chirpsythismorning

[chirpsythismorning]

Thinking about how if you cut the whole Cali rode trip plot out season four would not be altered at all. They were missing for a whole episode and nothing was hindered.

So why not cut it?

Because season FIVE would be DESTROYED by it.

Because Byler is so vital it needs this set up. Foundation laying seems useless when you don't know something will be built.

Yes. The Cali plot could have been cut entirely. They were glorified chauffeurs with extra obstacles for filler (and literally only one extra obstacle). But that's actually Byler PROOF.

It was useless to the season 4 plot. So the only reason to keep it in when they could have easily just incorporated the characters into other plotlines - they're able to fly to Hawkins, they go with Joyce, some do one, some do the other, whatever - the only reason to isolate them then have them do seemingly nothing of value is SETUP for something that IS needed.

The only reason for having that is if without it, season 5 rolls around and now VITAL plotlines are out of the blue. It is the "blank makes you crazy" to "From Mike". The "I love her" to "from Mike".

Because Byler was not a plotline in season 4. Not really. Not totally. Not vitally, at least. What it was was threads woven back of a plotline in season FIVE. What it was was planning, preparation.

Jonathan and Argyle are basically comedic relief. Mike and Will do nothing to help El except get to her with a car that they did not drive or need to be in for their plan to work. And if the plot were Mike and El, Mike and El would be there, no. The plot is Mike and Will talking, is just the conversation topic - the same way Will was for Mike and El in season 1.

Mike and Will only setup romantic plotlines, assist the supernatural plotline in no, and are physically isolated from affected any other characters' plotline, but have no romantic payoff and their romance is not even addressed.

Because this isn't a vital season plotline. This is "I know you wanna see what the NINA Project is doing but season 5 would be shit without this you guys I promise".

Don't care about it but can't live without it of storytelling. Almost everything in season 4 is the same without it. But almost everything about the ending of the show is exponentially different. Season 4 is unchanged. But season 5 falls apart. Without Byler. Without us knowing the little things here and there that we now know.

Because if you go over it, barely anything even happened in their plotline. I've said this before, it really was just a bunch of unpaid setups - which makes sense given season 4 and 5 were supposed to be one season.

It's really just because we need to go into season 5 with the knowledge in the back of our minds "Will loves Mike, Will lied to Mike tpo get him to stay with El, Mike's scared the truth about his love for her would hurt her, Mike told El he loved her to save her life".

4 facts. 4. Not plotlines, facts. Some of which are single scenes, many of which are just single lines. It's information. It's setup. It doesn't matter now. But not cutting it is their way of saying it WILL. "It'll pay off," as the Duffers said to Finn Wolfhard.

Nothing else happened in this plotline and they could have integrated these characters elsewhere. This plotline didn't even really have a plotline, just a sparsely scattered series of facts.

But as someone who predicts lots of mysteries accurately, THAT'S how they show you their hand. Not what they tell you is important. What they try to convince you is useless (but made space for anyway).

That's a twist the only way to do a twist. They said in tightening the season 4 scripts they went back to episode 1 to write in that Eddie played guitar so it was planted for later. This is the same thing. It's just planting things so they aren't out of the blue. THIS is how you do a twist, and why we know to predict one. People are right, they do not have a love story plotline. But what they do have is 'rewatch details' with no other purpose. What they do have is "uselessness".

If season 4 is unaffected by their plotline, it means season 5 falls apart without it.

[chirpsythismorning]

🕯 🕯

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Teaser

🕯 on March 22nd 🕯

feat. Mad World

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[chirpsythismorning]

Mentally I’m here

A sword for Mike

Like others have pointed out, the Castle Byers in this flashback is the one we see in the UD (no microscope when Joyce and Jon look for Will) So, if the UD is really made of different memories, then the Castle Byers with the sword is the one where Will is attacked.

But there's something weird going on there. 1) I don't see any sword when El finds Castle Byers, but inside, it is the Castle Byers with the microscope, so the one with the sword (more about this in a second)

2) The creature is not alone. It's too far from Castle Byers to destroy it, and Will sees a shadow. We still don't know what really happened there!

I also noticed something in S3 that could be connected to that specific moment.

