is from the UD. Mike immediately goes into protective mode. It’s not Will who storms into the classroom to grab the trap—it’s Mike.

It’s also (presumably) Mike who locks Max outside of the AV room when they discuss this, yelling at her that she can’t come inside.

When she opens the door anyway, the pollywog escapes—and (of course) Mike blames her. No one else points fingers.

Now, the boys were hesitant to reveal any information about the UD for obvious reasons, but here we see the recurring theme in the Mike/Will/Max triangle: Mike’s protectiveness (and slight possessiveness) of Will.

So, a recap of Mike’s perspective so far:

First gripe: You’re hogging Will’s attention (possessive) Second gripe: You’ve compromised Will’s safety (protective)

Then we finally have the confrontation between Mike and Max:

It literally starts with Mike telling Max to leave because she's in the boys' room. (Similar to his "boys only" comment in season 3).

Let's not get it twisted: When Max finally asks Mike why he's been treating her the way he has been, he deflects.

Mike, who always has a ready opinion and is not afraid of confrontation, is not comfortable sharing the real reason why.

It’s commonly believed that Mike simply didn’t like Max because her presence reminded him of El’s absence—and I see it—but after a closer look, I no longer agree.

Firstly, I don’t think it’s fair to assume that Max would remind Mike of El (or rub salt in the wound of her absence) just because they’re both girls. Max and El couldn’t be more different—physically or otherwise—and that distinction feels intentional.

Mike would never compare Max to El, because to him, El is incomparable—a superhero who saved his (and Will’s) life.

Also, in Mike’s mind, El is still in the party—he lists her name off with the other members.

Max wouldn’t be a replacement.

He literally just stated that she would be an addition.

Secondly, Mike never actually makes this connection himself. He simply offhandedly mentions El when he’s trying to convince Max she’s not needed.

So why does he want her to stay away?

And when El is finally introduced (both through conversation and literally) to this dynamic, what happens?

Mike and Max begin to get along.

They share a smile.

If Mike’s issue with Max had anything to do with El, the scene wouldn’t have played out this way.

It’s classic misdirection.

The misdirection is so obvious they lean into it—even having El herself misinterpret Mike and Max’s relationship, becoming jealous.

She mistakenly assumes Mike is interested in Max, just like Mike mistakenly assumed Will was interested in her, too.

They’re giving the audience a warped perspective, urging us to look behind the curtain.

Mike’s behaviour towards Max fits perfectly into Byler’s shared arc in Season 2: Mike is attentive, protective, and possessive over Will, while Will—consumed by the MF—can’t fully reciprocate that attention.

The “crazy together” scene is the only time Mike receives the same energy back from Will the entire season.

I feel like people forget that when they talk about how cute Season 2 was for Byler. Cute from Will’s perspective, maybe (supernatural plot aside)—but for Mike?

We get multiple shots of Mike staring at Will or noticing his absence (Mike staring at Will’s empty desk being the most obvious example).

That’s called pining.

Will does not invite Mike to his house or show up uninvited—Mike does that. Will does not hold Mike’s hand—Mike does that. Will does not watch Mike closely or check in on him constantly—Mike does that. Will does not become possessive of Mike’s attention—Mike does that.

In fact, they play into this unreciprocated affection trope pretty blatantly—when Mike bares his heart to Will, tearfully recounting their first meeting, Will quite literally cannot respond because he’s possessed—even if he wants to.

Not to mention—Mike’s recount of their first meeting is also (thematically) about reciprocation:

“I asked if you wanted to be my friend. And you said yes. You said yes.”

Mike puts emphasis on the fact that Will said yes: the fact that Will reciprocated his feelings.

That is what he wants.

He wants validation that Will feels the same.

That Will won't leave him behind.

And what happens at the end of Season 2?

From a Byler perspective, this season is about Mike’s (seemingly) unrequited love for Will—and it directly influences Mike’s (very different) behaviour in Season 3.

So yeah.

Mike didn’t like Max because he was jealous, and coping with feelings for Will he feared were one-sided—and in his mind that was confirmed as true.

Why wouldn’t he be relieved to see El at the snowball dance?

Why wouldn’t he kiss her?

Why wouldn’t he immediately start dating her and pushing Will away?

[goldenstrwbrry]

small pippins… small mike… small mippins

[willthezombieboy]

OKOK I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING (if anyone has said this before so sorry i’m slow)

Mike and Will use the other ones color when they are fighting or mad at each other

but they use their true colors when they fix things and they talk again

And this didn’t happened just once but twice, coincidence? I don’t think so

[novalunosiss]

The "it was all a d&d game and they're back in Mike's basement" theory is so funny to me because like...

Assuming that everything that happens in the show is part of the "campaign", you're telling me a group of eleven year olds sat in a basement in 1983 and one of them was like "and what if my character is in love with your character and spends years quietly suffering, thinking his feelings are unrequited?" And the other went "got it" and started penciling emotional repression and internalised homophobia onto his character sheet.

Will: roleplaying, trembling voice "and when you're different, you feel like a mistake..."

Mike: age 11, scribbling furiously “he’s in love with me but I’m too emotionally repressed to notice.”

[mikewheelerapologist4lyfe]

hear me out on a byler only episode (Cleradingate)

tldr at the end (leaks discussed)

I know everyone has seen this caption on one of the duffers post regarding the teaser

And I know that there's an ongoing theory that episode seven is going to be when byler happens, but what if ONLY byler happens?

What if we only follow will and mike the entire time (maybe they're seperated from the group)

Like okay I know its a long shot but it would be such an interesting narrative choice that they have made before with el's missing sister episode.

(I can not find the link for this anymore pls lmk if you can so I can add it--->) Especially since I know there was a leaker who gave us the titles of the episodes and got them ALL right except for episode seven. What did they say it would be named? The Cleric and The Paladin.

I have reason to believe that, it is STILL named that, but was changed only so it would not be obvious in the title teaser to 'The Bridge'

The following is a list of all the episodes that were named differently to that of the official title tease in stranger things history

SEASON TWO:

SEASON THREE:

I put the link for both of the youtube videos if anyone wants to double check buttt

As you can see they tend to lie or change (however you want to see it, basically they're sneaky) the titles based off of if it gives too much away.

I think the best example is telling the public S3E5 was going to be named 'The Source' because if it was 'The Flayed' it would be obvious that people were getting taken by the mind flayer as that was the big bad at the time of only season 1 and 2 being released.

If we can trust the leaker (and like I said they got every title right EXCEPT for seven) then honestly I think that the episode is still titled 'the cleric and the paladin' but only changed for the title tease, because like I said, that is WAYYY too on the nose for the GA.

Now my theory,

We know that the duffers have gone on record saying that will's "emotional arc for him is what we feel is going to hopefully tie the whole series together." So it's safe to say that Will is extremely important thematically and plot wise to season 5. (This also proves my point that the duffers care about the cohesion between character arc pacing and the plot progression of the show, this is a link to that too btw)

Obviously a big part of will's 'emotional arc' is his sexuality, and a big part of that arc is his feelings for mike. This shows to me that it is NOT outside of the picture to include an episode that is centric to him, and by extension, centric to byler.

Them including clips from the literal FINALE but not episode seven seems to be a very deliberate choice. What if it's because the only content you can pull from it is will and mike, ANOTHER thing they have deliberately excluded from the teaser.

An episode that is solely to develop this relationship into its climax (a confession, kiss etc.) can show how serious the duffers are to focusing on a character they deem vital to the end.

Lets take the infamous 'The Lost Sister' episode for example. We know everyone hated it and its annoying they tried to make a backdoor pilot out of nowhere BUT it exists for a reason. In season two they could NOT have defeated the mind flayer without eleven, right? Makes sense.

But eleven could not have defeated the mind flayer without learning that her powers are stronger when she thinks of an emotion. This was taught to her in that standalone episode by her sister.

So WE KNOW that the duffers are willing to set aside an arc if it is vital to the ending, in season two eleven was, and now they are saying in season five, will is.

TLDR: Okay what does this all mean? We know:

Episode 7 is already being speculated for when byler happens

The duffers purposely change the real names of episodes for marketing

They are willing to have standalone episodes

Will and mike, and episode 7 are both absent from the teaser

Will is central to tying the show together

I think that this shows possibility for a byler ONLY episode, in order to set the scene for the climax that will is undoubtedly a driving force in. What exactly will happen is up to interpretation, maybe its churchgate, flickergate, loverslakegate, anything in this post, or something completely different. Who knows?