I don't think Max's line "Mike will come crawling back to you in no time, begging for forgiveness" is just there to show that Mike actually looks for Will. I think the "crawling back" is connected to going back in time (maybe through memories?) Steve "crawling backwards", Max and El being brought back, El being dragged on the floor in the Rainbow Room, before she sees the past. And when Mike "comes crawling back to Will, begging for forgiveness", he finds him at Castle Byers.

In S3 Max and El are called "a different species" by the boys because, they say, they act on emotions -> Max mentions Mike crawling back in no time -> because "time is funny and emotions can speed it up or slow it down. We're all time travelers..."

Mike's photo in the shot when El mentions emotions and time travel

So, I think the line about him crawling back, finding Will at Castle Byers, and the sword, mean that Mike will save Will

This could be another clue: when El finds Will, before Castle Byers is destroyed, we see everyone's reaction but Mike's. Interesting choice, since he spends the whole season trying to prove that Will is alive.

No reaction, no sword (because he "has it", or, he will have it? He will be there, in the UD. Well, I don't know if he'll really use it, but I think the sword represents Mike)

El gives him his watch, and behind her the words Home and Time

The title of the first episode of S5 is The Crawl, and the first scene is Will singing (imo) in the UD

But Mike must hurry, because in the S3 campaign, which is paralleled to the one in S1 (The vanishing of Will Byers, The case of the missing lifeguard) there's a trap, a distraction, an ending that is not good, not the real ending ("No, let's finish for real"): dying and then living on as heroes in someone's memories. Mike is even mocking Will here, the only time it happens. And we see Will angry for the first time.

And what does he do? He yells: "FORGET IT, Mike!"

Then he goes to Castle Byers and destroys his memories. Castle Byers is destroyed, like it was destroyed in the UD (Mike was too late)

Another parallel between the campaigns: Mike doesn't understand Will in S3 (before Will destroys his memories and senses that the Shadow is back) and he doesn't understand what he's saying about the roll (before Will vanishes)

They need to communicate, let their emotions guide them, through time and space, and they will find each other. Getting to Mike is the key, and he can't be late anymore, or we don't know what happens if Will doesn't remember anything. If there's nothing left and Joyce's boy is gone

[chirpsythismorning]

A sword for Mike

Like others have pointed out, the Castle Byers in this flashback is the one we see in the UD (no microscope when Joyce and Jon look for Will) So, if the UD is really made of different memories, then the Castle Byers with the sword is the one where Will is attacked.

But there's something weird going on there. 1) I don't see any sword when El finds Castle Byers, but inside, it is the Castle Byers with the microscope, so the one with the sword (more about this in a second)

2) The creature is not alone. It's too far from Castle Byers to destroy it, and Will sees a shadow. We still don't know what really happened there!

I also noticed something in S3 that could be connected to that specific moment.

I don't think Max's line "Mike will come crawling back to you in no time, begging for forgiveness" is just there to show that Mike actually looks for Will. I think the "crawling back" is connected to going back in time (maybe through memories?) Steve "crawling backwards", Max and El being brought back, El being dragged on the floor in the Rainbow Room, before she sees the past. And when Mike "comes crawling back to Will, begging for forgiveness", he finds him at Castle Byers.

In S3 Max and El are called "a different species" by the boys because, they say, they act on emotions -> Max mentions Mike crawling back in no time -> because "time is funny and emotions can speed it up or slow it down. We're all time travelers..."

Mike's photo in the shot when El mentions emotions and time travel

So, I think the line about him crawling back, finding Will at Castle Byers, and the sword, mean that Mike will save Will

This could be another clue: when El finds Will, before Castle Byers is destroyed, we see everyone's reaction but Mike's. Interesting choice, since he spends the whole season trying to prove that Will is alive.

No reaction, no sword (because he "has it", or, he will have it? He will be there, in the UD. Well, I don't know if he'll really use it, but I think the sword represents Mike)

El gives him his watch, and behind her the words Home and Time

The title of the first episode of S5 is The Crawl, and the first scene is Will singing (imo) in the UD

But Mike must hurry, because in the S3 campaign, which is paralleled to the one in S1 (The vanishing of Will Byers, The case of the missing lifeguard) there's a trap, a distraction, an ending that is not good, not the real ending ("No, let's finish for real"): dying and then living on as heroes in someone's memories. Mike is even mocking Will here, the only time it happens. And we see Will angry for the first time.