I would LOVE to hear what you guys think or if any of this made sense but I know I would be so geeked at an entire episode of just byler content I mean the tension would be GODLY. I know that it’s a long shot but it’s all in good fun anyways:) If anything it could just be further proof that episode 7 will have a byler resolution and that’s cool too:3 Sorry for any grammar mistakes this was kind of a ramble lol and thanks for reading if you made it this far<3!

Officially named cleradingate!

EDIT: check thamepo’s comment on this blog they bring up a great point that S4E7 did not include mike and will at ALL so it would totally by a full circle moment!

Zarbylerz made a good point on the byler nation community that the duffers have gone on record saying they will not be catering to fans anymore (for those worried about the negative reaction regarding the lost sister) + it’s not like the episode is with random forced characters it would be WILL AND MIKE for pete’s sake!

People have mentioned that Finn and Noah filmed earlier than the rest of the cast!! Perhaps because they have more than anyone else? Food for thought

Join the community surrounding this gate/theory!!

[lestatlioncourtt]

I'm someone who unfortunately, often lets details go unnoticed, so hearing the costume designer for s4 call this el outfit her "will look" just turned a switch in my mind, bc yeah it's pretty clear that eleven dresses herself differently in s4 compared to how she dressed in s3 but OMG, it's not just the clothes it's the hair too, everything about her reminds us of will. This scene with Mike between them it's crazy, it's like he's between the gender bent versions of the same person and now he has a choice to make iykyk....

[jurbily]

stupid dumb little ship

[teambyler]

Questions to ask if ever you have Byler doubt:

Do people seriously think that a show centered on nerds and social outcasts...

... shows how awful the popular kids can be...

... villainizes anti-gay bullies...

... sides against abusers...

... supports LGBT+ people...

... has interracial romance...

... embraces being different...

... turns an expected hetero romance into a beautiful platonic friendship...

... criticizes moral panic/evangelism...

... makes the "town freak" our hero...

... shows that love can overcome hate...

... and whose characters don't want to recreate the nuclear family...

... do we really think that show will let a suffering, traumatized gay boy's love be the device for a conventional white hetero couple to be the show's "main relationship"?

Has the show even set-up Mike and El, who met through trauma and circumstance while they were children and have repeatedly lied to each other, for a lifelong commitment?

Who's actually delusional?

And who sees this show for what it is? And what it's clearly setting up?

-teambyler

(This is a companion to "How the Duffers have set Will up for a happy ending in Season 5")

[demi-god77]

BYLER GATES: A GUIDE

(The official gates masterpost, explaining all the different theories for anyone who is also lost with how many there are)

THE BIG 4

Flickergate: This theory involves a lot of time shenanigans and is connected to the Will having powers in s5 one (possibly manipulation of time or electricity). Theory claims Will and Mike will kiss in the UD, specifically outside Mike's garage, paralleling 1x01. Will is going to tell the truth at the same time his s1 self is ("it was a seven"), causing the garage light to flicker on Nov. 6th 1983.

Birthdaygate: This theory suggests that the Duffers didn't actually forget Will's birthday is March 22nd (the day of the rink-o-mania incident). It claims that Vecna is actually manipulating the characters' memories (possibly even Will's), making them forget his birthday in the process, maybe in an attempt to make him feel excluded/lonely and making him vulnerable. (Similar to the beginning of Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets, which happened to be on the inspo board for S4)

But also the Creel murders themselves happened on March 22nd.

Churchgate: More UD kiss related theories! This one claims Will is going to get Vecna'd or possessed in the Upside Down church (and that he's going to hurt/choke Mike in the process). With a crazy amount of religious symbolism, Mike would be the one breaking him out of his trance, through a kiss or a confession.

(More thorough explanation here.)

Lettergate: This gate's truthers believe that Mike did actually write to Will in the time period between s3 and s4, but never sent the letters. Said letters (signed "Love, Mike") are going to make an appearance in s5, revealing his true feelings. (Great post that has to do with this gate here)

Also related to:

OTHER GATES

Pocketgate: Very connected to Lettergate™️, this theory has to do with Mike's infamous triangle shaped pocket in S4. It suggests that the letter signed Love, Mike is hidden in said pocket throughout s4, since it very closely resembles an envelope. Triangles have also been used in ST as a queer symbol (with Robin) and Mike's pocket consistently points to Will like an arrow.