And what does he do? He yells: "FORGET IT, Mike!"

Then he goes to Castle Byers and destroys his memories. Castle Byers is destroyed, like it was destroyed in the UD (Mike was too late)

Another parallel between the campaigns: Mike doesn't understand Will in S3 (before Will destroys his memories and senses that the Shadow is back) and he doesn't understand what he's saying about the roll (before Will vanishes)

They need to communicate, let their emotions guide them, through time and space, and they will find each other. Getting to Mike is the key, and he can't be late anymore, or we don't know what happens if Will doesn't remember anything. If there's nothing left and Joyce's boy is gone

[chirpsythismorning]

Rushing to finish my st5vision playlist bc of the leak even though we probably won’t get anything officially for months anyways

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[chirpsythismorning]

Just think, our next date for a possible teaser is March 22nd.

And since they’ve made a point to go out of their way to acknowledge it the past 2 years during hiatus, I think we’re in for not only birthdaygate confirmation, but also s5 content pertaining to birthdaygate…

[chirpsythismorning]

this WHOLE TIME. in front of our faces.

[chirpsythismorning]

It’s actually from the scene when they find Will’s body! ‘That’s not Will. It can’t be’.

Though Mike doesn’t outright say it in the pilot, we can assume all the boys were probably thinking it anyways given that Will is who they were looking for in the first place. The trailer just put it there to make the moment more dramatic, and to also orient the audience with what the story would entail.

VERY unpopular opinion but I don’t think the “that’s not Will” evidence means anything

A) it was said in the trailer, not the actual show so it’s not even canon to what he was saying or thinking in that moment

B) it was showing them looking for Will in the same place he disappeared so they were intending on finding him there. Hence “that’s not Will” when he discovered El instead of the person he was trying to find. Will was on his mind bc they were looking for him

I’m just saying, we have a lot of other evidence and to me at least, this feels like the weakest argument and idk it seems like a reach to me but people take it so fr 😭. It’s not even in the show chat. This is usually used when arguing against the monologue and there’s a lot of other evidence to suggest he was lying. Idk, this piece of evidence just seems really loose to me, because again… it’s not even in the show.

I don’t think he loved her at first sight at all but you can’t really use non canon material to argue against canon

[chirpsythismorning]

The influence of conformity & gender stereotypes on the characters of Stranger Things but also on US (the general audience)

The moment I stumbled upon the arguments of "anti-Byler," the most commonly cited one was their outright denial of heteronormative pressures and societal expectations that are instilled in us from a young age. These same dynamics influenced Mike and the other characters in Stranger Things. This realization brought to mind a personal childhood anecdote that illustrates this phenomenon perfectly.

I must have been around ten years old because I remember this happening on the bus ride home from a school trip to watch Ratatouille. At the time, I had recently befriended a boy in my class—we had been seated next to each other, which gave us more opportunities to talk than when I’d usually stick with my girlfriends during recess while he played soccer with the boys. (Just describing this setup already paints a clear picture of gender stereotypes and heteronormativity, even though this was in 2007—25 years after 1982, to put things into perspective.)

When I say we had grown closer, I mean that two kids had developed a friendship: we laughed together, enjoyed each other’s company, and simply got along well. But I vividly remember sitting face-to-face with Maximilien—yes, I suddenly recalled his name as I was writing this! Maximilien, with his freckles and ginger hair—and we were laughing and talking about the movie. At one point, I playfully held two strands of his hair between my fingers, pretending to guide him like Rémy from Ratatouille.

It was then that I noticed, just behind Maximilien's smiling face, my classmates observing us from the next row. They were whispering and giggling, their glances unmistakably filled with mischief. I immediately understood what they were thinking. Later that day, they confronted me, insisting, “You’re in love with Maximilien!”

I felt embarrassed and awkward. But the truth is, before their remarks, the idea hadn’t even crossed my mind. To me, Maximilien was simply a friend, someone I enjoyed spending time with. It wasn’t until my friends planted that seed of doubt that I began to question my feelings. For the rest of the school year, I convinced myself I had a crush on him.