Phonegate: Kinda similar to the previous two, this gate claims Mike did actually call the Byers in Lenora. For some reason, the calls didn't go through, either because of Joyce's telemarketer job OR because of Vecna manipulating things again (cough, birthdaygate, cough).

This is backed up by one of Dustin's lines, saying that the Byers' phone line is always busy and Mike won't stop complaining about it. We know he must have been calling WILL, since the whole reason he was communicating with El using letters is that they couldn't talk on the phone.

Loverslakegate: Related to Lovers' lake (obviously). The lake is shaped like a heart, tying into its name, but it was split in two after the gates opened, now resembling a broken one (and Mike is ofc referred to as "the heart" so it could be a reference to him).

According to this theory, Mike and Will are going to kiss/become lovers near said lake/Reefer Rick's house.

Heartgate: To put it simply: Heart reflections EVERYWHERE. This one is better explained through pictures:

Also: Different heartgate but really interesting

Colorgate: I don't think I have to explain this one tbh but anyway

Blue meets yellow in the west.

Mike and Will have been HEAVILY associated with blue and yellow respectively since the beginning of the show (even wearing eachother's colours in both of their arguments). There's an insane amount of evidence that backs this one up.

It's speculated that the Russian code in s3 was foreshadowing for s4 ("The silver cat feeds when Blue meets Yellow in the west") Silver cat: Vecna who started killing when Mike (Blue) met Will (Yellow) in the west (California, literally west of Indiana)

Curtaingate: "They don't spent their lives trying to get a look at what's behind the curtain [...] They like the curtain. It provides them comfort, stability, definition" -Murray 2x05

Mike and El are pretty consistently framed in front of CLOSED (and more often than not, yellow) curtains, or ones that have closed blinds. According to this theory, closed curtains represent not being honest with one's true feeling. So, the truth about Mike's feelings is beyond the curtain and in s5 he will open it (and come out)

Motelgate: This one has to do with the dreaded two day time skip at the end of S4. Theory claims the Cali crew stayed at a motel during that time skip and the scenes were cut for time, but we'll flash back to them in s5. It's based on a photo a production assistant posted from the New Mexico filming, as well as some bts pics of the Cali Crew playing board games in a motel.

Shoegate: In S4, we see a pair of Will's shoes in his bedroom. In s5, Mike seems to be wearing that exact pair. This, in addition to the fact that they wear the same shoe size (a 10 according to their rollerskates from 4x02), lead people to theorize they will share clothes/shoes in s5. More importantly though, this theory suggests Mike is figuratively being put into Will's shoes (maybe pining?). Also, both of them wear the same shoes they wore in s2. Interestingly enough though, even though the design is the same, the colors are reversed (so their roles will be reversed too).

Possessiongate: This one runs DEEP so I'm going to link a bunch of posts

To put it VERY simply: this theory claims Vecna somehow attached himself to Mike (maybe when the vine grabbed him by the leg in the S2 tunnels- right before he started acting weird in s3 and s4) and he has been influenced/possessed for some time now.

He's not the dungeon master anymore, he's not in control. Both in s3 and s4 someone ELSE is the DM when they play D&D (Will and Eddie respectively)

More here and here

Victimgate: Very closely related to the previous one, this one suggests that MIKE was originally supposed to be Vecna's 4th victim instead of Patrick. Since Max escaped the first time, SHE ended up being the last victim but the original plan was for it to be Patrick. However, Patrick's curse doesn't fit the theme of all of the previous ones. We only see one of his visions, he gets cursed for ONE DAY, as opposed to the other 3 that are cursed for almost a week and we also know very little about him, even though we gradually knew more about the previous victims. Chrissy (no relation to main characters) -> Fred (friends w/ Nancy) -> Max (main character who we've known since s2)

More thorough explanation here

Twelvegate: This one is not really Byler related but i wanted to include it anyway

Theory claims Will was one of the lab kids (specifically 012) and him and El are actual twins. There are mentions of Will and El looking similar since s1, and a lot of twin imagery.