Looking back, this memory perfectly encapsulates how deeply societal conditioning affects us, even as children. At ten years old, we were already internalizing heteronormative narratives from our peers, advertisements, media, movies, and TV shows. Everything around us reinforced the notion that if a boy and a girl were close, they had to be more than friends.

This anecdote resurfaced in my mind recently, and it struck me how pervasive this conditioning was—even in 2007, when societal attitudes had already progressed somewhat compared to the 1980s. Now imagine how amplified this must have been in the '80s, which sheds light on the behaviors of Lucas, Dustin, and Nancy (and others by the way) in Stranger Things.

These three characters—Lucas, Dustin, and Nancy—each insinuated that Mike had romantic feelings for El based solely on his acts of kindness and care for her. It becomes much easier to understand their reactions when you realize they were operating under the same heteronormative assumptions that shaped our childhoods. After all, didn’t we all have our own versions of Lucas and Dustin who convinced us we were in love with our Maximilien or El?

Before Lucas’s heteronormative remark, Mike had done nothing more than show empathy for El—protecting her and taking care of her after she told him she was being hunted by “bad men” and that her life was in danger. Mike’s actions stemmed from compassion and the fact that she had information about Will’s disappearance, not romantic interest. Their interactions were simply those of two kind-hearted kids getting to know each other, with Mike admiring her powers (like any kid fascinated by superheroes) and El being drawn to Mike’s stable family life—a concept foreign to her.

But then Lucas planted that tiny seed: “If you’re this nice to her, you must be in love with her.” From that point on, Mike started behaving more timidly around El, his perception of their interactions skewed by Lucas’s words. Dustin reinforced this by accusing Mike of neglecting their friendship because of El, which was a childish and reductive observation considering the circumstances. Nancy, too, perpetuated this when she directly asked Mike, “You like El?” after he inquired about her feelings for Jonathan.

All these comments were rooted in internalized heteronormativity—small seeds planted in Mike by his friends, just as their families, communities, and society had once planted similar seeds in them.

The result? Mike simply conformed to what he thought he was supposed to feel. If everyone said he loved El, then he must love her, right? So he invited her to the Snow Ball and kissed her—because that’s what he believed he was “meant” to do. After all, she had superpowers like the heroes he admired, and as a bullied, insecure boy who often felt powerless, her attention gave him a sense of validation. She needed him, depended on him, and he felt useful and in control by taking care of her.

At the same time, he barely knew her—they’d only spent a week together, and beyond the immediate crisis and her love of Eggo waffles, there wasn’t much else he understood about her. Still, this fleeting connection gave him emotional and psychological comfort during Will’s disappearance and presumed death—a situation where he felt utterly helpless.

All of this resulted in Mike simply doing what he thought he was supposed to feel and do: "If everyone says I love her, then I must love her, right? So let's invite her to the dance and kiss her! Besides, she has powers like my favorite superheroes—that's pretty cool for a bullied boy who looks like a frog, isn't it? If she's interested in me, wouldn’t that prove I'm normal after all? Plus, she depends on me, she needs me, she's lost without me, and I have to take her under my wing. I feel useful taking care of her! It's only been seven days since I met her, so honestly, apart from the urgent situation we're in, I know almost nothing about her except that she likes waffles. But at least, during this week, we needed each other, and emotionally and psychologically, it helped me cope with the disappearance and presumed death of my best friend—a friend who vanished after leaving my house, where I feel 100% powerless to protect or save him. Having some sense of control by taking care of El, who clearly needs me, might just be my way of projecting? Also, she looks like a boy with her short hair, and she was mistaken for Will three times throughout the season—what a coincidence!"

I also noticed that in Season 4, the Duffer Brothers repeatedly wrote into the script how Robin and Steve are often mistaken for a couple by others. This happens because people don’t know Robin is a lesbian, but more importantly, because they can’t comprehend how Robin and Steve can be so close, so in sync, and have such incredible chemistry without being romantically involved. And yes, it’s absolutely possible—some people can be your soulmate without being in a romantic relationship with you. In fact, there are relationships that are healthier and more balanced as friendships rather than as romantic partnerships, and the people involved often realize this themselves. This doesn’t diminish the genuine love they have for each other. They love each other, they don’t want to lose one another, it’s just not romantic. It doesn’t take away from the strength or depth of the bond they share—it’s simply a different kind of love for a different kind of relationship.