This theory obviously ties in with the Will having powers one and some people believe he wasn't 012, but him and El have a deeper connection/may be actually related. It could theoretically explain Henry's connection to Will, as well as things like El seemingly recognizing him in s1.(Alternatively called rainbowshipgate, because of the rainbow ship drawing Joyce mentions in s2 and the rainbow room)

Eightfifteengate: Again, not explicitly Byler but it's quite crazy.

TL;DR: The time 8:15 seems to have great significance in the show and it's mentioned all the time, if not by the characters themselves, (Eg. "It's 8:15, you're late"- El s2) then by small details in the background. There's even a whole track named after it.

Will left the Wheelers' house at 8:15 and it's the EXACT timestamp of his disappearance in 1x01. It's also the time in which most of the UD related weirdness happens and so it's very likely the UD is stuck on 8:15. (Also you know, 15-8=7)

Radiationgate: Related to the previous one! Clocks in Chernobyl are stuck on 8:15 and Hiroshima has been described figuratively as being frozen in time. Henry has burns identical to Chernobyl victims and almost all of his + his victims' symptoms can be explained through radiation exposure. As this post explains, for radiation levels between 8.3-11 Gy (SI unit for absorbed radiation), symptoms start with headaches and disorientation, move on to unconsciousness and bleeding (the exact symptoms of his victims) and finally, death happens at around 7 days (which is about how long Vecna's curse lasts AND how long Will was in the UD for)

Whiterabbitgate: The song "White Rabbit" is the first song in the show and it plays when we first get a sense of El's powers. Theory suggests it will also be the last song in the show (coming full circle) with either Will using his powers, or Willel using their powers together.

In general though, ST has a lot of similarities/parallels to Alice in Wonderland. The white rabbit constantly being late (Mike is late to something at the start of every season), great significance to clocks/ticking/time, a lot of hallucinations/visions, the overall similarities between the Upside Down and Wonderland. Henry's sister was literally named Alice Creel and there is SO much rabbit imagery throughout the show. There are also direct references to AIW with set pieces and paintings.

Soundtrackgate: This one has to do with the Stranger Things OST and the overall insane musical symbolism throughout the show. A lot of different theories talk about the show's soundtrack, but this one talks about 3 tracks in particular: Being Different, The First Lie, The First I love You

To put it briefly: "The First I love You" plays in both Robin's coming out scene and El's kiss with Mike at the end of s3 (Already a weird parallel). The three tracks not only share the same melody, but they also sync up perfectly. "Being Different" (s4 van scene) and "The First Lie" (Nancy and Jonathan's kiss in s2) especially, match up together to create an entirely new track, completing eachother. The scenes featuring those three tracks also share very similar themes at their core. (This post goes into a lot of detail!)

Playlistgate: Character playlists! At a certain point, every character's official playlist on Spotify was deleted, except for three: Mike's, Will's and Billy's. Songs were seemingly being added/deleted for no reason to the Mike and Will ones and people were struggling to make sense of it all.

Also, Mike's character playlist in particular is VERY interesting (so many byler coded songs, as well as "Smalltown Boy" a gay anthem, about a young gay boy forced to leave his home town to escape from their disapproval and homophobia.) There are three playlists on Finn's spotify that are very incriminating. "Love songs" (That has "BOYS DON'T CRY" on it, a song that Will literally has a poster of in his room), "drive" and the most recent one "STurn". These playlists feature songs like "Let her go", "Angst in my pants", "Me and Michael", "Gay thoughts" just to name a few. Basically a lot of the songs on all four playlists seem very relevant to some complicated feelings about Mike's relationship with El/Will but also with himself and his sexuality.

Scriptgate: Oh boy. Here we go.

On August 5th 2022, the byler fandom got #bylerscript trending worldwide on Twitter while waiting for the 8flix account (run by Nick Runyeard) to release some supposed s4 scripts (that people PAID for, mind you). These scripts dropped on August 8th, featuring lines like: "I hate who I am" from Will in the van scene, "His mouth dry, like a California summer" from the bedroom apology scene and also, Will seemingly recognizing Brenner at NINA, despite never meeting him in canon.