This dynamic becomes even more compelling when you consider how heteronormativity shaped not only Mike’s understanding of his feelings but also everyone else’s perceptions of their relationship. Like Lucas, Dustin, and Nancy, we’ve all been influenced by these societal norms, projecting them onto others and perpetuating them, often without even realizing it.

[chirpsythismorning]

i think we just won???

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Reminds me of the song I am the Owl by Dead Kennedys! It’s actually on my ST5 playlist!

This is an invitation to join me in hunting down all the owl references in Stranger Things.

[chirpsythismorning]

A while back I dubbed this scene over Mike’s monologue and died laughing 😭

Total Eclipse of the Heart

A very fitting song for ST5...

(Turn around) Every now and then, I get a little bit lonely And you're never coming 'round (Turn around) Every now and then, I get a little bit tired Of listening to the sound of my tears (Turn around) Every now and then, I get a little bit nervous That the best of all the years have gone by (Turn around) Every now and then, I get a little bit terrified And then I see the look in your eyes

[Refrain] (Turn around, bright eyes) Every now and then, I fall apart (Turn around, bright eyes) Every now and then, I fall apart

[Chorus] And I need you now tonight And I need you more than ever And if you only hold me tight We'll be holding on forever And we'll only be making it right 'Cause we'll never be wrong Together, we can take it to the end of the line Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time (All of the time) I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks I really need you tonight Forever's gonna start tonight Forever's gonna start tonight

[Post-Chorus] Once upon a time, I was falling in love But now I'm only falling apart There's nothing I can do A total eclipse of the heart Once upon a time, there was light in my life But now there's only love in the dark Nothing I can say A total eclipse of the heart

[Interlude] (Turn around, bright eyes) (Turn around, bright eyes)

[Verse 3] (Turn around) Every now and then, I know you'll never be the boy You always wanted to be (Turn around) But every now and then, I know you'll always be the only boy Who wanted me the way that I am (Turn around) Every now and then, I know there's no one in the universe As magical and wondrous as you (Turn around) Every now and then, I know there's nothing any better There's nothing that I just wouldn't do

[Refrain] (Turn around, bright eyes) Every now and then, I fall apart (Turn around, bright eyes) Every now and then, I fall apart

[Chorus] And I need you now tonight (And I need you) And I need you more than ever And if you only hold me tight (If you love me) We'll be holding on forever And we'll only be making it right (And we'll never) 'Cause we'll never be wrong Together, we can take it to the end of the line Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time (All of the time) I don't know what to do, I'm always in the dark We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks I really need you tonight Forever's gonna start tonight (Forever's gonna start tonight)

[Post-Chorus] Once upon a time, I was falling in love But now I'm only falling apart Nothing I can do A total eclipse of the heart Once upon a time, there was light in my life But now there's only love in the dark Nothing I can say A total eclipse of the heart A total eclipse of the heart A total eclipse of the heart

[chirpsythismorning]

More hints at time trickery

Shippingfangirl013 noticed that when Robin and Steve talk about Back to the future and look at the ceiling, there's this little pine tree that seems to multiply (like the timelines in a timeloop, maybe? The ceiling itself seems to turn into a sort of wormhole)

Interestingly, in BTTF the Twin Pines Mall becomes the Lone Pine Mall after Marty accidentally destroys one of Peabody's twin pines in 1955.

Parallel in S3

Then there's the JCPenney store, which is, of course, a BTTF Easter Egg. I think some interesting things happen when that sign is in the shot.

Here, for example, there seem to be two Joyces, then our Joyce blocks the other

In this shot with Will, we see a stroller

but when we see the girls, there's a woman that looks a bit like an old El.

Dr Ellis reminds me of her, and Will draws Will the Wise as both a boy and an old man...

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Nick from 8flix you’re scaring me 😳

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Karen put the flask down honey...

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