These turned out to be fake and the community was in shambles. Nick started calling people psychos, the Stranger Writers tweeted that everyone got scammed, Nick privated his account and the authenticity of some released s2-s3 scripts was questioned. This post explains the entire situation in detail.

Breathgate: This one is also script related and specifically about a Mike/Max parallel.

In the official van scene script, when Mike sees Will's painting "his breath catches." Then, when Lucas asks Max to the Friday movie date, "(her) breath catches" as well. People caught on that parallel very fast and since the latter is obviously a romantic moment, it boosted their confidence for both Byler and Lumax endgame.

Piggybackgate: This one refers to two different situations/theories.

One, the seemingly deliberate framing of Mike and Will inside the little bubble in El's piggyback drawing (and it referening to Byler). The framing is especially suspicious, because the bubble drawing was drawn two separate times (it's different from one shot to the other). In the second shot, they're framed directly inside of it.

Two, Mike in his monologue essentially piggybacking off of Will's van confession. His monologue was going off of El's feelings, but since they weren't actually El's, the speech was based on Will's feelings. It also ties in with the parallel/foreshadowing between the monologue and Suzie's house, with Will being paralleled to the "director" kid, directing a "choking" Tabitha and their dad (more thorough explanation here).

Cleradingate: Originally created by @mikewheelerapologist4lyfe, this theory is based on a comment Ross Duffer made on the official s5 teaser, saying it pulls from every single episode, except from 5x07. Since someone earlier in the year leaked the episode titles and got all of them right except episode 7 ("the bridge"), which they instead called "The paladin and the cleric" , it led to the speculation of 5x07 being a standalone byler-heavy episode, similar to 2x07 being an El standalone, with both of them focusing on the characters' emotional/personal arcs. Since the Duffers have lied in past title releases as to not spoil plot points and/or changed their minds about certain titles, it is possible the actual title is in fact"the paladin and the cleric". Furthermore, in 4x07 Mike and Will were completely absent, so it would be a nice full circle moment AND it would explain why Finn and Noah started filming earlier than everyone else.

Footballgate: On December 25 2024, the vast majority of the byler community spent their Christmas watching hours of NFL football, in the hopes we would maybe get a teaser or at the very least a release date for s5. This started from leakers saying we would most likely get something during the game.

We got nothing.

People were disappointed they wasted hours of their lives watching a sport they neither cared for or knew anything about, and the only thing we learned is that we would probably get something before the end of January 2025.

THE SILLIES

(aka the joke-theories/memes)

Miniongate: Mike and Will are secretly minions. (Because you know, minions are primarily blue and yellow)

This information will be revealed to us in s5 and they will have a magical girl-esque transformation where we see their true minion form. (Original post here)

Localvillagegate: Related to the leaked Mike and El rooftop scene.

Basically, a mlvn used AI to lip read the scene and try to figure out what Mike is saying (and then posted the video on Twitter).

According to them, Mike was telling El they were going to leave the local village (AKA Hawkins) together and travel to a beautiful faraway land with "like, three waterfalls or something" (and also that she has to "improve her motivation", whatever that means).

People thought it was hilarious and started making a ton of memes based on it.

Parrotgate: This is directly connected to localvillagegate™️ and it was created by @cloudycleric in one of his streams.

Basically, the parrots are gay and represent Will and Mike, who in s5 will kiss under the three waterfalls depicted on the image.

Backgroundguygate: People making headcanons and creating backstories for random extras. The star of this gate is Barrett, an extra from the Lenora high school, who wears a barrette, bright red pants and a shirt that says "Hell".

According to this gate, he's actually gay and in love with Will. He has a goth best friend named Claire who is a lesbian and in love with El.

Chancegate: The theme of shipping Will with random extras continues on strong

Chance is one of Jason's friends and part of the basketball team. People thought he was attractive and somewhere along the line started making headcanons for him and shipping him with Will (Bychance). Basically, they're gonna date and Mike will be jealous.

Mikhailgate: More shipping Will with randoms! (I'm beginning to see a pattern here)

Originally created by @paladin-n-cleric

Enzo in S4 mentions his son, Mikhail Antonov. Mikhail is the Russian name for Micheal.

People started making jokes that Mikhail would arrive to Hawkins from Russia in s5 and shipped him with Will (Willhail), since he's like Mike but Russian and cooler. They made fanart, edits and posted pictures of Finn as Boris in "The Goldfinch" claiming it's Mikhail.

@will80sbyers then begun to ship Mikhail with El and thus the ship "Jail" was born.

Pastagate: On January 2nd 2025, Noah posted a 2024 recap on IG, which included a photo of a trailer door labeled "Rigatoni". People then started joking about Rigatoni being Will's new bf and the ship "Willoni" was born.

In reality, Rigatoni is a nickname for Noah and that was his trailer. But where's the fun in that?

Baldmikegate: Did you know Mike is actually bald and is bullied for it? Well, now you do.

In 2022, a cult was born and the byler tag was filled with edited pictures of Bald!Mike. Terrifying honestly.

Some people made posts about how the rest of the party feels about Mike's secret baldness and some even wrote FANFICS.

Gridgate/whiteboardgate/pixelgate: The Stranger Writers posted a picture of a pixelated/blurred whiteboard that had the entirety of s5 mapped out. People were desperately trying to decode it and figure out what was written on it.

On the space for episode 7, there was a "big black hole" that people went crazy trying to make sense of, only for it to be revealed as a pen holder.

Babygirlgate: The babygirlification of Mike Wheeler. That's it. That's the gate.

I think pretty much every line Will has ever said to Mike has been posted with the word "babygirl" replacing his name (it's hilarious and I love it)

Some examples here and here

Mattduffersbasementgate: Finn and Joe made up a third Duffer brother named Pete, who has no hair for some reason and is the actual writer of Stranger Things, while Matt and Ross are just the faces of it. Pete lives in a shed/Matt's basement and that's where he writes all of the scripts.

Finn and Noah are both also being held in Matt's basement however, and they're not allowed to leave so that they don't spoil byler endgame.

Lobegate: (This gate was officially named by @tripleatechie). In January 2025, a byler went undercover, sending asks to other members of the community pretending to be a Mlvn. In one of those, they accidentally misspelled "love" as lobe, which immediately became an inside joke. People starting speculating whether or not this was an actual Mlvn and an investigation ensued. On January 7th 2025, the identity of the undercover byler was revealed as @somewiseoutthere. The mystery didn't end there though, with people wondering if this was in reality a group effort with multiple culprits. Here is a list of all the possible culprits with a full timeline here.

Blankgate: On January 26th 2025, Atlantaspotting posted on Twitter a thread with controversial claims and gossip about the cast, but replaced all the names with BLANK, making pretty much incomprehensible, and impossible to figure out who it was about. Memes were then made, replacing every name and pronoun with BLANK.

Australiagate: In April of 2025, someone sent asks to byler accounts, with a paragraph they had written, in which Mike and El were dancing together. However, there was a mention of Will having randomly moved to Australia. People of course started making jokes out of this and even adding on to it, making Chance also move to Australia, essentially connecting this gate to Chancegate™.

Vangate: We have finally peaked and are now shipping vans. Vanler is the name of the crackship for the yellow pizza boy van from s4 and the blue WSQK van from s5, continuing the blue/yellow craze. A fanfic was soon made, called "When blue meets yellow in the intersection" (title based on this tweet) and edits followed as well. Anyway, vanler is my otp now <3

Madwisegate: Originally created by @4rielle, who sent anon asks to other accounts, claiming the one true endgame of ST was actually madwise. Essentially, Will is actually straight and in love w/ Max, who has also been in love with him since s2. @radiobyler then added on to this, creating hopnie (hopper x Lonnie) and palager (Mike x Lucas), which soon became midulu (Mike x Dustin x Lucas). El is also in love with Suzie Birmingham (creating Duziel, Dustin x Suzie x El).

Mpreggate: I...don't even know how to explain this one.

@4rielle strikes once again, sending anonymous asks to other accounts, asking them if they think there's gonna be a byler...mpreg arc in s5 and if so, which of the two is most likely to get pregnant. Mike gets the title and people come to the conclusion he was mean in s3 and s4 only because of his pregnancy mood swings. Basically, fandom goes batshit insane after waiting far too long for any new content to arrive.

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I will keep adding as more gates surface!